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1. Without prejudice to Article 7 of Directive 2010/31/EU, each Member State shall ensure that at least 3 % of the total floor area of heated and/or cooled buildings that are owned by public bodies is renovated each year to be transformed into at least nearly zero-energy buildings or zero-emission buildings in accordance with Article 9 of Directive 2010/31/EU. Member States may choose which buildings to include in the 3 % renovation requirement, giving due consideration to cost-effectiveness and technical feasibility in the choice of buildings to renovate. Member States may exempt social housing from the obligation to renovate referred to in the first subparagraph where such renovations would not be cost neutral or would lead to rent increases for people living in social housing unless such rent increases are no higher than the economic savings on the energy bill. Where public bodies occupy a building that they do not own, they shall negotiate with the owner, in particular when reaching a trigger point such as the renewal of rental, change of use, significant repair or maintenance work, with the aim of establishing contractual clauses for the building to become at least a nearly zero-energy building or zero-emission building. The rate of at least 3 % shall be calculated on the total floor area of buildings which have a total useful floor area of over 250 m2, that are owned by public bodies and that, on 1 January 2024, are not nearly zero-energy buildings.

2. Member States may apply requirements that are less stringent than those laid down in paragraph 1 for the following categories of buildings:

(a) buildings officially protected as part of a designated environment, or because of their special architectural or historical merit, in so far as compliance with certain minimum energy performance requirements would alter their character or appearance unacceptably;

(b) buildings owned by the armed forces or central government and serving national defence purposes, apart from single living quarters or office buildings for the armed forces and other staff employed by national defence authorities;

(c) buildings used as places of worship and for religious activities. Member States may decide not to renovate any building that is not referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph up to the level provided for in paragraph 1 if they assess that it is not technically, economically or functionally feasible for that building to be transformed into a nearly zero-energy building. Where they so decide, Member States shall not count the renovation of that building towards the fulfilment of the requirement set out in paragraph 1.

3. In order to front load energy savings and to provide an incentive for early action, a Member State that renovates more than 3 % of the total floor area of its buildings in accordance with paragraph 1 in any year until 31 December 2026 may count the surplus towards the annual renovation rate of any of the following three years. A Member State that renovates more than 3 % of the total floor area of its buildings as of 1 January 2027 may count the surplus towards the annual renovation rate of the following two years.

4. Member States may count towards the annual renovation rate of buildings new buildings owned as replacements for specific public bodies’ buildings demolished in any of the two previous years. This shall apply only where they would be more cost effective and sustainable in terms of the energy and lifecycle CO2 emissions achieved compared to the renovations of such buildings. The general criteria, methodologies and procedures to identify such exceptional cases shall be clearly set out and published by each Member State.

5. By 11 October 2025, Member States shall, for the purposes of this Article, establish and make publicly available and accessible an inventory of heated and/or cooled buildings that are owned or occupied by public bodies and that have a total useful floor area of more than 250 m2. Member States shall update that inventory at least every two years. The inventory shall be linked to the building stock overview carried out in the framework of the national building renovation plans in accordance with Directive 2010/31/EU and the relevant databases. Publicly available and accessible data about building stock characteristics, buildings renovation and energy performance may be aggregated by the EU Building Stock Observatory to ensure a better understanding of the energy performance of the building sector through comparable data. The inventory shall contain at least the following data:

(a) the floor area in m2;

(b) the measured annual energy consumption of heat, cooling, electricity and hot water when those data are available;

(c) the energy performance certificate of each building issued in accordance with Directive 2010/31/EU.

6. Member States may decide to apply an alternative approach to that set out in paragraphs 1 to 4 for the purpose of achieving, every year, an amount of energy savings in the buildings of public bodies which is at least equivalent to the amount required in paragraph 1. For the purpose of applying that alternative approach, Member States shall:

(a) ensure that, each year, a renovation passport is introduced, where applicable, for buildings representing at least 3 % of the total floor area of heated and/or cooled buildings that are owned by public bodies. For those buildings, the renovation to nearly zero-energy building shall be achieved at the latest by 2040;

(b) estimate the energy savings that paragraphs 1 to 4 would generate by using appropriate standard values for the energy consumption of reference public bodies’ buildings before and after renovation to be transformed into nearly zero-energy buildings as referred to in Directive 2010/31/EU. Member States that decide to apply the alternative approach shall notify to the Commission, by 31 December 2023, their projected energy savings to achieve at least the equivalent of energy savings in the buildings covered by paragraph 1 by 31 December 2030.