Inspections by installation
RITE in Spain: maintenance depends on output, and inspection only applies above 70 kW
The Reglamento de instalaciones térmicas en los edificios (RITE, the Spanish regulation on thermal installations in buildings) covers heating, air conditioning, ventilation and domestic hot water. What applies to you depends on output: from 5 to 70 kW, a maintenance company working to minimum intervals; above 70 kW, also a contract, an annual certificate and an efficiency inspection every 4 years. What still circulates about inspections from 20 kW or from 12 kW stopped applying on 1 July 2021.
The short answer
What the RITE asks of you depends on rated thermal output, adding up the heat generators or the cooling generators:
- Under 5 kW: no design project, no technical report and no registration with the regional government (Arts. 15.1(c) and 24.2).
- From 5 to 70 kW: technical report, registration and maintenance by an authorised maintenance company, with no compulsory contract (Art. 26.6(a)).
- Over 70 kW: design project, maintenance contract, annual maintenance certificate and energy efficiency inspection every 4 years (Arts. 26.6(b) and 28, IT 4).
Exactly 70 kW falls in the lower band: the regulation always says "mayor que 70 kW" (greater than 70 kW). The cold room and the kitchen burners are not covered: the RITE covers climate control for people's comfort and domestic hot water (Art. 2.1), not industrial processes that do not serve that comfort (Art. 2.6).
What the regulation says
For maintenance, use and inspection, the RITE applies to every installation, old ones included (Art. 2.2). And the one responsible is the holder:
El titular de la instalación será responsable de que se realicen las siguientes acciones: a) El mantenimiento de la instalación térmica por una empresa mantenedora habilitada. b) Las inspecciones obligatorias. ("The holder of the installation shall be responsible for ensuring that the following are carried out: a) maintenance of the thermal installation by an authorised maintenance company; b) the compulsory inspections.")
The same article adds that the holder is responsible for maintenance "sin que este mantenimiento pueda ser sustituido por la garantía" (without this maintenance being replaceable by the warranty) (Art. 25.1). A new unit still under warranty does not spare you the maintenance. Your own staff can also do it, if you file a responsible declaration with the regional government stating that you meet the requirements of a maintenance company (Art. 26.8).
Maintenance: how often, by type of equipment
The operations come from the Manual de uso y mantenimiento (use and maintenance manual), but IT 3.3 sets minimums in its table 3.1. A business falls under the "restantes usos" (other uses) column:
| Equipment and rated useful output | Business ("other uses") | Home |
|---|---|---|
| Gas water heater, up to 24.4 kW | Every 2 years | Every 5 years |
| Gas water heater, from 24.4 to 70 kW | Annual | Every 2 years |
| Wall-hung gas boiler, up to 70 kW | Annual | Every 2 years |
| Air conditioning, up to 12 kW | Every 2 years | Every 4 years |
| Air conditioning, from 12 to 70 kW | Annual | Every 2 years |
| Heat pump for hot water, up to 12 kW | Every 2 years | Every 4 years |
| Heat pump for hot water, from 12 to 70 kW | Annual | Every 2 years |
| Installations over 70 kW | Monthly | Monthly |
| Solar thermal, up to 14 kW | Annual | Annual |
| Solar thermal, over 14 kW | Every six months | Every six months |
Source: RITE, IT 3.3, table 3.1 (Royal Decree 178/2021). These are minimums ("al menos", at least); the manufacturer's specifications also count.
A shop's 10 kW air conditioning unit is serviced at least every two years; a restaurant's 20 kW unit, every year. Up to 70 kW, with continuous remote monitoring, the interval may reach two years provided safety and efficiency are guaranteed. Above 70 kW, table 3.3 governs: air filters, refrigerant or burner, every month; evaporators and condensers, once per season.
Watch one row of table 3.1: "Resto instalaciones calefacción" (other heating installations) appears in the BOE with "Pn ≥70 kW" and an annual interval, which clashes with the next row, installations above 70 kW, which calls for monthly maintenance. Between 2016 and 30 June 2021 that row read "Pn ≤ 70 kW". For anything above 70 kW, the text itself refers to the operations in table 3.3.
What paperwork you keep
The maintenance company keeps a log of maintenance operations and repairs, which forms part of the Libro del Edificio (the building logbook). The holder is responsible for it existing and for showing it if the authorities ask, and keeps it for at least five years from each operation (Art. 27). This applies to every thermal installation, not only large ones.
Above 70 kW, the maintenance company signs a maintenance certificate every year with the consumption figures; the holder keeps a copy, valid for one year at most (Art. 28). If you replace a boiler or a unit of 70 kW or less with another whose output does not vary by more than 25 %, the change does not need registering, but you must keep at least the invoice (Art. 24.11).
The efficiency inspection: only above 70 kW
IT 4 requires an inspection every 4 years of heating and hot water with heat generators over 70 kW — except those producing only hot water up to 70 kW — and of air conditioning with cooling generators over 70 kW; a reversible heat pump goes on the air conditioning side. It checks efficiency (no lower than 80 % for heating and an EER no lower than 2 for cooling, IT 4.2.1 and 4.2.2), the pumps, distribution and controls, and the report is handed to the owner or the tenant.
When an installation over 70 kW reaches fifteen years from its first certificate, it is inspected as a whole, with a report recommending improvements, and then every fifteen years (IT 4.2.3 and 4.3.3). Exempt are non-residential buildings with a building automation and control system that meets IT 1.2.4.3.5, and installations covered by an energy performance contract (IT 4.3.4).
It is carried out by bodies or experts accredited by the regional government, independent of the installation and chosen by the holder (Arts. 29.4 and 31.2). Minor defects are corrected within three months, those in a conditional rating within six, and with a negative rating the regional government must suspend the supply until it is acceptable (Art. 32).
What the RITE does not say (and no longer says)
Worth knowing
If you search for "RITE inspection" you will still find the old rule: heating from 20 kW, air conditioning from 12 kW and, for small equipment, every five years. That was the wording of Royal Decree 238/2013 and it stopped applying on 1 July 2021. Today, up to 70 kW there is no periodic efficiency inspection, no compulsory maintenance contract and no annual certificate.
No contract does not mean no maintenance: from 5 to 70 kW a maintenance company does it at the intervals of table 3.1, and the operations log applies to every installation. And the regulation only covers fixed installations: a portable unit is outside it.
Temperature limits in offices, shops and bars
IT 3.8 caps air temperature at 21 °C when heating and sets a floor of 26 °C when cooling, where conventional energy is used, in administrative, commercial, cultural, entertainment, food service (bars, restaurants and cafés) and station premises. Above 1,000 m², a temperature and humidity display must be shown; where a maintenance contract is compulsory, compliance is checked once in summer and once in winter. And if they open onto the street, they need a door-closing system. Hotels, gyms and schools are not on the list, and the 19 and 27 °C limits of 2022 only applied until 1 November 2023.
If there is gas: the five-yearly inspection
If there is gas, the installation also has the check set by the Reglamento técnico de distribución y utilización de combustibles gaseosos (Royal Decree 919/2006, the Spanish gaseous fuels regulation). With mains gas, every five years an authorised gas installation company or the distribution company inspects it; the distribution company gives three months' notice and, if the certificate from the company you choose does not reach it in time, it does the inspection itself (ITC-ICG 07, section 4.1). Up to 70 kW it includes the appliances; above that, it leaves them out. Without mains gas, as with a propane tank, the holder commissions a check every five years (section 4.2).
What depends on the region
The RITE is national, but registration, accrediting inspectors and lists of experts are matters for each autonomous community, which may also organise inspections through campaigns (Art. 31.5). The annual maintenance certificate is sent to the regional government only "si así se determina" (if so determined) (Art. 28.1). By sector: restaurants, offices, hotels or schools; for hot water, legionella.
Frequently asked questions
How often must air conditioning be serviced under the RITE?
In a business, a unit of up to 12 kW is serviced at least every two years, and one from 12 to 70 kW every year, according to table 3.1 of IT 3.3. Above 70 kW maintenance is monthly, under a contract signed with a maintenance company. These are minimums: the use and maintenance manual and the manufacturer may ask for more, and up to 70 kW, with continuous remote monitoring, the interval can reach two years.
From what output is a maintenance contract compulsory?
From the point at which the total rated thermal output installed for heat or cooling generation exceeds 70 kW (Art. 26.6(b) of the RITE). Between 5 and 70 kW the installation must be maintained by an authorised maintenance company, but with no compulsory contract. Above 5,000 kW of heating or 1,000 kW of cooling, maintenance must also be directed by a qualified engineer acting as maintenance manager.
How often is the RITE energy efficiency inspection carried out?
Every four years, and only if the heat generators or the cooling generators add up to more than 70 kW (IT 4.3.1 and 4.3.2). If the installation is more than fifteen years old, it is also inspected as a whole every fifteen years. It is carried out by bodies or experts accredited by the regional government, independent and chosen by the holder. Non-residential buildings with an automation and control system meeting IT 1.2.4.3.5 are exempt.
Is the RITE inspection from 20 kW still compulsory?
No. That rule belonged to the 2013 wording: heating from 20 kW and air conditioning from 12 kW, every five years for small equipment. Royal Decree 178/2021 changed it with effect from 1 July 2021, and since then the periodic efficiency inspection only reaches installations with generators over 70 kW, every four years. Maintenance from 5 to 70 kW, on the other hand, is still compulsory.
Does the equipment warranty replace maintenance?
No. Article 25.1 of the RITE makes the holder responsible for use and maintenance from the handover of the installation "without this maintenance being replaceable by the warranty". A newly installed unit under warranty must be maintained just the same, at the intervals of table 3.1 and by an authorised maintenance company, and the operations are recorded in the maintenance log.
How long must the maintenance log be kept?
At least five years from the date of each operation (Art. 27.2 of the RITE). The maintenance company draws it up and is responsible for the entries, but the holder is responsible for it existing and for keeping it available to the authorities. It forms part of the building logbook. Above 70 kW, the maintenance company also signs a maintenance certificate every year, valid for one year at most.
Where it usually applies
- Restaurants and barsThe obligations of a restaurant or a bar in Spain: what is specific to the kitchen and the checks on the premises, each with the condition that triggers it, how often it applies and its article.
- GymsA gym: no national law; qualifications, insurance and notices under each region's sports professions act, plus low voltage, Legionella, pool, RIPCI and defibrillator as premises.
- HotelsA hotel: guest register and reporting within 24 hours, regional classification, low voltage and lift as a public-assembly venue, RIPCI, Legionella, pool, kitchen and defibrillator.
- Residents' associationsThe obligations of a Spanish residents' association: upkeep, reserve fund, owners' meeting and administrator under the Horizontal Property Act, building logbook, building inspection and the checks on each communal installation.
- Shops and franchisesA shop: responsible declaration up to 750 m², opening hours, prices, franchises with no register since 2018, complaint forms, accessibility adjustments and the inspections of premises open to the public.
- OfficesThe obligations of an office in Spain: temperature and upkeep of the premises, screen work, health and safety, coordination with contractors, internal reporting channel, right to disconnect and building checks.
- SchoolsA school: minimum facilities, protocols against violence and a wellbeing coordinator, canteen and menus from April 2026, self-protection and the building inspections.
- Industrial unitsAn industrial unit: fire inspection every five years under the 2025 regulation, chemical storage (APQ), air receivers, work equipment, low voltage, cooling towers and self-protection.
Other mandatory inspections
- Fire protection (RIPCI)RIPCI checks: quarterly by the owner, yearly and five-yearly by the maintenance company, records kept for five years and an inspection every ten years, with its exemptions.
- Self-protection planWho needs a self-protection plan under the Basic Directive in force since 11 October 2026, what it contains, how often it is reviewed and what the regions add.
- Low-voltage inspectionInspection by an accredited body every 5 years for the premises in ITC-BT-05 (bars, restaurants and hotels always) and every 10 years for residential common areas over 100 kW.
- LegionellaWhat Royal Decree 487/2022 requires of the holder of business premises: a control plan, hot water temperatures, yearly disinfection, Legionella sampling and records kept for five years.
- Lift inspectionWhat ITC AEM 1 (Royal Decree 355/2024) requires of a lift's holder: a contract with a lift maintenance company, monthly servicing, a periodic inspection every 2, 4 or 6 years and deadlines for defects.
- Swimming poolsWhat Royal Decree 742/2013 requires by type of pool: self-monitoring, daily and monthly checks, information for users and incidents, and what it leaves to the autonomous communities.
- HACCP (APPCC)What Article 5 of Regulation 852/2004 requires of a bar, a restaurant or an institutional kitchen in Spain: the seven principles, the records, the flexibility and what is no longer in force.
- Defibrillator (AED)What the Spanish national rule on defibrillators requires, and who must have one in Madrid, Catalonia, Andalusia and the Basque Country, with each threshold and article.