Edition 2020 Ninth edition

2.2.4. 
Works to Property
2.2.4.1. 
Optional reduced rates — Directive 2009/74/EC amended the VAT Direc-
tive to allow Member States to adopt reduced VAT rates on certain trans-
actions. These rates may not be less than 5 per cent, unless the Member 
State applied a lower rate on 1 January 1991
 (Articles 98 and 110 of the Directive)
. 
As this is an option which each Member State can take up or not, valuers 
should verify the applicable rate in the Member State in which the works 
are carried out.
2.2.4.2. 
Scope of application — In particular, Member States may apply a reduced 
VAT rate in relation to the "provision, construction, renovation and alteration 
of housing, as part of a social policy" 
(Annex III(10) of the Directive)
. Likewise, a 
reduced VAT rate may be applied to the "renovation and repairing of private 
dwellings, excluding materials which account for a significant part of the 
value of the service supplied" 
(Annex III(10a) of the Directive)
.
Legislation
Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on the common system of 
value added tax
Council Directive 2009/47/EC of 5 May 2009 amending Directive 2006/112/EC as 
regards reduced rates of value added tax
3. Health and Safety
3.1. 
Requirements for the workplace — One of the objectives of the EU's social policy 
is the improvement of health and safety at work. As part of this policy, the Council 
adopted Directive 89/654/EEC. This Directive lays down minimum health and 
safety requirements for the workplace, in particular with respect to ventilation, 
emergency routes and exits, room lighting, elevators and sanitary equipment.
3.2. 
Measures for persons with a disability — In addition, several Directives have been 
adopted to improve the accessibility of buildings and the provision of accommo-
dation for persons with a disability.
3.3. 
For instance, Directive 89/654/EEC requires that both new and existing workplac-
es must be organised to take account of handicapped workers. This particularly 
applies to doors, passageways, staircases, showers, washbasins, lavatories and 

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European Valuation Standards 2020
VII. European Union Legislation and Property Valuation
349
workstations used or occupied directly by handicapped workers 
(Annexes I(20) and 
II(15) of the Directive)
.
3.4. 
Moreover, Directive 2000/78/EC on equal treatment in employment and occupa-
tion provides that reasonable accommodation should be provided to persons with 
disabilities. In particular, Article 5 of the Directive stipulates that "employers shall 
take appropriate measures, where needed in a particular case, to enable a person 
with a disability to have access to, participate in, or advance in employment, or to 
undergo training, unless such measures would impose a disproportionate burden 
on the employer. This burden shall not be disproportionate when it is sufficiently 
remedied by measures existing within the framework of the disability policy of the 
Member State concerned".
3.5. 
Article 4(4) of Directive 2019/882 on the accessibility requirements for products 
and services, also referred to as the European Accessibility Act, furthermore pro-
vides that Member States may impose requirements to the built environment in 
which certain services are provided in order to improve their accessibility for dis-
abled persons. These requirements relate, amongst others, to entrances, exits, 
evacuation routes, approaches to buildings, paths, sanitary facilities and equip-
ment and facilities used in the provision of the service