GRIHA for Existing Buildings rating system is a 100 point system consisting of 12 criteria categorized under seven sections such as Site Parameters, Maintenance & Housekeeping, Energy, Water, Human Health & Comfort, Social Aspects, and Bonus points. Six of these 12 criteria are mandatory, while the rest are optional. Each criterion, except from the six mandatory criteria, has a number of points assigned to it. It means that a project intending to meet the criterion would qualify for the points. The minimum points required for certification is 25.

Eligibility:

All operational buildings having a built-up area greater than 50 sq. m. are eligible for certification GRIHA for Existing Buildings rating. The typology of buildings include: offices, retail spaces, institutional buildings, hotels, hospital buildings, healthcare facilities, residences, and multi-family high-rise buildings.

Rating Process

• Feasibility check - As a first step, the owner/ maintenance team / project team is responsible for checking the facilities & housekeeping. They are required to check if their project is eligible for a GRIHA for Existing Buildings rating with the help of the online feasibility check calculator available on the GRIHA website. The project must meet the mandatory clauses in order to be eligible for the GRIHA for Existing Buildings rating. Based on the information provided by the project proponent, the calculator gives anticipated level of rating. The rating level achieved in the feasibility check is just an indication, and rating shall be awarded once the project gets registered and submitted documents are evaluated and verified by GRIHA Council.
• Registration - The successful completion of feasibility check enables project proponent to register the project under Existing Building category on the GRIHA Council's website by filing expression of interest (EOI) available on GRIHA website. Once the project is registered, the project proponent shall be provided with username and password for documentation on online panel.
• Orientation workshop - The registration is followed by an orientation workshop conducted by GRIHA Council. The intent of this workshop is to provide detailed information of existing building rating covering all criteria and to address specific queries of project proponent on the certification process.
• Submission of documents - Post the orientation workshop, the project proponent must submit the documents for all criteria on the online panel by using the username and password provided during registration.
• Preliminary evaluation - After online submission of documents, the preliminary evaluation is carried out by a team of professionals and experts from GRIHA Council. The documentation must be complete in all respects for all attempted criteria. Any attempted criteria with incomplete documentation shall not be evaluated. Online calculators provided for specific criteria needs to be filled in and submitted. The GRIHA Council professionals first review compliance of the project with the mandatory criteria and reject the project in the event of noncompliance with such criteria. The GRIHA Council shall than evaluate the optional criteria and estimate the total number of achievable points. A preliminary evaluation report shall be submitted within 20-25 working days after document submission.
• Due diligence site visit for verification - A due diligence site visit must be performed by GRIHA Council to verify the submitted documents as compared to the on-site implementation. The due diligence report shall be submit within 7-10 (15 days) working days of the site visit.
• Final evaluation - GRIHA Council evaluates documents submitted in response to preliminary evaluation and due diligence report. On the basis of this evaluation, GRIHA Council shall prepare a final score card within 20-25 working days after the project team furnishes requested information sought during preliminary evaluation and due diligence report.
• Award of rating - The final score must be presented to the Advisory Committee comprising eminent personalities and renowned professionals in the field for approval and award of rating. The rating will be valid for a period of five years from the date of award of rating to the project. Note that GRIHA Council reserves the right to undertake a random audit of any criteria for which points have been awarded.

Updated Fees (Effective from 1st June 2024)

The fee includes:

• GRIHA costs for preliminary assessment, administration, and coordination of online documentation submission, and support over the project duration.
• Third party evaluator fees.
• One-day training workshop for project team.

The fee does not include:

• Government taxes as applicable on the registration and certification fee
• Handholding/facilitation/consultancy necessary for rating
• Travel by flight and accommodation arrangements for GRIHA Council officials for training workshops and site visits

Criteria and their weightage

GRIHA for Existing Buildings rating is a performance-oriented system where points are earned for meeting the intent (appraisals) of the criteria. Each criterion has a number of points assigned to it.

Compliances, as specified in the relevant criterion, have to be submitted in the prescribed format. While the intent of some of the criteria is self-validating in nature, there are others, such as energy consumption, thermal and visual comfort, noise control, and indoor pollution levels, which need to be validated on-site through performance monitoring. The points related to these criteria (specified under the relevant sections) are awarded after verification through monitoring, validation, and documents/photographs to support the award of point.

GRIHA for Existing Buildings rating is 100 point system consisting of some core points, which are mandatory, while the rest are optional.

Different levels of certification (one star to five stars) are awarded based on the number of points earned. The minimum points required for certification is 25.

Table 2: Rating threshold

Threshold	GRIHA for Existing Buildings
25-40
41-55	;
56-70
71-85
86 and above

Table 3: Criteria and their weightage

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