EPC Domestic

Energy Performance Certificates - domestic properties
Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are needed when any building is sold, rented out, constructed or refurbished.

EPCs give information on a building's energy efficiency in a sliding scale from 'A' (very efficient) to 'G' (least efficient). Every EPC also has a recommendations report showing how the homeowner could improve the rating.

Only qualified, accredited domestic energy assessors and qualified, certified home inspectors can produce EPCs for domestic properties. They analyse how homes are constructed, insulated, heated and ventilated, and the type of fuel being used.

This guide gives an overview about EPCs for domestic properties. It sets out when EPCs are needed, who can produce them and the responsibilities of all parties involved in producing and providing them for domestic properties - including homeowners, landlords, estate agents and energy assessors. It also provides specific information for rented, newly built and existing homes.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When an Energy Performance Certificate is required
Please note that Home Information Pack duties are suspended with immediate effect from 21 May 2010. This means that homes marketed for sale on or after this date will no longer require a Home Information Pack. However, Energy Performance Certificates are still required.

Find guidance on the changes to the Home Information Pack scheme on the communities and local government website - Opens in a new window.

Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) present a building's energy efficiency in the form of an 'asset rating'. This is similar to the system used to rate white goods, such as fridges and washing machines.

You must commission an EPC if you sell, rent out, construct or refurbish most buildings. EPCs are not required for: places of worship temporary buildings with a planned period of use of less than two years buildings using low amounts of energy, eg barns certain homes which are to be demolished When domestic properties are marketed for sale, the EPC must be made available free of charge.

For newly built or refurbished homes, the person in charge of construction - usually the builder - is responsible for obtaining an EPC. A Predicted Energy Assessment must be provided for new homes marketed for sale off-plan - ie before construction of the building is complete. The same EPC responsibilities also apply when a builder completes any building work to a home which creates a new dwelling or combines two existing dwellings. See the page in this guide on Energy Performance Certificates for new homes.

When selling or renting an existing home, the owner or landlord is responsible for making an EPC available and for providing it to any prospective buyer or tenant. See the pages in this guide on Energy Performance Certificates for existing homes and Energy Performance Certificates for rented homes.

EPC validity period
Unless a building is later modified, EPCs and their recommendation reports are valid for ten years from the date of issue. Energy assessors and home inspectors are responsible for placing EPCs in the national register of domestic EPCs, where they will be kept for 20 years. You can view energy reports on the Landmark Information Group website - Opens in a new window.

Commercial properties
For information on EPCs for non-domestic premises, see our guide on Energy Performance Certificates - business properties.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What an Energy Performance Certificate contains
Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) provide ratings for all types of buildings, showing their energy efficiency based on factors such as: the age and layout of the property the activities going on within the different spaces the materials used in its construction how it is heated, cooled and ventilated how lighting is provided

The ratings are presented in a similar way to those found on white goods, such as fridges and washing machines. They are standardised, so the energy efficiency of one building can easily be compared with another building of a similar type. 'A' is the most efficient rating and 'G' the least efficient.

EPCs include two asset-rating graphs that show:

The energy efficiency rating. This is the building's overall energy usage, which reflects the level of fuel bills to be expected versus the rating that it could attain if the improvements listed in the recommendation report were carried out.
The environmental rating - ie the building's impact on the environment in terms of carbon dioxide emissions. This also shows how environmentally friendly a building is and its potential for improvement.

They also provide: the EPC number and date of issue - the energy assessor will obtain this number when they file the EPC in the online register details of the energy assessor responsible for the EPC, including their name, accreditation number, employer's name (or any trading name if self-employed) and accreditation scheme information on how to complain or check whether an EPC is genuine

You can view energy reports on the Landmark Information Group website - Opens in a new window.

Recommendation reports
The energy assessor's recommendation report includes: key cost-effective ways to improve the energy performance of the property additional recommendations that could further improve energy performance but are not necessarily cost effective the level of cost, typical cost savings per year and the performance rating achievable after carrying out the individual recommendations the rating the property could achieve if all the cost-effective recommendations were implemented

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Who produces Energy Performance Certificates
Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) for homes are usually created by domestic energy assessors (DEAs) who are members of a government-approved accreditation scheme and are qualified to carry out inspections. DEAs may be employed by a company - such as an estate agency or energy company - or may be independent traders. They must use government software to produce EPCs. Qualified and certified home inspectors can also produce EPCs for domestic properties.

For existing domestic properties, building owners will need to use a DEA. For buildings under construction, you will need to use an on-construction domestic energy assessor.

DEAs are responsible for the accuracy of EPCs and recommendation reports. They must log the EPC on the national online register of EPCs against the property's address.

You can find an energy assessor or retrieve an energy report on the Landmark Information Group website - Opens in a new window.

Energy assessors must use the calculation tool relevant to that type of property to produce EPCs. The different tools are classified in the government-approved National Calculation Methodology. For example, DEAs would typically use: Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) to assess a home when construction is complete. Reduced Data Standard Assessment Procedure (RDSAP) to assess existing dwellings. A full SAP assessment requires many data items that cannot be seen in a survey and may take too long to collect. RDSAP is an industry-agreed standard set of data items with a standard set of assumptions to complete all the data required. You can find out more about energy assessors in our guides on being an energy assessor or home inspector and energy assessor accreditation.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Responsibilities for Energy Performance Certificates

The seller or landlord is responsible for making sure that there is an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) for a building, or part of a building, which they intend to sell or let. This applies even if an agent or other service organisation represents them or provides the EPC to the client. It therefore makes good business sense for sellers or landlords to make sure that their agents are meeting their duties.

The builder of a newly built or refurbished dwelling is responsible for handing over an EPC to the building's owner within five days of the building being completed. The builder must also inform building control officers at the local authority that they have done this, as a final certificate for the building will not be issued until this has been done.

The energy assessor is responsible for recording the EPC in the central online register of EPCs. They are also responsible for providing the person who commissioned the EPC with a copy of the certificate and its unique reference number. This number is used to view energy reports on the Landmark Information Group website - Opens in a new window.

The accreditation body to which the energy assessor belongs is responsible for investigating any concerns relating to the registration or authenticity of an EPC.
Trading standards officers are responsible for enforcing EPC regulations and can request a copy of an EPC from a building's owner or landlord at any time up to six months after the date on which they should have received it. You will have seven days in which to provide one. You should keep the EPC's unique number on file so that you can get a copy from the national register if you need to.

If a landlord doesn't provide an EPC to a tenant, or fails to show an EPC to an enforcement officer when asked, trading standards can issue a notice with a penalty charge. In addition to paying the penalty notice, the landlord will still have to provide an EPC to the person who has become the tenant.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Assuring Energy Performance Certificate standards
Qualified domestic energy assessors (DEAs) who belong to a government-approved accreditation body can produce Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) for homes. Qualified and certified home inspectors can also produce EPCs for domestic properties. As there are several government-approved accreditation bodies, standards are applied to make sure that all EPCs are the same quality.

Audit trail and responsibilities
In order to make sure that EPCs are unbiased and produced to the same professional standards, all accreditation bodies have mechanisms in place for: ensuring the DEA's independence, so that EPCs and recommendations are produced without bias ensuring that the DEA is suitably qualified, eg for producing single or multiple EPCs for rental properties checking that a DEA has produced multiple EPCs to their quality-assurance standards Landlords may choose to have DEAs as in-house staff. If they do, they must be a member of an accreditation scheme and have a procedure in place to ensure that there is no conflict of interest.

You can find specific information on EPCs for rented homes in our guide on Energy Performance Certificates - a guide for residential landlords.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Energy Performance Certificates for rented homes
You only require an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) when you place a self-contained rental property on the market for rent. You do not need an EPC when a tenant rents a room and shares facilities or when you extend an existing agreement with the same tenant.

When you first place properties on the rental market, the EPC can be produced using different methods depending on whether you need one for a single property or for multiple similar rental properties you own.

A domestic energy assessor (DEA) can conduct the assessment on a single EPC for multiple rental properties of similar type. DEAs must be trained and competent in the techniques required to carry out these more complex EPCs - ie a sampling and multiple-certification approach.

DEAs can use one or more of these specific techniques when generating EPCs for landlords: A common values approach - where the DEA produces an EPC for one property using data from a similar property then customises it to account for any variations, eg allowing for greater heat loss from a top floor flat which is otherwise identical to other flats within that building. Sampling and multiple certification - once the DEA has identified that a group of properties is similar, they can produce EPCs for the group after carrying out a sample survey to make sure that the results are within certain prescribed tolerance limits. Using existing data - where a landlord has invested in creating a comprehensive database of the energy characteristics of the stock, this data can be used to produce EPCs. It is however the DEA's responsibility to satisfy themselves that the data is accurate by visiting a sample of the properties. For more information on these techniques, you can download a guide to generating EPCs for similar dwellings owned by the same landlord from the Communities and Local Government website

For more information about EPCs for rented homes, see our guide on Energy Performance Certificates - a guide for residential landlords.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Energy Performance Certificates for new homes
An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) is needed when a domestic property is built. The same EPC responsibilities also apply when a builder completes any building work to a home which creates, or combines, a separate dwelling that has heating, hot water or air conditioning. A separate dwelling is one which is suitable for separate occupation by an independent household and may have its own front door and its own cooking and washing facilities.

The builder must: Inform owners and prospective buyers how energy efficient the building is and how it can be improved. Arrange for an accredited on-construction domestic energy assessor to carry out an energy performance assessment when the building is complete and produce both an EPC and a recommendation report for it. Give the EPC to the building's new owner within five days of completion. Notify building control officers or approved inspectors at the local authority that they have done so. Building control will not issue a final completion certificate for new builds or refurbishments requiring building regulation consent until they are satisfied that the EPC has been properly produced and presented to the relevant party. Building regulations include standards for the energy performance of new buildings which builders must adhere to in order to be compliant.

Predicted Energy Assessments
If you intend to sell a dwelling before it is built or during construction - ie off-plan - you must provide potential buyers with information about energy efficiency in a Predicted Energy Assessment (PEA). The PEA is simply a representation of the predicted Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) rating which you should take from the SAP calculations that you carry out at the building design phase.

You do not need to use an accredited energy assessor for a PEA, nor do you need to include a recommendation report at this stage. You can simply provide the information in a spreadsheet template which provides the SAP rating in graphical format.

For more information on EPCs for newly built homes, see our guide on Energy Performance Certificates - a guide for housing developers.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Energy Performance Certificates for existing homes
Please note that Home Information Pack duties are suspended with immediate effect from 21 May 2010. This means that homes marketed for sale on or after this date will no longer require a Home Information Pack. However, Energy Performance Certificates are still required.

Find guidance on the changes to the Home Information Pack scheme on the Communities and Local Government website - Opens in a new window.

All home sellers must by law provide an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) when they place a domestic property on the market for sale, including landlords selling rental properties.

EPCs and their recommendation reports are valid for ten years from the date of issue and the EPC graphs must be included in any property particulars that are provided.

Once you have chosen an energy assessor and set an appointment for a home inspection, you should put together information that will help make for a more efficient inspection. Examples of such information include: certificates of compliance for your boiler guarantees for hot water or central heating systems guarantees for any wall or loft insulation work you have had on the property If you have all this information to hand, the assessment for a typical house should take no more than an hour.

However, given that a poor EPC could affect the value of your property, you might want to consider taking steps to make even small improvements which could give your property a better base rating, eg improving insulation in your loft and water cylinder and changing all the light bulbs to low-energy ones.

If you can't be present at the time of assessment, then an estate agent - or other responsible adult who can answer any questions about the property - should be there instead. You will need to give the energy assessor access to every part of the property including loft space and meter cupboards - where available - and allow them to photograph any aspect of the property or piece of equipment they consider necessary for their report.

If you still have tenants in place, you should give them advance warning of when the energy assessor will be visiting the property.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Source: www.businesslink.gov.uk

Commercial EPC

Your Advert Here!

Click Me