The Energy Performance Certificate was introduced in August of 2007 in order to bring the UK into compliance with the EU Directive on energy performance of buildings. While the UK is no longer part of the EU, the EPC program remains and has been expanded in recent years to include three types of certificates: Domestic EPCs, Commercial EPCs and the Display Energy Certificate, or DEC. For the purposes of this guide, we will be focusing solely on the Domestic EPC.
Domestic EPCs Explained
The Domestic Energy Certificate is required when a single-family residence is either rented or sold. The size of the property does not matter. The only exceptions to the EPC requirement are some listed buildings, temporary buildings that will not be occupied for more than two years, and holiday accommodations that are let out for less than four months per year. The fine for selling or renting a property without an EPC is currently £200.
The Law and EPCs
Property owners often wonder why they need to bother with obtaining an Energy Performance Certificate. The answer is simple: it’s a legal requirement and has been for some 14 years. The EPC is intended to give renters or buyers a “heads up” regarding exactly what they are getting into.
No one wants to spend a million pounds on a home only to discover they need to invest another £100,000 to bring it up to speed regarding current energy efficiency standards. Nor do they want to rent a property only to discover it is an energy sieve and they are spending outrageous amounts every month to keep it warm or cool.
The Domestic EPC lets the prospective renter or buyer know exactly what they are getting into before they sign on the dotted line. If you receive a good EPC rating it can be a powerful marketing tool attracting home buyers and prospective renters that might otherwise overlook your property.
For Sellers
As far as the law is concerned, the landlord or seller is obliged to obtain an EPC before putting the property on the rental or sales market. Once a valid EPC is obtained it must be made available to the estate agent within 28 days of the property hitting the market.
For Renters
Landlords too must have a valid EPC on hand before the property hits the rental market and make that EPC available to the estate agent within 28 days of marketing. Failing to do so can result in the aforementioned £200 fine.
The first step is to arrange for a qualified assessor to visit your property and conduct their inspection. We recommend you take certain steps to prepare the way for the assessor, and we’ll get into those in detail in a few moments.
Once the assessor arrives they waste no time getting down to business, and most people are surprised at how brief the assessor's visit is. In most cases, they will take photos of various energy-related components of the house including windows, environmental controls, the boiler, radiators and anything else they deem relevant.
After returning to their office they will enter all the information they gleaned from the visit into an approved software program that will calculate your Energy Performance Score. You should receive the score, as well as a report on your home’s performance (and recommendations regarding what can be done to improve performance) within two working days.
What Does the EPC Look Like?
Domestic EPCs are four pages in length and include a comprehensive overview of how the various energy-related components of your home perform. The energy assessor also includes their determination of the heat demand of the property along with their assessment of the property’s overall environmental impact and, of course, your EPC rating.
The energy efficiency rating is denoted in two ways: first with a letter grade (A-G with A being best and G being poor), and then with a more precise numeric grade ranging from 1-100 with 100 being tops. Ideally, every property would receive an “A” grade with a “100” rating. This being the real world, however, almost no one achieves that kind of rating.
Most properties receive a D grade and a rating in the 55-65 range. Good but not great by any means. On the upside, if you can score something better than a mediocre D-60 you can tout your property as being more energy-efficient than the average UK home.
Of course, ratings tend to be higher or lower depending on the age of the property. The vast majority of UK homes were built prior to World War II when energy efficiency was not exactly a priority. If you own a 100-year-old home you can't expect it to receive an A-100 energy efficiency rating. But you should try to get the best score possible as this will make the property more attractive to prospective buyers and renters.
Keep in mind that in 2018 it was decreed that properties put on the rental market for the first time would have to have a minimum Energy Performance Rating of “E”, and that in 2020 that rule was extended to all rentals old and new, although not to homes that are being sold.
You could arrange for an EPC assessment and then simply forget about it until the assessor arrives... But a better idea is to do what you can to prepare the way and give yourself the best chance of receiving a good score. That’s important because, as we mentioned, a good score can make your property more attractive to renters or prospective buyers.
Here are a couple of steps we recommend you take before the assessor arrives:
Make sure the assessor will have easy access to everything that factors into your EPC rating. That includes radiators, windows, light fixtures, the heating system and environmental controls. If there is furniture or other items blocking access to these things move them out of the way before the assessor arrives.
You should also make sure you have any and all relevant documents at hand to show to the assessor. Keep in mind that the energy assessor is not going to be ripping up the floorboards or cutting holes in the drywall to check on the state of your insulation. Instead, they will assess the age and state of the house and make assumptions based on that.
Therefore, if you have documents that prove that you upgraded the insulation, installed new double-pane windows, or installed an energy-efficient boiler in recent years you should make sure to show them to the assessor. These documents could greatly improve your overall EPC rating.
Get A Fast, Reliable Quote from Energy Performance Certificates
At Energy Performance Certificates, we offer reliable Domestic EPCs with nationwide coverage, fully accredited assessors and the ability to track your order online in real-time. We have a rock-solid reputation for honesty, reliability and affordability.
To obtain a reliable EPC quote for your property simply navigate to the order page on our website, select the type of property involved (residential, commercial, new build/conversion), check the Energy Performance Certificate box, then click the Next button and fill out the form that appears. After that click Next to instantly obtain your fast, dependable EPC quote.
For more information on Domestic EPCs, or to take advantage of any of our other services, fill out the contact form on our website, call us on 0203 397 8220, or if you prefer, write us an email at: hello@energyperformancecertificates.co.uk.
