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An energy performance certificate is required when a building is constructed, sold or rented out. An EPC is valid for 10 years for domestic rental properties A landlord is responsible for ensuring that a valid EPC for their residential property is available to all prospective tenants from the 1st October 2008. The EPC and recommendation report must be made available free of charge by a landlord to a prospective tenant at the earliest opportunity
A landlord can only obtain an EPC from a qualified accredited Domestic Energy Assessor (DEA). expect to pay between £49-£100 depending on size of property and location, and where several epc's are needed then the cost is much reduced.
Landlords or letting agents that don’t have a valid EPC when required to do so risk being reported to Local Trading Standards and also the Office of Fair Trading. Penalties include fines of up to £5000 and loss of the right to operate. Trading standards make random checks on letting agents, landlords & estate agents and they may prosecute if the EPC laws haven't been complied with, especially as cash strapped councils are allowed to keep any fines imposed. Landlords i can arrange a special EPC deal for your portfolio stock, basically this means the larger the order the cheaper it get's, and remember each EPC is valid for ten years before renewal is required.
Checklist For Landlords prior to a Domestic Energy Assessment
In this section: - A useful checklist of items that are inspected for an EPC
- A list of useful documents to bring to the inspection
- What you should expect to receive after the inspection
I Will Be Inspecting
- The age of the property
- The proportion of low energy lighting (%) within the habitable rooms only
- Wall insulation
- Loft Insulation
- Under-floor heating
- Double glazed window area (%) of habitable rooms
- Solar / Photovoltaic panels on the roof
- Boiler type
- Heating system
- Thermostat Radiator Valves (TRV) (Please refer to picture)
- I will measure the dimensions of all of the rooms within in the property
- The wil take some photographs of the property both internally and externally
- Where possible i will Look iside the loft space
Useful Documents To Bring To The Inspection (if you have them) - Any certifications for double glazing installation
- Details of as built drawings
- Details of Leasehold / ownership of the property
- Details of any planning / building regulation approvals
- Details of any alteration within each flat
- Information on the make and model of the heating / boiler system installed
- Certificates for any thermal insulation within the property e.g. loft or wall
- Any details of the location / measurements of each flats external walls e.g. floor plans
Exemptions From The Residential Energy Performance Certificate
- Seasonal / Holiday property
- Property that is part of a mixed sale
- Property that is a duel use dwelling e.g. a maisonette
- A property that is one of a portfolio of properties
- A property that is due to be demolished
- A non-residential property
- A property that is in an unsafe condition
- A property that has non-compliance with HIP’s regulations 2007
- A property that has a Graded / Listed status
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