Skip to Content

What is an Energy performance certificate?

Introduced in August 2007 their aim is to give a clear picture of the efficiency of a commercial or residential property, the headline assessment works in a similar way to the ratings you see on domestic appliances, with the colour bar chart showing how it performs. With the EPC, the bar chart is much the same and will give a property a grade ranging from A, being the best, to G being the worst, the average property in the UK will be in band D/E, the grade will be given for how efficient a property is and a second grade for the impact on the environment.

As an overview the rating will have been establish by an assessor taking into consideration emissions and cost of running, the EPC will also give you an indication of the potential grade the property could achieve, if improvements are made.

By law you must have an EPC for a property if you are planning to rent out the property, or if you are selling, this is the same if the property is residential or commercial. The EPC should be available to view when the property is marketed, and the EPC is valid for 10 years.

Many people have chosen to have an EPC produced even though they are not moving or renting, as the EPC can be very helpful in highlighting improvements that can be made to save you money on energy.

If you are looking to receive payments from the Governments feed in tariff for solar PV you must prove that your property attains a rating of D or above, you will therefore need a current EPC.

How can you get an Energy Performance Certificates?

If you are buying, selling or renting through an Agent the chances are that they have a contact with a Domestic Energy Assessor (DEA) , only a DEA can produce a valid Performance certificate. If you would like to arrange your own certificate you can do and a list of DEA's if available online via Landmark (epcregister.com)

If you would like to see how other properties have performed in your area you can go to the Landmark web site, they display all EPCs and have a handy postcode search, if you don't want your own EPC displayed, you can opt out.

The main areas an EPC will give recommendations on are

Insulation - What loft and cavity wall insulation do you have, glazing etc?

Lighting - Do you have low energy lighting?

Heat - What boiler do you have and is it rated band A, and how do you deal with Hot water.

With Energy Prices going up substantially higher than inflation and the cost of living, the importance of highlighting the Energy Performance of a property is becoming more and more important, and research shows that whilst location is still the most important criteria for a property, fuel bills, double glazing, insulation all feature in a person's top 10 most important Features when buying or renting.

For more information and to find an Assessor visit
https://www.epcregister.com/


Image Description
related news
recent articles
Flying Freehold

What is a Flying Freehold and should it matter?..

link

Energy Performance Certificates

Energy Performance Certificates. Domestic and Commercial properties that are available to buy or rent must have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). What a..

Neighbour Disputes | Nuisance Neighbours

Unfortunately, not everyone is respectful in life, most of the time we just move on and keep our opinion to ourselves, but when that comes to where we live you ..

Employment Law Solicitors for Employers.

Employment Law Solicitors for Employers. If you're the employer of people, you want excellent solicitor's representation that giving expert advice...

Government to introduce New Homes Ombudsman

The government announces a New Homes Ombudsman to protect consume..

link

Property Surveys.

Understand the different Survey options available to you if you are buying a property...

Mediation Solicitors.

Mediation Solicitors.
Mediation is a process during which a couple is helped by an impartial third party (a mediator). ..

Employment Contracts

Everyone who is working as an employee should have an employment contract and as with all contracts this sets out the terms of the employment, and will include ..

Tenancy terms reviewed.

Minimum rental terms of three years could be introduced under new..

link

Understand Conveyancing Quotes

When you look for a conveyancing solicitor to act for you we recommend that you contact a few to compare price, obviously price is not the only factor you look ..

Licensing Law Solicitors | Solicitors.com

Licensing Solicitors.
Licensing Law Solicitors can advise you on any licensing matter including, premises licensing (food and alcohol), entertainment, betti..

Landlord Solicitors - solicitors.com

Landlord Solicitors. Landlord solicitors will be able to advise Landlords and Letting Agents of residential property on all issues arising out of residential te..

Image Description
Is there anything wrong with this page? - any amendments will receive accreditation - email us

Solicitors.com are not a firm of solicitors, and any content on the site should not be used in substitute for obtaining Legal advice from a solicitor regulated in the UK, Solicitors.com recommends that you contact a firm of solicitors to discuss your individual legal requirement. Whilst we strive to bring you accurate up to date content, all content on this site is not legal advice and is not guaranteed to be correct. Use of this site does not create a client relationship.

Information by area of law
Back to top