It is a legal requirement to have an EPC on domestic and commercial buildings if:
• You are renting out a property
• You are building a new property
• You are selling a property
It has been a legal requirement since the 1st of October 2008. If you do not have a valid EPC, you are liable for a fine. EPC’s are valid for 10 years.
The responsibility of providing an EPC is the House/building owner, Landlord or Builder.
If you are a home/building owner selling or a landlord letting your property, you have 7 days to provide an EPC once the property is marketed for sale or to let. If you are a builder, the EPC will be required by building control to sign off the build.
If the property is being sold from the plan, a PEA (Predicted Energy Assessment) can be used for marketing purposes. The energy assessor can provide this to the builder.
There are several exemptions where you do not have to provide an EPC.
You do not have to provide an EPC if:
• The property is listed
• The property is a temporary building that will only be used for 2 years or less
• The property is used as a place of worship
• Non dwellings with a floor area of less than 50m2
• Industrial buildings, workshops and non-residential agricultural buildings with a low energy demand
An EPC is an energy survey that ranks your property on a scale of A to G – there is no pass or fail.
However, if you are renting out a domestic dwelling, as of April 2020, the law requires the EPC to show a minimum rating of E.