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Who Needs An EPC?

Since the introduction of the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) Legislation that was introduced in England and Wales back in April 2018, owners of properties that are used for domestic and non-domestic purposes need to get an EPC if they want to:

Sell the commercial or residential premises
Rent out or let the commercial or residential premises
Add a new build or extension to the commercial or residential premises

EPC for property sales

The MEES legislation means that anyone who owns a residential or commercial property and wants to sell it, must have an EPC in place, or applied for, at the time of listing the property on the market.

The estate agent handling the sale must upload the EPC to the property details within 28 days of listing it for sale.

Before the sale of the property can be completed, the EPC must have been created and added to the national EPC register, which is a database maintained by the government and can be found here.

EPC for renting out premises

If you own a commercial or domestic property and you wish to let it out and act as a landlord, then you must make sure that an EPC is available for the property.

Since April 2018, it is a legal requirement that all landlords have an EPC in place and that the energy efficiency rating is graded as E or above. In other words, a property that has been graded as F or G for energy performance should not be rented out until improvements are made.

Any landlord that ignores the requirement for an EPC or refuses to improve the grading to E or above (apart from cases that have been granted an appropriate exemption), will be liable for a penalty charge of up to £2000.

How are surveys carried out for EPCs?

Unfortunately, it is not possible to do a remote inspection for an EPC survey and they must be carried out in person. Therefore, if you book an EPC survey with us, we will send an assessor to the relevant property to inspect it thoroughly.

The energy efficiency assessor will check all the sections and elements of the building, taking measurements and photographs where required. The assessor will write up a report and input the data into specialist software to calculate the energy efficiency grading for the property.

We will then generate the EPC documentation for you within 48 hours of the survey being completed and it will be emailed directly to you.

Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) EPC for New Builds and Extensions

A SAP EPC is a special type of certificate that is reserved for new build commercial properties and converted or extended buildings. For instance, a warehouse that extends its floor space will need a SAP EPC before it can be sold or rented out.

The process for getting a SAP EPC is different to a standard commercial EPC. The person or persons who are getting the work done need to complete a SAP EPC to comply with Building Regulations.

A SAP EPC differs from a normal commercial EPC, as it only involves a desktop assessment of the building by a certified SAP energy assessor, not a personal visit. The building design can be assessed and calculations made within the specialist software to create an initial document which is known as a Predicted Energy Assessment (PEA). The PEA is an unofficial certificate that can be used to gain compliance with building regulations before the works are completed.

The SAP EPC is issued after completion of the works and when everything is at the building control sign-off stage. Once the SAP EPC has been completed, listed, and registered, then it is the same as a standard commercial EPC and is valid for ten years.

Please note that DirectEPC cannot arrange standard site surveys for EPCs on new build, extensions, or conversions, as it will not pass an audit. A SAP EPC must be issued instead.