Why do I need an Energy Performance Certificate?

It is a legal requirement that all residential and commercial property within the UK that is available to either purchase or rent must have a valid Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). If you are selling your home the EPC must be valid for the entire marketing and conveyancing timescale. 

The EPC will show the potential costs involved for lighting, heating and hot water at the property and also the buildings energy efficiency in the form of an A - G graph here A is he most efficient and G the least.
This could be useful information to any potential purchasers or tenants.

Any new build properties must have a valid EPC lodged on the central register once they have been built, there should also be a Predicted Energy Assessment available from the developer prior to building work being completed.

EPCs can also be beneficial to existing homeowners who are not looking to move. The Energy Performance Certificate will show areas that can be improved upon, such as a new boiler, replacement windows or insulation measures.

For existing or new landlords the Energy Performance Certificate becomes increasingly important following the introduction of the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards for rental properties and the requirement for all tenants to receive a copy of the EPC. We will cover this topic in a later post.