When is an Energy Performance Certificate not required?

You will not be required to produce an EPC certificate London if:

You are selling your property and have reasonable grounds to believe that the buyer intends to demolish it on purchase. If you are constructing a building and have notified Building Control of its completion before 30th September 2008, you will not be required to provide them with a copy of an Energy Performance Certificate. However, you will still be required to provide an EPC certificate cost the UK to the prospective buyer or tenant.

Rooms for residential purposes such as a room in a hostel, a hotel, a boarding house, a hall of residence, etc. are not classified as a dwelling and so are excluded from the requirement to provide an EPC certificate London on sale or rental. This is because a room for residential purposes is not self-contained. However, the building may need a DEC if it meets the necessary criteria and would require it if sold or rented out in its entirety.

The following buildings are exempt and therefore do not require an Energy Performance Certificate:

1. buildings used as places of worship and for religious activities,
2. stand-alone buildings of less than 50 m2 that are not dwellings,
3. industrial sites, workshops and non-residential agricultural buildings with low energy demand,
4. temporary buildings with a planned time of use of 2 years or less, and
5. non-residential agricultural buildings that are in use by a sector covered by a national sectoral agreement on energy performance.

Why does my house have a potential energy rating higher than its current energy rating?

The current energy rating given on the Energy Performance Certificate is based on the features of the house was built and any subsequent energy efficiency improvements undertook e.g. additional insulation. The accompanying recommendation report lists any additional cost-effective measures that assessor has identified to further improve the energy efficiency of the house. By carrying out these additional cost-effective measures you can achieve your potential energy rating.

Why is the energy rating for my newly built house lower than the typical new build rating shown as a benchmark on the EPC?

Builders tend to get approval for a large number of dwellings on development and to build them over some years. In the meantime, the building regulations thermal requirements may have been improved but the builder is still legally entitled to build to the previous regulations’ standards. This means that the new home you buy may not include the latest provisions for the conservation of fuel and power. The Energy Performance Certificate cost shows a benchmark rating for a ‘Typical new build’. If the EPC rating for your new home is lower than this figure it is not built to the current building regulations’ standards.

Does each apartment or flat need a separately generated EPC certificate in the UK?

The definition of a building in the Energy Performance Certificate regulations states that “a reference to a building includes a reference to a part of a building which has been designed or altered to be used separately”. Consequently, even though a building is divided into parts (or units), where the building could only be marketed and sold as a single building, then only one Energy Performance Certificate cost will be required. If, however, parts (or units) of the same building are being sold separately, then separate EPCs would be necessary. The critical factor is whether or not each part (or unit) of a building has a separate or common heating system.

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