Renting, selling, buying or building a property? Then Energy Performace Certificates (EPCs) matter to you. 

Renting out or selling your property?

If you are selling or renting out your property, either privately or through an agent, you must

have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) for that property. 

The EPC must be produced by an accredited energy assessor .

To produce the EPC, the energy assessor will need to inspect the property and use information such as type of construction, heating system and lighting. 

An EPC is needed even if there is no heating system or services such as in commercial retail or warehouse units or incomplete dwellings. 

If you are unhappy with the content or quality of the EPC you should speak to the energy assessor and their accreditation body. 

The penalty for not complying with the above is £200 for dwellings and from £500-£5000 for any other property, and you can be fined more than once.

Wanting to buy or rent a property? 

When you first ask about a property which is for sale or rent, the owner or estate agent must show you its Energy Performance Certificate (EPC).

The EPC colour coded bar chart must also be included on all advertising materials such as brochures or on the website.

The EPC tells you which energy band the property falls into. It uses a colour coded bar chart with a scale of A to G, similar to washing machines or fridges where: 

A is very good, which means the property will be less expensive to run. 

G is very poor which means the property will be more expensive to run.

The EPC will also come with cost effective recommendations to improve the energy efficiency of the building.

 You can also check if the property has an EPC by visiting https://epcrate.co.uk/ 

Estate agent or letting agent responsibilities

A property (or building unit) cannot be  advertised for sale or rent without an Energy Performance Certificate. 

Any commercial media used to advertise a property such as brochures, leaflets,  websites or classified must contain the coloured bar chart energy indicator from the EPC.  

Where there is not enough space to include the colour coded chart energy indicator on advertisements such as  newspaper or websites, the EPC energy rating must be stated for example EPC F36. 

Legally you must show the EPC to anyone who makes an enquiry about a property,when they first ask about the property.  

The penalty for not complying with these laws is £200 for each breach, and you can be fined more than once.