EPC Rating
Qualified & accredited assessor, accurate rating, fast turnaround, no hidden fees.
Energy Performance Certificates (EPC’s)
Energy Performance certificates are needed whenever a property is built, sold or rented. You must obtain a current EPC before you market your property for sale or rent. When advertising a rental property you must display your Landlord Registration number and your EPC rating. In Scotland you must also display the EPC somewhere in the property. An EPC lasts for 10 years. EPC’s became a legal requirement from the 1st August 2007, so many EPC’s are no longer valid. It is important to check that your EPC is current. Elite inventory and property services are qualified Domestic Energy Assessors and accreditiated to produce EPC’s in England, Wales and Scotland. The cost of our EPC includes lodgement on the EPC register, insurance and travel within a 40 mile radius of Lockerbie, there are no hidden fees! For landlords affected by the new MEES (minimum energy efficiency standards) we can carry out an EPR (Energy Performance Report) which will highlight an up to date rating and improvements required to meet the MEES. This is not lodged on the central EPC register. Once the improvements have been carried out we would then produce an EPC which would be lodged.
Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards
As from the 1st April 2018 there will be a requirement for any properties rented out in the private rented sector to normally have a minimum energy performance rating of E on an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). The regulations will come into force for new lets and renewals of tenancies with effect from 1st April 2018 and for all existing tenancies on 1st April 2020 for domestic private rented sector properties in England and Wales. It will be unlawful to rent a property which breaches the requirement for a minimum E rating, unless there is an applicable exemption. A civil penalty of up to £4,000 will be imposed for breaches.There are separate regulations effective from 1st April 2016 under which a tenant can apply for consent to carry out energy efficiency improvements in privately rented properties. For most landlords this will mean that they will no longer be able to rent out a property with a rating of F or G after April 1st 2018. As such landlords with properties in this EPC bracket should begin preparing now for April 1st.
When energy efficiency improvements are compulsory
Where at any time on or after 1st April 2018 a landlord lets a privately rented property which is F or G rated on a current legally required EPC then energy efficiency improvements must be carried out to bring the property up to at least an E rating before the property is rented out, unless the landlord qualifies for an exemption and the exemption is registered on the Public Exemptions Register.
Continuing Tenancies
From 1st April 2020 the Minimum Energy Efficiency requirement will apply to continuing tenancies where there is a valid current EPC for the property, and an EPC is legally required to be in place. The property must therefore be brought up to the minimum E rating before 1st April 2020 to comply with the Regulations, unless an exemption is available and is claimed by being registered in the Public Exemptions Register.
Scotland – Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards
Currently there is no minimum EPC rating or Action Plan required for private domestic properties in Scotland. However, the Scottish Government is currently consulting on the introduction of a minimum EPC rating requirement for private rented housing in Scotland. The consultation proposes that the minimum standard for these properties would initially be Band E and would then be raised to Band D. There is a suggestion that the minimum rating would be raised further at a later stage. The initial trigger would be new tenancies granted from 1 April 2019.