Energy performance certificates

If you're planning on selling your home, you must provide an energy performance certificate (EPC), free of charge to potential buyers.

An EPC gives information on the energy efficiency of a property using A to G ratings, with A being the most energy efficient and G the least efficient. The certificate is produced by an accredited domestic energy assessor.

You and anyone acting on your behalf, for example, an estate agent, must try to ensure that an EPC is available within 7 days of the property first being put on the market.

From 9 January 2013, all sales advertisements for properties, for example, on the internet, in newspapers and magazines, or written material about the property, should show the EPC rating.

Trading Standards can issue a notice with a penalty charge of £200 per dwelling, where an EPC is not provided.

Where there is a Green Deal plan on a property for which payments are still to be made, information about this must be included on the EPC.

Mandatory EPC rating of C required by October 2030

An update to the Warm Homes Plan was released last month that has confirmed that landlords will need to reach an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of C by October 2030 for their rental properties, unless they have a valid exception.

The current EPC has a minimum requirement of E, however before this announcement landlords had to meet a 2028 compliance deadline.

Under this plan the Government expects to lift hundreds of thousands of households out of fuel poverty, however this is no small task as there are currently 2.5 million homes in England that will need improvements to meet an EPC C or above.

As part of the plan, a spending cap has been introduced so the maximum amount landlords will need to pay for improvements is £10,000, and any improvements made from October 2025 will count towards the cap.

Financing options to be made available

The Government has said a range of financing options will be made available to landlords as part of the plan, including pledging £2.7 billion to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS), and £5 billion to the Warm Homes Fund which is available to landlords depending on their local authority area.

Additionally personal investments would also be eligible as an ‘allowable expense’ and can be tax-deductible.

Extended validity periods

Validity periods for EPC certificates will also be increased to 10 years (up from the previous 5), so once you get an EPC rating it’ll be recognised for the next decade.

This will also be the case for homes that achieve an EPC of C before the new compliance date, which could be handy for landlords, as a new consultation has just been launched into the way EPCs are calculated.

While the impact of this announcement remains to be seen, this new deadline provides a tiny bit of breathing room for landlords to make these home improvements.

What is Gas Safe Register?

Gas Safe Register is the official gas registration body in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey.

By law, all gas businesses and engineers must be on the Gas Safe Register. It was established to replace CORGI as the official gas safety organisation in 2009.