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Energy Performance Certificate In the Capital

In London, in order to sell or let a property the owner of the property must first commission an EPC or Energy Performance Certificate to be undertaken. This is, however, unless the property falls under the exemption criteria in which case an EPC certificate does not need to be provided. These include: places of worship, buildings that are scheduled for demolishment, industrial buildings, standalone buildings with a floor space of less than 50m2, buildings in use for less than 2 years, holiday accommodation letted for less that 4 months a year and listed buildings. If a London property does not fall under any of these however, an EPC certificate must be provided before the property can be listed for market or within a specified period of time of it being advertised. Failure to provide an EPC certificate to prospective buyers or tenants can result in hefty fees from a local London council office and even further fees if these are not responded to.

It is, however, very easy to schedule an EPC survey to be conducted especially within London, and rarely takes longer than one hour. During an inspection, an EPC assessor will analyse the property for its energy efficiency by taking measurements of various aspects of the home as well as recording items that are present or absent. These include whether high wattage light bulbs are used, whether cavities are insulated and with what material, how the property is constructed, whether the construction has been altered since originally being built, settings on the thermostat as well as the type and use of boilers among others. All of these factors will then be used by the assessor to formulate an estimate of the energy efficiency of the property which is summarised by the EPC graded rating. The highest EPC grading that can be achieved is an A while the lowest is a G, however as of April 2018 the lowest acceptable grade is an E and anyone with a lower rating will be required to make changes to improve their rating. In addition to a rating, the EPC report will contain details about the carbon footprint of the property and provide suggestions about how the EPC grade can be improved. In order for any improvements to be reflected in the score however, a new EPC survey must be commissioned. Finding an assessor to complete the survey is easy and can be done by searching on the online registry for accredited Domestic Energy Assessor’s or by contacting your local London council for details of local EPC assessors.

Thanks to EPC Certificate London for providing us with this insight. 

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Topics

  • Environmental politics

Regions

  • England