An EPC is a certificate, issued by an assessor, which shows information about the energy efficiency of the property to which it relates. 

An EPC issued on or after 9 January 2013 must contain the following information:

The asset rating 

A recommendations report 

A reference number for the data on the EPC register 

Details of the property 

The date the EPC was issued 

Green Deal information 

The asset rating

The asset rating is a number which is a measure of the theoretical energy performance that this type of property could be expected to achieve, based on its method of construction, insulation, the services for heating or cooling it, and some standardised assumptions about how it will be used. It is not a realistic prediction of the actual energy performance that has been or could be achieved, because this is influenced by the way in which the current occupants use the property (for example, how many occupants there are in the family unit, how often they turn on the heating, whether they open the windows, and whether they put up partitioning which disrupts the air heating/cooling flow). Working out the asset rating of a shell and core unit is done on a hypothetical basis.

The asset rating and/or the energy performance rating are often referred to as the EPC rating. 

A recommendations report

In almost all cases the assessor must include recommendations for cost-effective improvements that could be made to the property to improve its energy efficiency. For EPCs issued on or after 9 January 2013, the recommendations are set out in the EPC (not issued as a separate report). The only time when recommendations can be omitted is “where there is no reasonable potential for energy performance improvements when compared to the energy performance requirements in force”.  The regulations are not clear on what this actually means. 

The recommendations should be divided into two groups:

Recommendations of work that can be done on major renovation of the property or of its systems for heating, cooling, ventilation, hot water or lighting.

Recommendations of work that can be done to individual building elements, which can be done without major renovation of the building.

The property owner or occupier is not obliged to carry out the works just because they are listed in the recommendations report.

Details of the property

Details about the property include the address and the estimated total useful floor area of the property (which may be a whole building or only a building unit). In fact, the model EPC includes more extensive information including a description of the type of property (for example, whether it is detached, semi-detached, a flat or a bungalow) and details of its current energy related features (such as the existing insulation or boiler type).

The date the EPC was issued

The date that the EPC is issued is important, as it is used to judge whether the EPC is still valid.  

The general rule is that it must have been entered on the EPC register no more than ten years before the date it is made available.

When a new EPC is registered

When a new EPC is registered for the same property, the earlier EPC becomes redundant but both will appear on the EPC register. 

EPCs can be commissioned by both owners and occupiers of a property who may not be under any obligation to tell each other they have done so (sometimes a lease does oblige the tenant to tell the landlord). So the freehold owner, or long leaseholder, may not be aware that a new EPC has been commissioned by the tenant, or that the tenant has done extensive works resulting in a new EPC. This is why it is important to check the register for the latest EPC, rather than rely on a historic paper copy from the title deeds or the client’s file. 

Properties that are subject to a Green Deal plan

In outline, the Green Deal scheme requires both:

A new EPC to be issued on completion of the energy efficiency improvements to the property and entry into the Green Deal plan. Even if the Green Deal plan is entered into by the tenant of the property, the landlord will usually have received advance notice of this, so will be expecting a new EPC to be issued. This new EPC will replace any previous EPC for the same property in just the same way as an EPC that was commissioned voluntarily or issued following extensive alterations.

Information about the Green Deal affecting a property to be given to new owners or occupiers. Where this is done by disclosure of the EPC, the document supplied must be no more than 12 months old (so that the financial information disclosed on the extra Green Deal page will be reasonably up to date). 

Green Deal information

If the property is subject to a Green Deal plan that has not yet been repaid, then there will be an additional page to the EPC which sets out the information relating to that Green Deal plan. It is very important to look out for this page, as it will have implications for the validity of the EPC. It will be added to the EPC that is lodged on the EPC register but there can be a considerable time lag between the Green Deal plan being taken out on a property and the extra page appearing on the registered EPC. Subsequent updates (about the payments that have been made under the Green Deal plan, its financial terms, and other matters) will be sent to the EPC register to update it. Historic paper copies of the EPC will not reflect these changes, so it is important to always order the EPC from the EPC register, rather than rely on historic copies. 

When is an EPC relevant?

An EPC may be relevant in all of these situations:

Where an existing property is being sold or rented out.

Where a new property is built.

Where an existing property is altered, but only in a fairly significant way.

Where a property is subject to a Green Deal plan. The process for assessing a property for a Green Deal plan includes commissioning an EPC and subsequently updating this with the information relating to the Green Deal plan. This information must be disclosed to any new owner or occupier. This is often done by producing a copy of the EPC, in which case, a more recent EPC may be needed.

Where an existing property owner or occupier has done work to the property which will improve its energy efficiency, and wants to be able to show this to others (perhaps as part of their CSR agenda, or to encourage more interest in that property). Although there may be no compulsory trigger for commissioning a new EPC, obtaining a new one will demonstrate the improved EPC rating.

For some properties, public buildings for instance, it is compulsory to display the EPC.

There is no obligation to commission a first EPC for an existing property which is neither being sold, rented out or significantly altered. Nor is there any need to commission a replacement EPC for such a property, just because the existing EPC is more than 10 years old. Nor is a landlord under any obligation to commission a new EPC where the one provided to the tenant on the grant of the lease has ceased to be valid (perhaps due to the expiry of ten years from its first registration) if there is no change of tenant.

Duty to commission an EPC before marketing

The seller or landlord must commission an EPC before the property is put on the market. Anyone acting for the seller or landlord (for example, an agent) must be satisfied that the EPC has been commissioned.  The seller’s solicitor is not usually “acting for the seller” in connection with marketing the property, so is not caught by the duty.

Commissioning is only satisfied if all of the following have occurred:

The request to the assessor to carry out the EPC has been sent to the proper address.

The assessor, to whom the request was sent, is properly accredited for the type of property.

All the relevant information has been supplied to the assessor. This can be very extensive, particularly for commercial or mixed use property.

The assessor has been paid or an undertaking to make payment has been given.

Legitimate excuses for not making an EPC available

No EPC or copy EPC is required to be made available in these circumstances:

The seller/landlord believes, on reasonable grounds, that the prospective buyer/tenant is unlikely to have the necessary funds to complete the transaction.

The seller/landlord believes, on reasonable grounds, that the prospective buyer/tenant is not genuinely interested in buying or renting this type of property.

The seller/landlord considers, on reasonable grounds, that the prospective buyer/tenant is not someone they would be prepared to sell or rent to. The seller/landlord must avoid contravening the Equality Act 2010 when making this decision.

The property is exempt.

Which properties are exempt from the EPC requirements on sale or letting?

Properties which do not have a roof or do not have walls. For example, a multi-storey car park with open sides would not qualify.

Properties which use no energy to condition the indoor climate. This means properties which have no heating, ventilation or air conditioning equipment. 

Listed buildings or buildings within a conservation area but only “insofar as compliance with certain minimum energy performance requirements would unacceptably alter their character or appearance”.

Religious properties. Religious properties must be used as places of worship and for religious activities.  It is not clear whether both worship and religious activities must be satisfied or whether either will do.

Temporary properties with a time of use of two years or less.  

Industrial sites, workshops and non-residential agricultural properties with a low energy demand. 

Non-residential agricultural properties.

Residential properties which are not used for much of the year.  This is often called the “holiday let” exemption but is not confined to holiday lets. The basic rule is that the property must either:

be used or intended to be used for less than four months of the year; or

be used or intended to be used for a limited time each year, and be expected to consume less than 25% of the annual energy it would use if it were used all year.

Stand-alone properties which are smaller than 50 metres squared. 

Buildings earmarked for demolition.