Domestic EPC

A domestic EPC (Energy performance Certificate) is a report which shows how energy efficient a domestic building is. A building is officially classified as ‘domestic’ when there is only one family living in it – regardless of whether it is a permanent residency or semi-permanent. All residential buildings must have had an EPC assessment carried out if it is to be rented out or sold.

A domestic EPC gives your home an energy efficiency rating of between A and G, with A being the most energy efficient that is possible and G being very poor. Having a good energy efficiency rating can be good for attracting buyers or tenants to your home as it means they will have reduced fuel costs in the future.

Domestic EPC Explained

Why Do I need Domestic EPC?

If you are planning on selling or renting out your residential property, it is a legal requirement to have a domestic EPC carried out. This has been the law since 2008 and it is designed to help potential buyers or tenants make an informed decision about buying or renting the property.

The domestic EPC not only gives information about the current state of the property’s energy efficiency, but will also include recommendations about how to improve it.

Landlords or sellers must apply for their domestic EPC before they put the property on the market or out to rent.

There are also some government grants which can be accessed to get funding towards energy saving measures, including the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) and the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund (GDHIF). For these grants, home owners will also need to have an EPC.

Benefits of having Domestic EPC

Whilst it is obligatory for home owners to have a domestic EPC if they are looking to sell or rent their property, there are other benefits as well.

Firstly, your domestic EPC will give you (and future occupants) the chance to see how energy efficient your house is now, but also in the future. The recommendations that are given mean that you can make your property more attractive to potential buyers or tenants by making it more energy efficient.

A domestic EPC will give you a good understanding of the energy efficiency of your property at a glance, and it is simple and easy to make sense of.

Domestic EPC Validity

Your domestic EPC will last for 10 years – the same as a commercial EPC. Unless you make significant changes to your property, you will not need another one, and likewise, if you have had an assessment done in the last 10 years and haven’t made any changes to your home, you don’t need a new one.

Domestic EPC Exemption

Some homes don’t need to have an Energy Performance Certificate according to law. These are:

• Temporary buildings that will be used for less than 2 years

• Stand-alone buildings with a total useful floor space of less than 50m2

• Industrial sites, workshops and non-residential agricultural buildings that don’t use a lot of energy

• Some buildings that are due to be demolished

• Holiday accommodation that is rented out for less than 4 months per year or is let under a licence to occupy

• Listed buildings – get advice from your local authority conservation officer if energy efficiency work would alter the building’s character

• Residential buildings which are intended to be used for less than 4 months a year

We recommend that if you think that your house is exempt from the EPC requirement, you check with a specialist to ensure that you are covered.

Domestic EPC Penalty

The law is very clear on its requirement for domestic EPCs. The responsibility is on the current owner to make sure that they have a residential EPC if they are selling or renting out the property.

If the property is a dwelling, the fine for not having an EPC is £200.

You can legally market your property once that you have booked your EPC, even if you haven’t had it yet. Proof that you have booked your assessment is enough

Domestic EPC Cost

Our domestic EPC prices vary according to the size of your property, but they start from only £40 . We offer competitive prices to home owners and a free, no obligation quote.

Assessor visit procedures for a Domestic EPC

The amount of time that our energy assessor will spend at your home depends on its size, and the degree of access that they have to the house.

Our energy assessor will look at a number of factors in the house, including:

• The size of the building

• Your lighting

• Cavity wall and loft insulation

• Hot water and central heating systems

• The energy efficiency of the windows

• Ventilation