Changes to EPC Certificates and the EPC Register for September 2020
If you’ve bought or sold a property recently you’ll probably be familiar with a 4-page PDF report called an Energy Performance Certificate, or EPC for short.
On the 19th of September 2020, the government took the first step towards Property Passports and launched a new, more modern version of the EPC certificate.
Do I need an EPC certificate?
If you are looking to market your property for sale or to let, you will need a valid EPC certificate for your property. It is a legal requirement to have a valid EPC for properties marketed for sale or let. In short, the document confirms how energy-efficient a property is, with A being extremely efficient and G being terribly inefficient. EPC’s are valid for 10 years from the date of assessment.
What’s changed?
The certificate has a new contemporary layout and has features exclusive to the digital version. There will no longer be a PDF document but, instead, an interactive online adaptation which will also include additional information such as ‘Rules on letting this property’.
If you are looking for the EPC Certificate for a property you are interested in buying, selling or letting out, a consumer-friendly website has been launched to host the England and Wales EPC Register. From here, you can search for any valid EPC Certificate.
Searches can still be carried out by postcode or certificate number but in addition they can now be carried out using only the street name and town, which may make your search a little easier.
What does this mean for me?
If you aren’t interested in buying, selling or letting a property, it doesn’t mean much. But for those who are interested in a property’s energy rating and how to improve it, you’ll need to know where to go.
