There are some buildings that are exempt from the legal requirement for an EPC, these are as follows:
- temporary buildings that will be used for less than 2 years
- stand-alone buildings with total useful floor space of less than 50 square metres
- industrial sites, workshops and non-residential agricultural buildings that do not use a lot of energy
- some buildings that are due to be demolished
- holiday accommodation that’s rented out for less than 4 months a year or is let under a licence to occupy
- listed buildings – you should get advice from your local authority conservation officer if the work would alter the building’s character
- residential buildings intended to be used less than 4 months a year
- places of worship
An EPC lasts for 10 years from the date of the assessment and is available to view online, to see if your building has a valid EPC search for the ‘EPC Register’ online and follow the instructions.
If you have made any structural changes, added any extensions to a property or changed the potential thermal performance of a property (such as upgraded the windows and doors, added more insulation to any part of the structure or changed/added to any part of the heating or lighting system) it would be beneficial to have a new EPC commissioned even if the current EPC does not expire any time soon.
From 2020 the legal requirement for all rented properties on terms of energy efficiency performance was set to an E rating, this means that if your EPC has not got a rating of E or better you are unable to rent the property out legally. From 2030 this rating will be increased to C or better.
An EPC is a great place to start when considering improving the performance of a property, they contain recommendations and show the potential improvement and cost savings that improving the property would result in.
Should you want a more in depth analysis and recommendation, you should speak to a Retrofit Assessor or coordinator.
Your Domestic Energy Assessor (DEA) is not qualified to discuss these topics in depth with you or make any recommendation as to how to go about the process of increasing the performance of your property.
Contact Teesside Energy Solutions, EPC provider in Middlesbrough, today by clicking here.