Requirement for all dwellings to have an EPC
CLG have
confirmed that all homes still on the market, whether ‘new’ or ‘second hand’, will require an EPC from 1 October.
This is regardless of any exemptions that were previously applicable.
Validity period for Domestic EPCs
After opposition from RICS in 2007, CLG
consulted on the maximum age an EPC could be when it was included in a HIP. Under the EU Directive,
an EPC can be valid for up to 10 years.
RICS argued that for an EPC to have a validity of anything less than 10 years would be ‘gold-plating’. National
Energy Services and other industry bodies argued that for an EPC to have
maximum credibility and be most likely to be acted upon, it would need to have a maximum age of one year.
CLG consulted from December 2007
to 9 March 2008. The consultation set out a range of scenarios, modelling
validity periods of 1, 3, 5, and 7 years against a base case of 10 years. Following analysis of the 23 responses, including
representations from RICS, the Government has decided that there should be a 3 year validity
period. This applies to marketed homes, whether “second hand” or “new”.
CLG have stated that “Evidence
will continue to be gathered to inform future decisions on the appropriate validity period”,
and National Energy Services will continue to push for a shorter validity period
