Scotland: All tenants who rent a property on or after 4 January 2009 must be provided with EPC (ie new tenancies) .An individual EPC will only be valid for a period of ten years. If major works were to be undertaken during this period, building owners may choose to update the certificate, however, this is not mandatory.
Legislation for Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) for all new buildings was introduced in Scotland on 1 May 2007. For existing buildings, an EPC will be required when the property is sold or rented out to new tenants. Once in place an EPC is valid for 10 years.
Who can Produce an EPC?
In Scotland, there is no specified qualification for energy assessors.The Scottish Government has entered into protocol with professional organisations/institutions whose members already have an understanding of the building/energy sectors. Only members of protocol organisations may produce EPCs for existing buildings. The Scottish Building Standards (SBS) has entered into protocols with The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers, Scotland (CIBSE Scotland), The Association of Building Engineers (ABE), The Energy Institute (EI), The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), The Heating and Ventilation Contractors Association (HVCA), Building Research Establishment (BRE), National Energy Services (NES) and Elmhurst to deliver services in relation to Energy Performance Certificates.
Northern Ireland: Energy Performance Certificates will be required for all property sales and rentals by the end of December 2008. Homes and commercial - when sold, built or rented will need an energy performance certificate (EPC). Public buildings will also need to display a display energy performance certificate (DEC). This initiative is the result of European legislation - the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive - which all member states must adopt.
This law for Energy Performance Certificates in domestic rental properties came into effect in England and Wales in October 2008.
A similar scheme applies in the Republic of Ireland from the 1st January 2009 and their certificates are called Building Energy Rating - Certificates (BER).
If you are a tenant who is about to move into a property on or after the 1st January 2009, make sure you are provided with a copy of the appropriate certificate. If you are a Landlord make sure that you have the certificate and let your letting agent or tenant have a copy for all new lets with new tenants as otherwise you could be fined for breaking the law.
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