Energy Performance Certificates (EPC)

Are you building, buying, selling or renting out a residential property?
Then Energy Performance Certificates matter to you.
Sellers, builders, developers and landlords - know your responsibilities.
Buyers and tenants - know your rights.

What is an EPC?
An EPC is an energy labelling system which has been introduced to measure the overall energy efficiency of buildings.

Who needs an EPC?
By law you must have an EPC if you are:

  • Selling your property,
  • Building a new property
  • Renovating or modifying your existing property, or
  • Renting out your property

  • What does it do?

    This certificate tells you which energy band your building falls into. It uses a scale of A to G, similar to labels on domestic white goods such as refrigerators and washing machines.

    A = very good, means the building costs less to heat
    G = very poor, means the building costs more to heat.

    An EPC is accompanied by:

    a list of cost effective measures that can be undertaken to improve the energy efficiency of the building, and
    the estimated cost savings for heating, lighting and hot water that can be made following each of the measures recommended in the list
    you do not have to take the recommendations on board, but if you do, your building will become more energy efficient and it will cost you less to run.

    Buying or newly renting a property?
    If you make an enquiry about a property the EPC for it should be made available to you. It is the responsibility of the person who owns the property to get an EPC. An EPC must be provided free of charge to you on request.

    If you buy a property your solicitor should get the EPC with other legal documents from the sellers solicitors.

    If you are renting your property you should be able to see its EPC. It is the responsibilty of the landlord to provide the EPC.

    What if the property I am buying or renting does not have an EPC?
    By law landlords and those selling properties must have an EPC at the time of sale or rental. If they do not have one they can be fined up to £200 for houses and between £500 - £5000 for any other property, and they can be fined more than once.

    Where can I get an EPC?
    Contact Thomas Orr, and we will arrange to inspect the property, take measurements and gather information on the building such as:-

  • type of construction
  • heating system
  • lighting, and
  • secondary heating

  • They will then use a specialist computer program to calculate the energy rating of the property.

    Depending on the size, for a house most assessments take about one hour and costs will vary from about £50 - £150.

    Other properties may take longer to assess and costs will also vary depending on the complexity and area of the building.

    What is done with my EPC?
    EPCs are held on the National Landmark Register which you can access on www.niepcregister.com

    Accredited assessors can update or recalculate EPCs on this register if any changes have been made to the building.

    Every EPC has a unique reference number which you can use to check its validity.

    EPCs are valid for 10 years.

    More Information
    Freephone the Building Control EPC team on 0800 022 3004, or visit any of the following websites;

    www.buildingcontrol-ni.com

    www.dfpni.gov.uk/energy-performance-of-buildings