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Written by rosalind renshaw

Neither the NAEA nor RICS responded to the recent consultation on Energy Performance Certificates, a highly-placed source has claimed.

The consultation, described as informal, was launched jointly by Andrew Stunnell of CLG and Lord Marland of the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

A spokeswoman for the DECC declined to say who had responded but has confirmed that there were around 100 responses.

The RICS appeared to confirm that it has been left in the dark about changes to EPC regulations which will affect all estate agents and letting agents, as well as agents of commercial property, and are due to be implemented on July 1.

In a memo to members, the RICS said it was seeking an urgent meeting with the Government.

The memo says: “RICS is aware that CLG (Communities and Local Government) proposes that from July 2011 agents will become responsible for both domestic and commercial Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs).

“Currently, only owners bear the responsibility for commercial EPCs, with agents carrying no responsibility, other to inform owners that one is required.

“Under the terms of this new proposal, agents will become responsible for both and will be required to meet the regulatory and compliance standards as set out in the current legislation (Energy Performance of Buildings Directive 2002).

“RICS understands that CLG intends to remove the option for the EPC to be in place at time of contract and that it should be available at the point of marketing the property. The requirement for an upfront EPC is in anticipation of the recast EPBD which will introduce EPC ratings with adverts in 2013.

“RICS is in discussions with both CLG and DECC to ensure that practical steps are taken to ensure that agents are in a position to provide this information.

“Given the current timescales and practical obstacles which need to be overcome, RICS has urged the Government to meet with us to discuss this matter in full as a matter of priority.”

As reported on yesterday’s Letting Agent Today, the implementation of new rules on EPCs appears to be fraught with confusion, with suggestions that civil servants at the two departments are still discussing whether a full EPC should be attached to every set of property particulars.

EPC providers have, however, been told that the full EPC will be needed, and that simply putting in the ratings will no longer be acceptable from July 1.

However, the official memo is headed ‘draft’.

It is understood that civil servants are considering a proposal to make it mandatory for a shortened, double-sided A4 version to be included. This suggestion, which could kick in later, on October 1, could be put out to consultation.

Other changes seem certain to be implemented on July 1, and will affect both letting and sales agents.

Agents will be required to have ordered an EPC before any marketing can start. On and after July 1, the EPC will have to be in place within seven days after marketing has commenced – not the current 28 days – although there is something of a let-out clause.

The memo says that ‘reasonable’ efforts must be made to secure the EPC within seven days, but if the EPC is still not in place, the ‘relevant person has a further 21 days to do so’.

The ‘relevant person’ could be the seller or landlord, as is the case at the moment, but for the first time the definition includes someone acting on their behalf – ie, the letting or sales agent, or possibly their solicitor.

Trading Standards Officers will have the power to request proof from agents that the EPC has been ordered and to view the actual EPC seven days after marketing has begun.

The memo says: “This means, for example, that TSOs will be authorised to require estate agents to produce evidence showing that an EPC has been commissioned where they are marketing a building without one.”

The new EPC requirements also affect non-residential buildings which are being sold or rented out.

The new rules will also be amended to remove what CLG says is the “erroneous belief that the provision of the EPC can be delayed until shortly before the parties enter into a contract for sale or rent. This will be achieved by deleting the words ‘before entering into a contract to sell or rent the building or, if sooner’ in Regulation 5(2)(b) of the EPC Regulations”.
 
The memo ends by saying that the changes will affect all properties marketed after July 1.

Comments

  • icon

    @Mike Wilson, I wish he'd stop feeding you!

    For several months now it has been known within the EPC industry that changes were coming this April. Already 18th is a day for many white van man to go under as the new RdSap regime starts and they can't get the current process right!

    As for NAEA & RIC's, I suspect they were deliberatley left out. Why? Could it be that they would be on the other side of the fence of normality? Full EPC's are not practicable or can even be implemented on every aspect of sales marketing.

    As for the comment of buyer or tenant not getting his copy full report, errr someone doesn't know his stuff. Yes they do, if not ask the solicitor why he hasn't handed it over. The agent will have supplied it to him. It dosen't redress the private landlord who hides it from his tenant in fear of being asked to upgrade his hovel!

    • 14 April 2011 15:17 PM
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    Keep them all, I want to gloat and watch prices fall as I have neglected my poor 4 year old son who works at 26 jobs, 7 days a week whilst I bask in my 6 figure salary, working in a lush office, so he won’t emigrate when old enough and so he can keep me in style, whilst never owning anything as he is feeding me.

    • 14 April 2011 12:26 PM
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    @bigG

    A very good example of Blah! :-0)

    • 14 April 2011 09:51 AM
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    Blah, blah, blah , blah boring, blah, blah waste of time, blah blah, nobody gives a flying fish, blah blah, are you stupid, blah blah, double glazing saves energy, blah blah, yes it is a glorious character family home, blah but buy the modern one instead, blah, blah, because the graph , blah blah, says its better, blah, blah, oh you dont care about the graph rating, blah, blah, because you are buying a house to live in, blah blah, not a fridge freezer or a washing machine, blah blah..............

    • 13 April 2011 18:00 PM
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    @linniR
    I cannot agree with you - do you think that most people are incapable understanding a graph?

    Please read my full post. I indicated that before any real decision is made the full EPC could be required to be made available and that is all that is needed. Anything more than an indication (the graph) on every single FIRST enquiry is a complete waste.

    • 13 April 2011 17:00 PM
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    how come when i had two identical empty factory units surveyed several months apart, they came out miles apart, even the assesor didnt know why. he said it was new software. but in the report they sugest a condensing boiler, why the hell do i want a condensing boiler in a factory, when they only last 5yrs anyway. low energy bulbs so you need twice as many. its utter garbage, jobs for the boys i recon.

    • 13 April 2011 16:58 PM
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    "when the graph is more than adequate." - sorry, it's not, which is one reason for this change.

    Research has shown that many housebuyers, and an even larger proportion of people who rent, don't see the full EPC, not even after they've bought or rented the home. Maybe they don't ask to see the EPC since they believe, incorrectly, that they have already seen it. That is, they've seen the A-G graphic presented to them by agents as being the EPC, and as far as they are aware, that is the entire EPC. How could they know otherwise if no-one tells them?

    Every time a new occupier sees only the A-G graphic, and fails to see the full EPC, they miss out on the opportunity to decide whether to reduce their fuel bills by making their new home more energy efficient. So the requirement to provide the EPC with particulars, not just the graphic, is there to put right this mistake.

    It's a pity that it has had to be mandated, it should have been done voluntarily, but this did not happen.

    • 13 April 2011 16:08 PM
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    Yes, Anon Coward, let's have lots more paper that no one looks at.
    The biggest saving would be to abolish the DECC. How are they going to change the climate, anyway?

    • 13 April 2011 12:46 PM
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    Oh god - just get on with it already. It is important to know for environmental reasons - but for god's sake we are wasting so much ENERGY on it.

    • 13 April 2011 12:27 PM
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    @PeeBee

    I support your comment - "And as for the NAEA...?"

    Where indeed. However, why are they not all in there, the NFoPP, NAEA, ARLA, RICS - giving them the facts of the impracticality and costs of automatically having to provide a FULL EPC on FIRST enquiry when the graph is more than adequate. At the start of serious negotiation or an offer it could be made a requirement for it to be then immediately provided in full? Common sense should prevail.

    • 13 April 2011 12:16 PM
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    I spoke with my local chief TSO back in April 2010 and he advised me that unless someone complains about the lack of a Non-Dom EPC, his department would not be policing the issue, as there is no directly allocated funding.

    What is being missed here is that most older Non-Dom buildings have massive potential for energy savings, which an EPC identifies. Outside of fulfilling the legal requirements, there is money to be saved year on year.

    • 13 April 2011 10:25 AM
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    Hmmm... so "urgent" that it has taken them OVER A WEEK from the original story breaking to issue this one...

    And as for the NAEA...?

    • 13 April 2011 10:24 AM
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    What a complete waste of time. Has Andrew Stunnell or Lord Marland of the Department of Energy and Climate Change evr been involved in selling a house. Buyers in the UK do NOT want to know about EPC's. They are not a key factor in the final decision making process when choosing a new house.
    Adding a full EPC to estate agents sales particulars is complete nonsense. Come on everybody- lets get this one sorted out before it's too late........

    • 13 April 2011 09:45 AM
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