EAT has been pressing CLG for weeks about the changes to EPCs.
Unfortunately, lack of communication meant that we were unable to include CLG’s views in our coverage. However, the department did respond on Friday, and in the interests of fairness, we are happy to put all their points.
What EAT said on February 29:
“Changes to rules about EPCs are due to be implemented on April 6 – but with just over five weeks to go, the whole matter appears to be in total disarray.”
What CLG said on March 9:
Changes to the Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspection) (England and Wales) Regulations were laid before Parliament on 13 October 2011 (at this point they were publicly available). A summary note of the changes has been circulated to various organisations, including estate agents, since 23 September 2011.
What EAT said:
It raises questions as to whether the changes can really happen when they are due, on Good Friday, although late yesterday afternoon – after a series of persistent phone calls by EAT to the relevant government press office – Communities and Local Government insisted that it would be issuing guidance to agents this week.
What CLG said:
It is normal practice for Regulations to come into force on a Common Commencement Date. The fact that 6 April 2012 falls on Good Friday is purely coincidental.
What EAT said:
If there were a delay, it would not be the first: the EPC changes were due to be implemented last July 1, and then in October. Both dates passed with nothing happening – and very little information to give to agents, who will run the risk of breaching legislation.
What CLG said:
A summary note of the changes has been circulated to various organisations, including estate agents, since 23 September 2011. The Regulations have already laid before in Parliament and will come into force on 6 April.
What EAT said:
It is understood that the new version of the EPC, from which one page will have to be attached to agents’ particulars, has not yet even been approved.
What CLG said:
This is not the case. The EPC for domestic properties has undergone a major change to its content and format. Those changes were approved last year and the revised EPC will be released on 1 April 2012.
What EAT said:
New powers will be given to Trading Standards to intervene after 28 days and demand to see either the EPC or evidence that the EPC was ordered before marketing began, with agents potentially facing £200 fines per failed inspection.
What CLG said:
The power to require the production of documents has been extended to include persons acting on behalf of the seller or landlord. This means Trading Standards Officers 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 has been reduced to seven days.
What EAT said:
Agents should also note that in another change, it is they and not the seller who will be legally responsible for the EPC. For letting agents, pending any further clarification, the situation is different in that it is the prospective landlord who is responsible for the EPC.
What CLG said:
This is a false assumption based a misinterpretation of the Regulations. The relevant person is required to make available free of charge a valid EPC to any prospective buyer or tenant. The ‘relevant person’, as defined by the Regulations, means in relation to a building which is sold, the seller, and in relation which is being rented out, the prospective landlord. Where there is a requirement, as defined in Regulation 6 of the EPB Regulations (as amended), to attach a copy of the front page of the EPC to written particulars, in essence this is where ‘an agent’ proposes to provide written particulars to a person (i.e. a specific individual) who may be interested in buying or renting the building, then the person acting on behalf of the relevant person (i.e. the agent) will be responsible for providing a copy of the first page of the EPC.
What EAT said:
Quidos’s Salaman has asked whether a link to the EPC, either on the agent’s own website or to the central register, would be sufficient, but has yet to have an answer.
What CLG said:
DCLG informed Accreditation Schemes on 20 December 2011 that the services which would enable (a) the EPC to be retrieved from the EPC Register and attached to on-line written particulars and (b) enable the EPC to be retrieved from the EPC Register and attached to on-line written particulars with the address removed, where there are confidentiality issues surrounding the property transaction, would be provide via the Register to ensure compliance with Green Deal disclosure requirements, whereby the EPC presented to the consumer is generated on demand and includes the latest Green Deal information available at the point of retrieval.
What EAT said (on March 5)
No guidance has been given about online marketing.
What CLG said (on March 9)
The Property Agents EPC Retrieval Service guidance issued by DCLG on 2 March provides estate agents with details of the service being provided to enable them to attach a copy of the first page of the EPC to electronic online written particulars to ensure the most up to date EPC is always provided directly from the EPC Register. This service has been set up at the specific request of property agents. If required, a copy of the first page of the EPC can also be printed and attached in hard copy to written particulars. This guidance has been made available to key partners within the property industry for circulation to their members. However, any property agent is welcome to contact epc.enquiry@communities.gsi.gov.uk and request a copy of the guidance. A summary sheet regarding the regulatory change is also available.
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Comments
My letterbox is bulging with all the communication the CLG have sent me....not.
Regulations are passed will come into force 6Th April
End of
7.11 Requirement for an EPC to be obtained or commissioned before a
property is marketed for sale or rent
7.11.1 Under the 2007 Regulations, the requirement to have commissioned an
EPC before marketing starts only applies to sales of domestic properties.
Enforcement Authorities have reported that they are unable to identify the
relevant person for non domestic sales and rentals and domestic rentals as
these properties are usually marketed through a third party (e.g. an estate agent
or letting agent). The amendment will change this and will ensure that an EPC
is obtained before or shortly after a property is put on the market for sale or
rent. In effect, the proposed duties will apply to others acting on behalf of the
relevant person e.g. estate or commercial agents. This will ensure better
compliance and increase the likelihood that potential buyers and tenants see
the EPC before they take a decision on whether to buy or rent the property in
question. The requirement to either have or to have commissioned an EPC
before marketing starts in all cases will also make non compliance easier to
detect and enforcement less difficult.
7.12 Requirement to attach EPC to written particulars
7.12.1 At present, for domestic sales only, the seller or person acting on their
behalf (e.g. their estate agent) is required to either attach the EPC to any
written particulars for the property or to include the EPC rating in the written
particulars. The amendments will change this so that, in future, the first page
of the EPC must be attached to the written particulars in all cases.
Credit where credit's due, I had a reply from DCLG with all the (limited) info at 09.11 this morning. Can't understand a word of it mind you, and absolutely no use to tell me what to do differently from Good Friday onwards. I've asked for assurance that a proper step-by-step guide for agents is to follow very soon! Big T.
Well done EAT. Isn't it strange that only CLG seem to know what is going on and whilst insisting that all relevant bodies have been made aware, no-one else does actually know - if that makes sense! I think it's all in CLGs head, so don't keep it to yourself and spill the beans.We won't tell anyone.
...just emailed them too - let's see when / if we get a response.
I have, this morning, emailed DCLG requesting copies of the "Property Agents EPC Retrieval Service Guidance" and the "Sumary Sheet of Regulatory Changes" as highlighted in Estate Agent Today's excellent investigative piece above. I only wish that agency representitive bodies learned by past experience that leaving DCLG to do anything properly is a forlorn hope, and that they got off their bottoms and pressurised these mandarins on behalf of agents. And what about the nonsence of supported 95% mortgages BUT ONLY FOR GOVERNMENT'S PALS THE BUILDERS!?