URGENT briefing: EPCs update on October 1 deadline

With the clock ticking fast, it is becoming increasingly clear that Energy Performance Certificates WILL be required on all properties for sale from October 1, including those exempt from Home Information Packs.

Despite both the National Association of Estate Agents and EstateAgentToday being told by Communities and Local Government that there would be a rethink of the requirement – which emerged only 10 days ago – CLG now appears to have U-turned on its latest U-turn.

Agents with properties whose marketing pre-dated HIPs are now strongly advised to get EPCs organised as soon as possible. Please see further guidance at the bottom of this story.

EstateAgentToday would like to sincerely apologise to readers for allowing them to believe that there might be a reconsideration. However, we were only reporting as specifically briefed by the CLG press office.

A similar apology was made in the NAEA’s latest newsletter to its members, in which chief executive Peter Bolton King said:  “I reported that CLG and the Minister were considering the 1st October deadline. I am aware of very confusing messages coming out from numerous sources and I am sorry if we have also sounded confused. Unfortunately we can only pass on what we believe to be the situation.”

It is under the Energy Performance of Buildings Regulations that all homes for sale on or after October 1 must now have EPCs, whether or not they have HIPs. Strictly speaking, the EPB Regulations put the onus on the seller of the property, not the agent, to provide the EPC. In practice, it will undoubtedly be the agents who will organise this.

There remain serious question marks as to whether EPCs will actually have to be in place by October 1 on these HIP-exempt properties and how soon they will have to be made available.

An email sent by senior CLG press officer Chris Atkinson  in recent days to an inquiry from Henry Pryor, sheds little light.  It says:  ”. . . under EU law all homes for sale would require an EPC by no later than 4th Jan 2009, and that requiring an EPC does not prevent a home being sold or contracts exchanged if it has not yet been provided - the sale can continue but sellers will still owe the buyers an EPC, which shouldn't cost more than £100 - and that these few thousand homes will be brought into line with all the other homes currently on the market.”

A second question mark is whether agents need to reprint property particulars for homes that pre-date HIPs to include EPC graphs. We have been informed that under Energy Performance of Buildings Regulations, this is not necessary as the obligation to provide an EPC rests with the vendor, not the agent. However, again, in recent days, completely contrary advice has been issued.

We will update our readers as soon as possible on the EstateAgentToday website.


SPLINTA reaction: 250,000 homes affected

Nick Salmon, estate agent and founder of the anti-HIP lobbying group SPLINTA, said: “In recent days property industry bodies have been urging the housing minister, Caroline Flint, to delay the implementation of the new Regulations until the end of the year but as of this morning her department of Communities and Local Government has failed to give any public indication of whether or not the delay will be sanctioned.

"The Regulation is buried in complex energy performance legislation which many believe conflicts with HIP legislation and CLG has done nothing to clarify  it. It is a disgrace that with just three weeks to go they are still silent on the issue which is set to cost home sellers collectively a huge amount of money. 

However, the whole Home Information Pack and Energy Performance Certificate implementation has been so appallingly badly handled by the Government that I suppose we should not be surprised that the farce continues."

SPLINTA estimates that the new Regulation could affect as many as 250,000 properties currently on the market without a  HIP and therefore without an EPC.

Salmon said: “At an average of £100 each, the cost to consumers of obtaining the EPC will amount to £25 million pounds and the tax take to the Government in VAT will be well over £4 million. SPLINTA suggests that this vast sum would be better spent on home insulation rather than requiring inspectors to visit each property in hundreds of thousands of polluting car journeys.

"There will be many hard-pressed owners already in debt and struggling to keep repossession at bay who must find the cash to pay for the EPC by October 1.

“Having to pay out for a document that no-one looks at and which shows energy cost estimates that bear no relationship to current soaring energy prices because the software used to produce them is totally out of date will be the last straw for a lot of people. The Government must delay the introduction."


Latest NAEA Advice (from Peter Bolton King)

Following several conversations with the Department, I have been given the following information:-

DOMESTIC EPCs – The 1st October date stands and all property being marketed after this date will require an EPC even if they do not require a HIP because of the initial marketing date. I asked when the EPC had to be available and was told as soon as possible. E.g. you need to get on and get one and cannot wait until just before exchange of properties. However you can continue to market.

I am told that, assuming your details have photo or floor plan and description then the EPC graph needs to be included as normal.



AHIPP Advice to its members

First of all in technical speak:

The effect of Regulation 5 of, and Schedule 1 to, the Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007 No 991), and Regulation 51(7) of those regulations as added by the Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2008 (SI 2008 No 647) is that from 1 October, regardless of when they were first marketed or whether they are subject to the HIP requirements, all homes being sold for occupation need an EPC and that EPC must be provided to the prospective buyer before entering into a contract to sell.

 Followed by detail from CLG

‘A property marketed without the requirement of a Home Information Pack (HIP) will require an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) from 1st October 2008. This also includes homes sold without marketing for sale e.g. by private treaty between family members or Local Authority housing will require an EPC on sale from 1 October 2008.’

Finally, our interpretation and guidance

Strictly speaking, it is not the estate agent (or ‘responsible person’ in terms of the HIP regulations) responsibility to procure the EPC – but the vendor. The vendor should be in a position to show an EPC to a prospective client viewing a property and to provide a copy for the purchaser’s conveyancer prior to exchange of contracts. Practically it is desirable that the agent is proactive in prompting the vendor to obtain an EPC to avoid getting to exchange of contracts and finding that a transaction is held up because an EPC has not been provided to the buyer. We therefore suggest that agents take action as soon as possible with their vendors to procure EPCs on all properties that will not exchange contracts before 1st October.

 Trading Standards Officers are responsible for the enforcement of this requirement and the penalty for not obtaining an EPC for a dwelling is £200 with the obligation remaining on the vendor to procure an EPC if fined.