DO YOU KNOW WHEN
AN EPC IS REQUIRED??
Following the new 2012 EPC
regulations we have received many calls and emails from our customers to
confirm when they are required to produce an EPC. The following information
covers the majority of queries we have received.
According to the DCLG
(Department for Community and Local Government), a building is defined as;
“a roofed construction having walls, for which energy is used to
condition the indoor climate”
An EPC is
required when the building is;
·
Constructed
· On the Market for
Sale or Rent
· Material Change
of use
·
Fit Out
There is often confusion with multi-let properties when parts of the
building are sold or let separately. According to the DCLG part of a building
is;
“Part of a building which has been designed or altered to be used
separately”.
The services within a building also determine when an EPC required;
Buildings
with a common heating system
One
EPC is sufficient for the whole building which can be
used when the building, or any part of it, is sold or let. However if a part of that building was to be sold or let separately
an EPC can be produced for that part.
Buildings
without a common heating system
One
EPC is required for each part of the building being offered
for sale or let. If an EPC does exist for the whole building (e.g. from
construction) it is not possible to use this unless
the whole building is to be sold or let.
The following building types are exempt from EPC requirements;
·
Places of worship (EPC’s are
required on construction).
·
Temporary
buildings (with
a planned time of use of less than two years).
·
Stand-alone
buildings (with
a total useful floor area of less than 50m2 that are not dwellings).
·
Low energy demand
buildings (such
as industrial sites, workshops and non-residential agricultural buildings).
·
Buildings due to
be demolished.
The information above is taken from the Department for Communities
and Local Government document; A guide to energy performance certificates for
the construction, sale and let of non-dwellings.
