News: Valid EPCs

Valid EPCs

Before a property is marketed, the agent must determine whether there is a valid EPC lodged for that
dwelling. If there is, the property can be marketed using that EPC. If there is not, the agent must
either have a new EPC in place, or have an EPC commissioned before it is marketed.
We have seen numerous instances where agents market the property before an Energy Assessor is
requested to produce an EPC. From that point, an EPC is required to be in place within SEVEN DAYS.
There is a common misconception that agents have 28-days to get an EPC in place. In fact, it is
seven days, with an extension of 21 days if they have been unable, given all reasonable effort, to
secure the new EPC.

For newly built dwellings, a SAP EPC must be provided within 7 days of completion. RdSAP
assessments must never be produced for new builds, and this includes houses converted into flats
etc. Once the SAP EPC is produced, the agent/homeowner can use that report for the next ten years
for all purposes.

With non-domestic buildings, especially those being stripped out for rental, building owners will need
to ensure a new EPC, if required, is produced while services are in place. If done with no services, it
is unlikely the unit will be rentable under MEES Regulations, as the worst case scenario would need
to be entered. Proposed fit out for stripped buildings cannot be used as the basis for assessment;
as DCLG commented at the Non-Domestic Conventions meeting they would “…not endorse anything
that would improve the score for anything other than the worst case scenario”.