Energy Performance Certificates
Michael Steyn | 31st October 2009One year on and EPC’s are still with us. To summarise, an EPC has to be produced for all dwellings which are rented to new tenants from 4 January 2009.
What is an EPC?
An EPC is a certificate which shows how “energy efficient” your property is, on a scale of A to G (much like the system used on washing machines and fridges) and makes recommendations for improvements. The improvements are not mandatory, however, tenants may use an EPC when deciding which property to rent, particularly if fuel bills continue to rise.
The EPC is produced by an qualified energy assessor and landlords are responsible for ensuring that an EPC is available to view by prospective tenants prior to letting a property. An EPC is valid for 10 years. From the 4 Jan 09 Steyn Lettings can only market & let properties which have valid EPC’s. The Scottish Government have produced an EPC information sheet for private landlords it can be found at:
http://www.sbsa.gov.uk/pdfs/EPC_Leaflet03.pdf
What will it cost?
We are currently negotiating a special discounted cost with our Domestic Energy Assessor.