Energy Performance Certificates - transitional provisions published

Sellers and landlords will need to ensure that they comply with the duty to provide an energy performance certificate when this comes into force on 6 April. The difficulty may be in securing one, given that very few assessors appear to have been accredited at this stage.

The penalty for failure to provide an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) when one is required is 12.5% of the property's rateable value. The maximum penalty is £5000. The regulations provide that no penalty can be imposed where the seller or landlord (as applicable) can show that it requested an EPC at least 14 days prior to the date on which it was required. Even where the new exemption applies, the obligation to provide an EPC is merely deferred until after exchange, not extinguished altogether. Since the duty can be complied with by commissioning an EPC, even if there is then an unavoidable delay in its production, prospective sellers and landlords should instigate the process as soon as possible. For details of how to find an assessor to prepare an EPC, see http://www.ndepcregister.com/.