The Government has said the legal requirement to obtain an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) before selling or letting a property will remain in place despite the coronavirus outbreak.
Guidance issued last week said where a property is occupied, parties must agree that the transaction is delayed so that an EPC assessment can proceed when stay-at-home measures are removed.
If moving is unavoidable, an agreement to delay cannot be reached or there is no valid EPC on the register, an assessment may be conducted as long as the assessor follows Government guidelines on maintaining a two-metre distance from any household occupants.
No assessments should take place if any person in the property is showing symptoms, self-isolating or being shielded.
EPC assessments can continue in cases where a property is vacant, the Government said.
Commenting on the move, Andrew Parkin, chairman of the Property Energy Professionals Association (PEPA), said: “We welcome the Government advice on the production of EPCs in these difficult times and it is reassuring that the guidance PEPA had already provided for its members, and for energy assessors, dovetails with the advice.
“With the property market continuing to operate, and EPCs being integral to the process of selling and renting properties, it is really important that assessors are clear about what is expected of them.
“Of course, the number of EPCs being produced is a fraction of what they were just a few weeks ago, and many assessors are already feeling the serious financial impact of lower volumes, alongside all other parties involved in the property market.
“As many operate through small company structures, we have written to the Chancellor asking that the Government support for the self-employed is extended to cover the dividends as well as wages which provide income to those affected.”
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-energy-performance-certificates
Comments (3)
Some accreditation schemes are saying ONLY vacant properties to be entered for an EPC.
Entering an occupied property is against all the Government policies of stay at home, don’t put the NHS at risk and save lives. Sounds to me some bureaucrat hasn’t the a clue how to organise a party in a brewery. Should be a 3 month grace period if the purchaser is happy to proceed and isn’t at all bothered about the rating, is probably most if not all.
If Spain can suspend the need to renew MOTs for 3 months, UK can do the same with EPCs!
Madness. How is providing a pointless EPC still ‘important’? And seemingly is more vital to our world than avoiding the risk of an assessor catching Covid-19 or infecting someone with it.