EPC Peterborough

Here are some guidelines that will hopefully answer some of the questions that you have about EPCs and the energy performance of a building.

How to get a copy of your EPC

All registered EPC Certificates are on a government portal at https://find-energy-certificate.digital.communities.gov.uk/. If there is no EPC on the register or it has expired then you can CLICK HERE to book an EPC online with us, or if you prefer, please call us FREE on 0800 046 7345

How to improve your epc rating

These 4 things will significantly help to improve the rating on your property

1. Top up the loft insulation to at least 270mm if you currently have 100mm or less. Grants are often available to help.
2. If less than 50% of your lights are low energy then increase this to at least 80%.
3. Consider cavity wall insulation if your property was built after 1935. Grants are often available.
4. Provide your EPC Assessor with documentary evidence of insulation improvements that have been made but typically can’t be seen such as to the floors, flat roofs, sloping roofs, loft conversions, or the walls. Rather than actually improving the ratings, the evidence will prevent the property being done graded because your Assessor can only enter information into the software if there is documentary evidence. The Assessor cannot use the customer’s say so as evidence. Acceptable evidence are things like building control completion certificates or receipts from the contractor.
5. If the majority of your windows were installed after 2002 have the Fensa certificate or other guarantee or a receipt/invoice from the installer available.

Types of Energy Performance Certificates

The EPC Certificates being referred to here are for standard domestic building. If you have a commercial property, then you would need a commercial epc carried out by a qualified commercial Assessor.

All brand new properties will require a SAP EPC. If building control has asked for an EPC they are probably referring to a SAP EPC. A SAP EPC not only shows the energy performance of a building but the SAP calculations are required to show compliance with the building regulations. The price of a SAP EPC is more expensive. Please call us for further advise if you are unsure what is required.

There is actually very little the customer needs to do to prepare for an EPC survey. Providing the documentary evidence mentioned in the above EPC checklist is important. The only other key thing that a customer needs to do is ensure that access is available to the following items:

• All rooms in the property
• Gas and electric meter
• Loft hatch
• Boiler and hot water cylinder if present
• If the loft is boarded access to evidence and measure the insulation in a few different locations. This may mean lifting some boards prior to survey date.

The EPC is calculated using many factors within the property, so ensuring that all the required data can be obtained during the visit will help the rating. A EPC can still be completed if some of the items are inaccessible but this is likely to have a negative impact on its rating.

The EPC is not a condition report of the property, so we won’t need any maintenance or service records.

An EPC is required

• For all domestic property sales
• For all existing rental properties, any expired EPCs will need to be renewed even during an existing tenancy.
• For a claim on the Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme (RHI) if the EPC  is over 2 years old.
• For certain Government grant initiatives.
• For a re-mortgage.

When is an EPC not required

An EPC is not required for:          

• Listed buildings – listed by English Heritage
• Temporary buildings with a time use of 2 years or less.
• Residential buildings which are intended to be used less than
• four months of the year or where the owner or landlord could
• reasonably expect the energy consumption of the building to
• be less than 25% of all year round use.

 Standalone buildings with a total useful floor area of less than

50m2 (ie buildings entirely detached from any other building)

Being a landlord has many challenges and keeping up with changing regulations is one of them. From April 2020 as a landlord you have an obligation to ensure that all your properties have a valid EPC on the register. Also the rating of the EPC has to be at least an E. If it’s an F or G rating the property cannot be let.

We have carried out many EPCs where Peterborough City Council are making sure landlords are compliant. Don’t fall foul of the law as fines of up to £5,000 can be issued. The regulation that Landlords must conform to is called the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard or MEES for short.

Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard 2020

We can help you with MEES by:

• Offering bulk property discounts
• Making sure there is a valid EPC on the register
• If your property is an F or G rating, providing further assistance and exact advice on which improvements to make at the lowest cost to make the property compliant.
• If there are any reasons the property is eligible for an exemption we can give further advice.

Give us a call today to discuss your requirements.