Checking the authenticity of an energy assessor
An EPC must be produced by an accredited energy assessor. All domestic energy assessors must be a member of an approved accreditation scheme.
To check that an energy assessor is a member of an accreditation scheme, a search facility is available on the central register website. If a person does not have access to the internet they can ask the energy assessor for the name of the accreditation scheme of which they are a member and for their membership number. This information will enable the person who has commissioned the EPC to confirm with the accreditation scheme that the energy assessor is accredited and fit and proper to practice as an energy assessor.
Checking the authenticity of an EPC
All EPCs are stored in a central register. The central register is the official place for the storage of all EPCs and is the single source of information for EPCs for non-dwellings.
All EPCs must contain a valid certificate reference number. This number can only be generated once the certificate has been lodged on the central register. The EPC and recommendation report are only valid once they have been lodged.
Lodging the certificate is designed helps to protect the consumer by ensuring that only accredited energy assessors can produce EPCs. Those in possession of an EPC can verify the authenticity of a certificate by using the certificate reference number to check its validity against the EPC held on the register. A copy of the EPC can be accessed online and downloaded from the central register website using the certificate reference number.
Lost and mislaid reports can also easily be replaced at no additional cost to the consumer using the certificate reference number. A copy of the certificate can also be downloaded from the central register using the building address from the register website, if the certificate reference number has been mislaid, unless the owner of the building has ‘opted-out’ of making the report available in this way.
Once EPCs have been registered they cannot be altered. However, EPCs that are in dispute may be annotated on the register to show that they are under investigation. This can only be done by the approved accreditation scheme of which the energy assessor who produced the report is a member. Data on the register is kept for 20 years, which means more than one EPC may be stored over a number of years for one building. An EPC may be valid for up to 10 years. If there are other certificates for the building on the register that are less than 10 years old only the most recent certificate will be valid.
Complaints
Complaints about the availability or quality of an EPC or about an energy assessor who produced the certificate or the energy assessment should be directed to the following:
Failure to provide a valid EPC on sale or rent
For complaints regarding the availability and validity of an EPC for marketed sales, an authorised officer of the local weights and measures authority (usually a trading standards officer). The authorised officers have the power to act on your complaint.
EPCs on sale or rental
For complaints regarding the availability and validity of an EPC for a building when marketed for sale or rent, an authorised officer of the local weights and measures authority (usually a local trading standards officer). Trading standards officers have the power to act on a complaint.
EPCs for newly constructed or modified properties
For complaints regarding the availability and validity of EPCs produced by the builder when construction work is completed, contact building control at the relevant local authority.
Quality or accuracy of the EPC and its recommendations
For complaints regarding the quality and accuracy of the EPC and the recommendation report, contact the energy assessor in the first instance and if the matter is not resolved, contact the accreditation scheme of the energy assessor who produced the EPC. Contact details of both the assessor and accreditation scheme can be found on the EPC
Complaints regarding an energy assessor or any aspects of the energy assessment
For complaints regarding the energy assessor or the energy assessment contact the energy assessor in the first instance and if the matter is not resolved, contact the accreditation body of the energy assessor who produced the EPC. Contact details of both the assessor and accreditation scheme can be found on the EPC.
The accreditation scheme must investigate the complaint and, where necessary, provide the appropriate redress. Where it is found that the information on the EPC is incorrect a new inspection report must be issued and the information on the central register amended. This procedure should be followed at no cost to the complainant. In the event that the complaint cannot be satisfactorily resolved, the accreditation scheme will refer the matter to an independent third party for adjudication.
The energy assessor has a duty of care under the regulations, both to the seller or prospective landlord and to the prospective buyer or tenant, to carry out an energy assessment on a building with reasonable care and skill. This duty is enforceable for as long as the EPC subsequently produced remains valid.
If an energy assessor is proven to have been in breach of his duty under the regulations or negligent in any other way, this is a matter that can be taken up in the first instance with their accreditation scheme before recourse to an action in civil law. Energy assessors will have professional indemnity cover against the eventuality that any person to whom they have a duty may suffer loss as a result of their actions.
If an EPC is subsequently alleged to have been produced fraudulently, this is a matter for criminal law, to be pursued by making a complaint to the police.
Penalties for not having an EPC
Local weights and measures authorities (usually through their trading standards officers) are responsible for enforcing the requirement to have an EPC on sale or let of a building. Failure to make available an EPC as required by the regulations means the relevant person (i.e. seller or landlord) or a person acting on their behalf (i.e. estate or letting agent) may be liable to a civil penalty charge notice.
Trading standards officers may act on complaints or undertake investigations. The trading standards officer may request that a copy of the EPC is provided to them. If requested a copy of the EPC this information must be provided within 7 days of the request or be liable again to a penalty charge notice for failing to do so. A copy of an EPC can be requested at any time up to 6 months after the last day for compliance with when the duty was to make it available.
The penalty for failing to make an EPC available to any prospective buyer or tenant when selling or renting a non-dwelling is fixed, in most cases, at 12.5% of the rateable value of the building, with a default penalty of £750 where the formula cannot be applied. The range of penalties under this formula are set with a minimum of £500 and capped at a maximum of £5,000.
A further penalty can be issued for failure to provide a copy of the EPC when requested to an officer of an enforcement authority within 7 days. This is fixed at £200.
If a penalty charge notice is issued but a person believes it should not have been issued then they can request a review. If they are not satisfied with the outcome of the review an appeal may be made to the county court within 28 days after the notice confirming the penalty charge notice has been received from the local authority.
It is the duty of every person with an interest in, or in occupation of, the building to cooperate with any seller or prospective landlord as far as is necessary to enable them to comply with any duty under the regulations to make available an EPC, and allow access to any energy assessor they appoint.
Situations where an EPC may be unobtainable in time
The relevant person will not be liable to a penalty charge notice in a sale or rental:
- where a request for an EPC has been made the person who is to provide the EPC has made the request for an EPC as soon as possible after he became subject to this requirement and despite all reasonable efforts and enquiries, a valid EPC is not in the possession or control of the seller or prospective landlord
The EPC should nonetheless be made available to prospective buyers or tenants as soon as the seller or prospective landlord has it or in the case of rental buildings:
- where a prospective tenant was seeking to rent the building in an emergency requiring his urgent relocation
- the landlord did not have in his possession a valid EPC at the time of letting
- there was insufficient time for the prospective landlord to be reasonably expected to have obtained an EPC before letting the building; and
- the landlord has given a valid EPC to the tenant as soon as reasonably practicable after letting the building