The Rules concerning EPC’s in England & Wales are being changed on 6th April 2012. These are contained in a document detailing these changes to the EPBD Regulations released by the Department of Communities and Local Government and now passed into law.
These changes are in response to mounting industry pressure to address the important issue on non-compliance. The most significant change relates to the timescales in which an EPC must be produced when marketing a property for sale or rent, it states that:
Regulation 5A is also amended to reduce the amount of time that a relevant person and person acting on behalf of such a person is allowed to secure an EPC, from 28 to 7 days.
In full, the change not only clarifies that an EPC must be commissioned before a property can be marketed, it also clarifies that the EPC must actually be issued within 7 days of marketing. It also clarifies that it is not only the vendor or landlord who is responsible for ensuring that this requirement is met, but any person acting on their behalf is now also responsible such as a managing agent. In addition to these shortened timescales, the first page of the EPC will become an essential part of any written particulars for properties being marketed for sale or rent.
With several months before the implementation of these amendments, landlords, agents and vendors will have sufficient time to prepare for these changes and we anticipate a significant improvement in compliance thereafter.
As with any Government documentation, there are many finer details to take into consideration and a full copy of the explanatory note can be seen here.
