An energy performance certificate, or an EPC as it is more commonly known, is a legally required document when selling or renting out your property. Furthermore, holiday lets also need an EPC if they are let out for more than four months of the year. To rent it out, it must be rated E or above.
To obtain an energy performance certificate - assuming the house does not have one, is expired or is simply being renewed if a few years old - a visit is required to be carried out by a qualified EPC assessor. We here at Valerien are qualified Isle of Wight energy performance certificate (EPC) assessors.
Whenever a survey is conducted, we as assessors look for very specific elements of the property that all relate to its energy measures. These include the types of windows, their install date, the roof type, loft insulation, floor insulation and so on.
There are however steps you as home owner can take to help the assessor produce the most accurate rating possible.
Inspecting the Property
Essentially, when we look round and survey a property, if we cannot see something is there, we cannot evidence it being present and this may affect your final rating at the property.
A scenario: Your property you bought was built in 1932, it is currently rated F and you want to rent it out, so it needs to improve its rating by law to at least an E. The loft is uninsulated and the hot water cylinder is not insulated in the roof space.
To help improve the rating, you've had loft insulation put down over 250mm thick and you've put a thick 200mm jacket around the hot water cylinder. You've left the key with your agent for us to collect and conduct the survey. However, on the day of your inspection you forgot the loft is locked and we cannot access it. You've got the loft key but are in London on business.
This basically means we cannot evidence that you've got insulation down in the roof and your cylinder is insulated which would help improve your property rating.
Furthermore, your property may also have had an extension built in the same style as your 1930s property, which was completed in 2003. Unfortunately you do not have any information to hand about the works such as builders notes, building regulations certificates, planning records etc as you no longer have them but insist it was built in 2003.
While we as EPC assessors can look at certain evidence like historical satellite images or hope planning documents are available online to see if and when works took place, if we cannot evidence when that extension was built, we have to assume it was built at the same time as the original house.
This means the software considers the same energy measures to be present in the extension as a 1930s house despite the extension being seven decades younger and by default having better energy measures in the walls, floor and roof because of building regulations.
In very simple terms, the process of entering energy measures into the software that calculates your rating is very detailed, so if we cannot see what you've done or evidence when a new part of a building was constructed, we cannot formally record it. This will then result in a lower energy rating.
Help us as Assessors Ahead of Your Visit
To ensure your property gets the most accurate rating, you can do the following in advance of the survey time and date:
Ensure access to the loft area and exteriors of the property
Provide access to all rooms in the property
Ensure access to the boiler (if present) and all meters and the hot water tank if you have either or both
Provide any evidence of new or recent works since the last EPC that we would not typically be able to see, for example wall insulation, floor insulation etc such as receipts, building regulation reports, photos etc
If a new extension was constructed either in the roof space or added on to the property, provide evidence of when this took place such as builders reports, building regulation reports, planning documents etc
By ensuring you are fully prepared for an EPC assessment, you can help ensure we can evidence and obtain the most accurate rating for your property.
Remember you can request an energy performance certificate (EPC) survey on your house at any time, even if it's already got one. They last 10 years and are legally required when renting or selling.
If you would like to speak to us about an EPC survey and our qualified Isle of Wight EPC assessor, contact us on 07368 838213 or pop us a message via the website or by email to info@valerien.co.uk
Our Services ​ Valerien provides a wide range of property management services to domestic and commercial customers, including Landlord and Tenant Property Inventories, Energy Performance Certificates (EPC’s), Check in & Check out Inspections, Legionella Risk Assessments, PAT Testing, Microwave Leakage Testing and Property Videos. We also provide custom multiple service packages that can be fully customised to your individual needs, giving you peace of mind that everyone is covered with one phone call. For more information on our custom property management services, please contact us.