N I Regulations
EPCs in Northern Ireland - Home sellers and buyers
Regardless of the date when an existing dwelling is placed on the market, from 30th June 2008, the relevent person (the seller) has a legal duty to make available to the prospective buyer or actual buyer a valid EPC at the earliest opportunity (i.e before entering into a contract to sell). This must be given free of charge.If an EPC has not been provided to the prospective buyer during marketing, it is the responsibility of the home owner to ensure a copy of the EPC has been given to the actual buyer. An EPC is valid for 10 years and can therefore be reused in further transactions involving that property up to the end of this period. Landlords and tenants
From 30th December 2008 the relevant person (the landlord) of a building which is to be rented out has a legal duty to make available to the prospective tenant or actual tenant a valid EPC at the earliest opportunity (i.e. before entering into a contract to rent). There is no need to obtain an EPC in Northern Ireland for an existing tenancy. Once obtained, a certificate remains valid for up to 10 years. If a valid EPC still exists when changing tenants, a new certificate is not required. This applies to both private and social sector landlords and tenants. Builders and developers
It is likely that the more energy efficient properties in Northern Ireland will be more attractive to potential tenants and purchasers. It is clearly most cost-effective to design for energy efficiency rather than have to upgrade a property once it is constructed. Architects and other designers should therefore be encouraged to specify designs that are energy efficient.From 30th September 2008 the relevant person (the builder) of a new building (dwelling and non-dwelling) has the same legal duty as the home seller and landlord above. When the construction of a new building is completed, the builder or person responsible for the construction is responsible for obtaining the certificate and providing it to the owner. This will also apply if a building is converted into fewer or more units and there are changes to the heating, hot water provision or air conditioning/ ventilation services.When the building is physically complete, the builder must obtain an EPC and provide the EPC to the new owner of the building and notify the local Building Control officers that this has been done. Once Building Control is satisfied that the EPC has been properly produced, it will then be able to issue a final completion certificate. Solicitors and estate agents
An EPC must be made available at the earliest opportunity before the conveyancing process commences and, as a constituent document in this process, it must, in any event, be provided as part of the completion of the sale. A valid EPC shall be made available when the prospective buyer requests information about the dwelling or makes a request to view it or when he makes an offer to buy it.Where the relevant person employs an agent, the agent may make the EPC available to the prospective buyer. If the agreement between the seller and the agent provides, the agent may, on behalf of the seller, procure an EPC from an accredited energy assessor if a valid certificate is not already available. This agreement does not relieve the seller from the legal duty to ensure that a valid certificate is available. 2 Boilers
The efficiency of a boiler has a significant impact on the overall energy efficiency of a building. Over 50% of the total energy consumption and CO2 emissions for buildings come from heating and hot water use. Providing advice to home owners and businesses about the current efficiency of their heating and hot water systems is a vital step in increasing awareness of how the energy costs and CO2 emissions from heating and hot water costs can be reduced.The Department, in conjunction with the heating and hot water industry, is launching a new energy efficiency advice programme for heating and hot water systems, covering homes and businesses. The Department, together with industry, are encouraging heating and boiler installers to provide basic energy advice to users of heating and hot water systems about the energy efficiency of their systems.The advice given is in the form of a simple checklist and recommendations that can be included in a service visit and now forms part of industry recommended good practice guidelines. 3 Air Conditioning Systems
Many commercial buildings and an increasing number of homes have air conditioning systems. These systems should be maintained carefully and managed in order that they do not consume too much energy. The Regulations therefore introduce measures to ensure that larger air conditioning systems are regularly inspected. Inspection of large air conditioning systems Air conditioning systems where the total system cooling capacity is greater than 12kW (whether in dwellings or non-dwellings) will be inspected at intervals not exceeding 5 years. A written report will be produced by the energy assessor and will be given to the person who has control of the operation of the system (the relevant person) as soon as practicable after the completing the inspection.The inspection report will include an assessment of efficiency, a review of sizing and advice on improvements or replacements and alternative solutions. EPBD History The Directive became European law on 4 January 2003. Member States, including the UK, had three years in which to implement the Directive – i.e. the provisions had to be transposed into UK Regulations by January 2006. A transition period applies until January 2009 for States who did not have sufficient assessors by January 2006. What about Northern Ireland? The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). is being implemented jointly by the Department of Finance and Personnel and the Department for Social Development. HIPs will not be a requirement in NI, but EPCs in Northern Ireland will be produced as stand-alone documents. Articles 3-6 of the EPBD were implemented through an update to Building Regulations in November 2006. Articles 7-10 are yet to be implemented. The timetable for both dwellings and non-dwellings will be: EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD)
The EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) requires Member States (MS) to introduce measures to improve the energy efficiency of buildings and raise energy awareness amongst the public.Article 7 of the EPBD requires MS to require the issue of an Energy Performance Certificate when buildings are constructed, sold or rented out. In public sector buildings over 1000 m2 this certificate must be displayed in a prominent place clearly visible to the public. Article 10 of the EPBD requires that Energy Performance Certificates can only be produced by suitably qualified persons.It is intended to roll out a programme for the introduction of Energy Performance Certificates in three phases starting in June of this year and finishing at the end of December. When the enabling legislation is made there will be an announcement on this website and a widespread publicity campaign to raise public awareness. The enabling legislation will include coming into effect dates for the various types of Energy Performance Certificate. Training for Energy Assessors is being provided under the auspices of the award bodies, mainly the Awarding Body for the Built Environment (ABBE), City & Guilds (C&G) and the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA). However, the construction industry professional Institutions and others involved in these work streams have recently sought approval to provide approved training for their members. The Department for Social Development (DSD) is required to implement a Directiveof the European Union (EU) that is intended to improve the energy efficiency ofbuildings. Energy efficiency is important because it will help to reduce emissionsfrom buildings that are damaging to the environment and health. Better energyefficiency will also lead to more affordable fuel bills. The objectives of Article 7 of the EUDirective 2002/91/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the EnergyPerformance of Buildings are· To ensure that all prospective purchasers and tenants of domestic propertieshave access to a valid energy performance certificate.· That the certificate shall include reference values such as current legalstandards and benchmarks to make it possible for consumers to compare andassess the energy performance of the building.· That the certificate shall be accompanied by recommendations for the cost effectiveimprovement of the building’s energy performance.· That for apartments or units designed for separate use in blocks, certificationmay be based on one common certification of the whole building where theblock has a common heating system; or on the assessment of onerepresentative apartment in the same block. The requirement that a certificate is to be made available to the owner or to the prospective buyer or tenant when a building is constructed, sold or rented out and that air-conditioning systems are to be regularly inspected is introduced by these Regulations. The Department of Finance and Personnel has taken the lead in preparing these Regulations in co-operation with the Department of Social Development (DSD).
