As of the 1st of January 2010 for residential buildings, and as of 1st of September 2010 for non- residential buildings, it became mandatory by the Government that every new building or building unit and every existing building above 1000 sq.m. that undergoes major renovation must have an EPC in order to be granted with building permit before the construction process. As part of the minimum requirements, the buildings that apply for a building permit must be at least Class B.
From the same dates, all existing residential and non-residential buildings need to be certified when they are sold or rented. The landlord must provide an EPC to the potential/new tenants or potential buyers as part of the lending or purchase process. Each EPC will last for 10 years.
The idea of introducing EPC’s is that they will benefit prospective buyers, tenants, owners and occupiers to easily compare the energy efficiency of one building with another of the same or similar type, so they can consider fuel costs and energy efficiency as part of their investment.
An EPC generally provides the following:
- Information on property’s energy efficiency (From A-G)
- Estimation of running costs
- Advice on cost effective improvements that can be made
The environmental impact rating