Energy
certificates.

What an EPC is

An Energy Performance Certificate is a regulated document that records a property’s energy efficiency on a scale from A (best) to G (worst). It includes an estimate of running costs, the property’s carbon footprint, and a list of recommendations for cost-effective improvements. The certificate is valid for ten years.

For domestic properties the certificate is produced under RdSAP — the Reduced Data Standard Assessment Procedure — using software accredited by the relevant scheme provider. The data is then lodged on the central government register at findenergycertificate.service.gov.uk, which is where buyers, lenders and conveyancers retrieve it.

When you need one

You will generally need a valid EPC when you:

• Sell a property — required before marketing.
• Let a property to a new tenant — required before the tenancy starts. Properties below an EPC E rating cannot lawfully be let to a new tenant unless a registered exemption applies (MEES).
• Build a new dwelling — required for Building Control sign-off and final occupation.
• Refinance or remortgage — many lenders now require a valid EPC even where the regulations don’t.
• Apply for retrofit funding — ECO4, the Great British Insulation Scheme and most local authority schemes use the EPC as the baseline.

For a quick reference on listed buildings specifically, see the journal post: Do listed buildings need an EPC?

What happens on site

Allow around 45 minutes on site for a typical home — larger properties can take longer. The assessor measures internal dimensions, records construction details (walls, roofs, floors, windows), checks the heating and hot-water systems, looks at lighting and ventilation, and photographs evidence to support each data point.

EPC assessment is non-intrusive. No drilling, no lifting carpets, no opening walls. What is observable is recorded; what cannot be observed is conservatively assumed in line with the RdSAP convention.

What you’ll get

A lodged certificate, accessible via the public register. The certificate is usually lodged the same day as the visit. If you’re working to a deadline, say so when you book and I’ll prioritise.

If the rating isn’t what you wanted

Recommendations on the certificate are advisory, not mandatory. But if the rating affects your sale price, your ability to let the property, or your eligibility for funding, it’s worth talking through. The same RdSAP data that produces the rating can also model what specific upgrades would do to it — useful for prioritising spend.

For deeper retrofit work, see the PAS 2035 retrofit assessment service. That’s a different document with a different purpose, suited to whole-dwelling improvement plans.

Listed and traditionally-built homes

RdSAP’s default assumptions for older buildings can be conservative; sometimes unfairly so. With supporting evidence — original construction details, U-values from a thermal model, photographic evidence of insulation already installed — an EPC for a traditionally-built property can score significantly better than the default. Worth doing for older buildings where the rating matters.