UK Property Blog by HIP-Consultant.co.uk

You will have heard about Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) and the full roll out that finished on the 1st October. Anyone involved in domestic or non domestic property will come across them in some capacity. However, in amongst all the legislation in the regulations there is another requirement that may take some by surprise.

From 1st October 2008 all public sector buildings, which are non dwellings, with public access and above 1,000 square meters will need to have a valid Display Energy Certificate, or DEC. Council offices would need one, leisure centres would need one, hospitals would need one, a large school may need one, but only if it is publically owed and has public access. No private building is required to have a valid DEC, although there is nothing to stop someone having one on a voluntary basis.

There are two elements to a DEC. The first is the Certificate. This is an annually renewable document which is based on the analysis of the building utility bills. The other is an Advisory Report which is based on an inspection and is valid for up to seven years. It is a legal requirement to display the Certificate at all times, such as in a public reception area, and to have an accompanying valid Advisory Report available to be produced if requested by anyone who asks for it. Failure to have both elements of a valid DEC in your possession can result in fines.

So what does a Display Energy Certificate (DEC) entail? Well, like the Energy Performance Certificate, the building requires a thorough visual inspection. With a DEC inspection it focuses on the operation use and actual energy use of the building which will show the intrinsic performance of the building. This helps to generate the recommendations in the Advisory Report. This inspection only has to be undertaken once every seven years in order to generate a new advisory report.

The Certificate will show graphically the energy usage of the building and offer a year on year comparison. For example, how much energy is used in lighting the building and how this has increased or decreased. The Report will identify actions and areas that help reduce the energy demand of the building and these are made as recommendations. There is no legal obligation to undertake any of the recommendations in the report.

The guidance states specifically:-
“Public authorities, and institutions providing public services to a large number of persons, who occupy space in a building with a total useful floor area greater than 1000m2, must display a valid display energy certificate (“DEC”) at all times and have a valid advisory report in their possession.
A DEC shows an operational rating which conveys the actual energy used by the building as opposed to an EPC which conveys an asset rating showing the intrinsic performance of the building.
Only public authorities or public institutions (those providing services traditionally associated with local or national government) occupying a building must display a DEC. Other private occupants of the same building are not required to display a DEC.”

All elements of the DEC must be produced by someone who is qualified and accredited to produce the Certificate and Advisory Report. As with Commercial Energy Assessors, the numbers of people qualified to produce DECs are currently still low, but as more come on stream the requirements will start to be fully enforced. The communities and local Government (CLG) have produced a helpful guide to Display Energy Certificates and advisory reports for public buildings here.

So in short, if you are involved in public buildings of any description be aware of the DEC, your requirements and your responsibilities. Don’t get caught out. If you have any queries and questions you should seek expert advice.

Written by Symon Silvester Godwin & Ellis Associates.

Home Inspector (HI) and Domestic Energy Assessor (DEA) training has had claims attached to it of large potential earnings for those qualifying and practicing in this field.

In response to a high levels of comments left on the article (at time of writing nearly a 100 comments) ‘Should I train as a Domestic Energy Assessor (DEA) ?’ we felt it would be beneficial to specifically explore the Home Inspector (HI) qualification and its potential further.

The Home Inspector qualification was designed to fulfill the Home Condition Report (HCR) requirement within the Home Information Pack. Initially, it was planned that the HCR would be a mandatory component within the HIP though was in fact made an optional document. Professionals within the industry and none more so than those that qualified as a Home Inspector near its’ inception will tell you that there has been very little to no demand for the HCR due to it being made voluntary.

Today, the Institute of Domestic Energy Assessors (IDEA) released research and figures that have not been widely publicised by the Communities and Local Government (CLG).

“Figures recently revealed by CLG officially disclose that up until the 18th of October this year a total of 1,824 Home Condition Reports (HCR’s) have been lodged with Landmark. To put this figure in context, for the same period over 1 million Energy Performance Certificates (EPC’s) were lodged with Landmark.”

This figure is as most within the industry would have imagined. It is envisaged that a large proportion were undertaken in the early days of the Home Information Pack implementation.

Jim Gillespie the chairman of IDEA stated “This figure will not come as a shock to those individuals, myself included, who trusted this Government when they sold the prospect of training as a Home Inspector as a “gilt edged” opportunity back in 2005/6. When Yvette Cooper made the now infamous “u turn” announcement back in July 2006 there were approximately 3,500 individuals training towards the NVQ level 4 Home Inspector qualification and at the time Government went on record as saying that 7,500 Home Inspectors would be required. Mass confusion ensued thereafter as many trainee Home Inspectors simply walked away from this sorry mess feeling conned and duped by the Government”

Based upon the figures above, only 1 in 2 Home Inspectors would have actually completed even one HCR.

However, the Home Inspector training course is still being widely advertised and this is understandably causing concern towards those considering investing substantial sums of money, in the region of £6,000.

Jim Gillespie said “An unregulated training provider regime resulted in a plethora of training companies springing up nationwide to cash in on this “lucrative” new industry. Once more the Government were reluctant to intervene when it quickly became blatantly obvious that far too many people were now being trained as DEA’s. Once more accurate figures from Government have been hard to come by but I am lead to believe that we have a situation whereby as many as 14,000 people have commenced a DEA training courses since they began. It is obvious that many of these individuals quickly learnt thereafter that the career path they had dreamed of before commencing their training was not actually the reality as only approximately 7,300 of them then went on to accreditation which is mandatory before they can trade as a DEA.”

As one can imagine; many training providers are not supplying this information to those enquiring about the viability of becoming a Home Inspector and it is felt by many that some continue to ’sell’ the course as a viable ‘money making’ possibility.

HIP-Consultant.co.uk are pleased that this issue is being brought to light further and it is evident that those that do their research prior to enrolling on the course can amongst the training providers’ adverts find the ‘reality’ of the situation.

But what else can be done?

Jim Gillespie expressed, “Unbelievably, with this backdrop of u turns, false promises and shattered dreams there are still training providers who continue to recruit and train prospective Home Inspectors or DEA’s to this day. IDEA continues to lobby Government and liaise with the Advertising Standards Authority in an attempt to stop these training providers encouraging people with no industry experience or existing professional contacts to commence training as an Energy Assessor and particularly as a Home Inspector as the fact that only 1,824 HCR’s have been carried out to date is surely irrefutable evidence that as long as the HCR remains optional the general public are simply not interested in paying for them.”

HIP-Consultant.co.uk welcomes and looks forward to your comments.

Hidden away amidst the depths of the legislation that came into force in October from the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has been a clause about Commercial Energy Performance Certificates (CEPC).

The DCLG Guidelines clause is out lined below:-

“Clarifying arrangements for the October roll-out for commercial buildings already on the market which will be similar to those put in place in April and July. This means that any non-domestic building on the market before 1st October and remaining on the market will need an EPC by 1st January at the latest. If it is sold or rented out in the meantime, an EPC must be commissioned and then handed over as soon as is practicable. This measure is intended to make it easier for owners and landlords to comply with the legislation, avoid market fluctuations and is in response to expectations from the industry.”

Read the rest of this entry »

The Home Information Pack legislation is generally understood; that ‘all’ domestic properties being placed on the market require a HIP, except in a few exceptions. The important date of the 1st October 2008 looms in regard to the Energy Performance Cerification of properties; did you realise that if your house was on the market before the relevant Home Information Pack legislation was enacted that you will require an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)?

You may have had you home on the market by now a ‘considerable’ length of time and whilst these properties continue to be exempt from the HIP legislation are not exempt from Energy Performance Building Directive (E.P.B.D.)

So what does this mean for pre-HIPs home sellers from the 1st October 2008?

One must have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) commisioned and it must be made available to prospective buyers in its full form at the earliest opportunity when:

• when the building is viewed
• If any written information about the building is provided as a result of a request by a prospective buyer - this includes email and electronic communication
• When contracts are exchanged

Read the rest of this entry »

Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) are due to evolve with improvements being made to the methodology and assessment procedure shortly, RDSAP v9.82. The RDSAP (Reduced Data Standard Assessment Procedure - the government approved standardised system for undertaking an energy survey on an existing dwelling), has always had its limitations as it is a simplified version of the full SAP methodology.

Energy Performance Certificates were implemented as part of the Home Information Pack legislation on 1st August 2007 and will also be required as of the 1st October 2008 in the rental market. EPC are now becoming more widely understood and the benefits they bring recognised. However, there has been criticism made about the accuracy of some assessments in certain scenarios due to the inherent limitations of RDSAP to include some less frequently found aspects.

Read the rest of this entry »

You will have heard of the residential Energy Performance Certificates or EPCs that were instituted last year as part of the Home Information Pack legislation, but did you know that there is a Commercial Energy Performance Certificate that is currently being rolled out?

It is easy to assume that because both the residential and commercial EPC share the same name that they are similar entities and require similar surveys or skills, but nothing could be further from the truth. It is best to think of them as cousins, related in history, but separate families.

When is a Commercial Energy Performance Certificate (CEPC) required? You may not have been aware of it, but Commercial EPCs actually began to roll out this year, coming into force from April 2008. Already all non domestic buildings above 2,500 square metres that are being constructed, sold, major renovations or let will require a CEPC.  By 1st October 2008 this will be rolled out to all remaining commercial properties. As always there are exemptions, such as places of worship, buildings scheduled for demolition or temporary buildings. Anyone involved with any non domestic property should seek expert advice as to whether they need one or not, as there are stringent penalties for non compliance.

Read the rest of this entry »

After our recent article,  should i train as a domestic energy assessor? which has received a massive number of comments and strength of feeling within the responses; we have decided to follow this up with the latest announcement by the Government.

The Government periodically announces combined numbers of Domestic Energy Assessors and Home Inspectors and breaks the figures down into the stage they have achieved at the time of reporting. The numbers continue to rise from the last published figures on the 6th March 2008. As of 23rd May 2008 the official numbers are:

Accredited - 7,930 (increase of 829 from 6/3/08)
Qualified - 1,464 (passed exams and qualified, but not yet become accredited)
Passed exams - 4,816
Total in system who have passed exams or progressed further - 14,210 (increase of 2,784 from 6/3/08)

It is worth remembering that these figures do not show those that are currently practicing. It is anticipated that both Domestic Energy Assessors and Home Inspectors (whom many have never carried out enough Home Condition Reports even to regain a fraction of the training costs) have left the industry. It is sad that these people have been unable to survive within the industry; often citing a lack of instructions and income as the main defining reason for leaving to find alternative employment.

Read the rest of this entry »

Energy prices continue to rise and there seems to be no signs of them slowing. Channel 4 News recently reported that an independent report commisioned by Centrica shows that gas prices are set to rise 70% from current costs.

Is this yet another catalyst for consumers to further look at how they utilise their gas and electric supplies to their properties?

Energy prices have surged since Feburary of 2007 and all the customers of the major players British Gas, Npower, EDF, Scottish Power, Scottish and Southern Energy and E.On have had to support big increases in fuel prices.

Certainly at present many households are feeling the ‘credit crunch’ and are often looking at making cost savings that they can make within their current lifestyles . Energy saving and efficiency is becoming a higher priority amongst many; not only looking to compare energy prices within the market place but how they can become more efficient and ultimately use less energy.

So how do we use less and cut our bills?

Read the rest of this entry »

HIP-Consultant.co.uk has develop its services and areas we can provide Home Infomation Packs (HIPS) over a relatively short period. This expansion has been carried out gradually to ensure the continuity of quality remains; and that we do not fall foul of sacrificing customer service which has been key to the high level of customer satisfaction we have achieved.

HIP-Consultant.co.uk receive enquiries on almost a daily basis from current or potential domestic energy assessors (DEA) as I am sure other organisation will do. The discussion within the industry continues to be one of concern in regard to the current and rising number of DEAs; concerns which HIP-Consultant.co.uk mirror. The question which is inevitably asked by prospective DEAs is ‘should I train as a domestic energy assessor?‘
Read the rest of this entry »

The Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) makes recommendations and this is becoming more widely familiar as the EPBD legislation is becoming further understood and implemented. HIP-Consultant.co.uk welcomes the national EPC awareness campaign that is currently running and feel this can only help promote the significance and importance of the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC).

Once the Domestic Energy Assessment has taken place and the Energy Performance Certificate has been issued, for example within the Home Information Pack (HIP); the EPC recommendations are being looked at by the new owners of the related property and are increasingly making improvements based upon this section of the EPC.

Please click image to enlarge.

Read the rest of this entry »