As energy bills are rising it is becoming increasingly important to find out how to cut the cost of heating and lighting your home.
Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are a way in which home owners, tenants and house buyers – can find out how energy efficient a property is. Buildings are given a rating from A (very efficient) to G (inefficient) showing how costly it will be to heat and light, and what its carbon dioxide emissions are likely to be.
The EPC also show what the energy efficiency rating could be if improvements are made, highlighting cost-effective ways to achieve a better rating such as switching to more energy-efficient light bulbs.
Now Liverpool City Council, through its Trading Standards and Environmental Health teams, have teamed up with Healthy Homes and written to estate agents, landlords and letting agents offering advice about EPCs and informing them about a number of changes that have come into place this year.
All advertisements for either selling or renting a property must now clearly show the energy rating of the building. This includes advertising in newspapers, magazines or any written material produced by landlords or estate/letting agents and on the internet.
Failure to include the EPC rating on an advert could result in a £200 penalty charge notice, issued by Trading Standards. This applies to anybody selling or renting property privately as well as through an estate agent.
Councillor Tim Moore, cabinet member for transport and climate change said ‘EPCs allow tenants and house buyers to make informed choices about prospective properties. As energy costs spiral, EPCs are a powerful tool to help people find energy efficient homes that will be warmer and less expensive to heat.
“It is important that buyers, sellers and landlords are fully informed about EPCs and have full information, so we are contacting those involved in the property sector with advice on what they need to do to comply with the latest regulations.
“A later phase of our campaign to increase awareness of EPCs will focus on tenants. This will increase the expectation and demand for this vital information so it is important that property owners act now to ensure they meet with the legal requirements.”