EPC compliance stays low
Only 28% of commercial properties marketed for sale or lease have the legally required Energy Performance Certificate, according to a recent study carried out by energy-rating organisation Elmhurst Energy Systems. A similar study in June showed only 19% compliance.
356 commercial properties were sampled in the UK during December 2009. Dr Gavin Dunn, operations director with Elmhurst Energy, comments, ‘While it was pleasing to note that the levels of compliance appear to have improved compared to the figures in previous reports, there remains continued confusion around the requirement of when the EPC is required following comments made from conversations with agents.
‘The fact that EPCs are not available to prospective building occupants undermines a key aspect of the UK’s energy-efficiency and climate-change policy and results in reduced demand for EPCs within the energy-rating industry. The industry is already oversupplied due to the large numbers of assessors who have been encouraged to be trained, many of whom will now struggle to make a living because there simply isn’t enough work if agents continue to ignore energy-efficiency legislation.’
