What does this mean for the buyers?
Energy Performance: how high will your house score?
18 January 2007
Did you know that from June this year, if you want to sell your house, you're going to have to have its energy efficiency checked out? If you didn't, you're not alone. In a survey carried out by movewithus, Britain's leading property specialists, more than 40% of those polled had never heard of Home Information Packs, which become compulsory from June, and must contain an Energy Performance Certificate.
Should you be worried?
movewithus found that 83% of those surveyed didn't know what the HIPs and EPC meant for them and only 15% felt well informed. As all vendors will have to produce an Energy Performance Certificate in six months time, it suggests that thousands of homeowners will find the marketing of their property affected by something they know nothing about.
Of those thinking of selling their homes, only 28% were confident that the EPC would have no effect on the price they could achieve. Just over half surveyed (51%) were unsure and 8% admitted to being very worried that the compulsory declaration of energy inefficiencies would harm their house value.
What is the Energy Performance Certificate, and how will it be assessed?
In future, trained assessors will visit properties about to go on the market and rate them in much the same way as appliances like fridges and freezers are rated. As part of an EU directive aimed at reducing our carbon pollution levels, inspectors will be looking at how much heat is lost from a building, which fuels are used; whether appliances are energy efficient and what measures have been taken to limit the amount of energy it takes to run a home.
Once they've completed their assessment, inspectors will provide an Energy Performance Certificate, giving the homeowner a rating and advice on how this could be improved. Whilst there is no compulsion to carry out the measures recommended, the EPC will form part of the Home Information Pack which must be made available to all prospective buyers, therefore remedial work could become a bargaining tool and affect the price of a property.
It's no wonder that many homeowners are apprehensive about the impact this will have on the sale of their home, confirmed by 49% of those polled by movewithus lacking confidence in their house's chances of scoring well in an EPC. Furthermore another 27% felt they didnt know enough about what's involved.
movewithus and the EPC
In response to this lack of knowledge and with the introduction of HIPs and EPCs just a few months away, movewithus want to make sure that thousands of homeowners across Britain don't find themselves affected by legislation they know little about. By collaborating with several of its partner agents in regional trials, movewithus are offering a free pre-assessment service to help clients identify their home's energy hotspots, and decide whether or not to make any improvements before putting their house on the market.
For more information click here.
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