The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government has issued guidance on obtaining EPCs during the current coronavirus outbreak.
On 1 April 2020 Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) came fully into force. This means that MEES now applies to all existing, new and renewed tenancies despite the current pandemic. Our previous posts on MEES can be read here.
Landlords who have not applied for an exemption will need to ensure that they comply with MEES or face a fine. Scotland has delayed the implementation of MEES until October 2020 but England and Wales have elected not to do so, hence this new guidance.
The government is recommending that people should not be moving properties where they can avoid or delay doing so. Therefore, the need for an EPC is expected to be low. However, where an EPC is needed, the property should ideally be empty but where it is not social distancing should be adopted.
The government is not planning on relaxing the EPC requirement at the current time. Therefore for those considering placing a property on the market an EPC will be required within the 21 day allowance period after marketing. Consequently, marketing properties without an existing EPC is probably best avoided to ensure that fines are not imposed.
Disclaimer
The contents of this blog post is not legal advice and is provided for general information purposes only. If legal advice is needed readers should contact a solicitor. No responsibility for any information contained within this post is accepted and PainSmith solicitors accepts no liability in respect of the contents or for action taken based on this post.
Published 15 April 2020
