Agents and others who market property must become aware that they may become liable for the Penalty Notice if marketing a property without an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC).
Changes that come into place from 6th April 2012 will see Estate Agents becoming jointly or severely liable for the Penalty Notice with their clients if they market a property without an EPC. The Regulations have been revised and it will be a requirement to have an EPC in place before the marketing of a property can begin. The EPC must be attached to the property particulars for the property. In effect the first page of the EPC must be reproduced in full each time the property details are mailed or sent to ANY prospective tenant or purchaser.
Agents will NOT be able to leave the commissioning of an EPC until the last possible minute in the transaction as is so often the case at the moment.
Commissioning an EPC
It will still remain the responsibility of the Owner or Landlord to commission an EPC but the Regulations have been subtly revised so that Trading Standards can ask the Agent or representative of the Owner/Landlord to provide evidence that an EPC has been commissioned. Once asked the Agent/Representative will have 7 days to provide that evidence. If the Agent/Representative cannot provide that evidence then a Penalty Notice could be issued to the Agent/Representative. Penalty Notices can still be issued to the Owner or Landlord.
Penalty Notice
A Penalty Notice will be for a sum equal to 12.5% of the property rateable value subject a minimum fine of £500 to a maximum fine of £5,000 subject.
Please contact us for further information.
The contents of this article are intended for general information purposes only and shall not be deemed to be, or constitute legal advice. We cannot accept responsibility for any loss as a result of acts or omissions taken in respect of this article.
