Do Historic or Listed Buildings require an EPC?

Posted by Survey Hub Ltd on 21st June 2019 -

Do Historic or Listed Buildings require an EPC?

Before the introduction of the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES), which came into force on April 1^st 2018, the answer would have been ‘no’, however we are now revising our advice in accordance with MEES.

If you are selling an historic or listed property, an EPC will be not be required.

However, if you are renting an historic or listed property, an EPC will be required to determine if it falls within the scope of MEES. Should the EPC achieve an E or better rating, you can sit back and relax. However, if the rating falls short, you will either need to carry out improvement works to the property to bring it up to scratch, or jump through several hoops to apply for a temporary exception that will last for only 5 years, after which you will need to reapply.

If you find yourself in this scenario, we would first recommend that a new EPC assessment is carried out by an experienced assessor, following which, if the resulting rating does not achieve an E or above, you will then need to consider what upgrades will be required to improve the rating to the desired level.

It may become apparent through this process that your only viable option is to apply for an exemption. At this stage you will need to consider the different options available to see which will be most likely to qualify the property for the temporary exception; this could be anything from the number of years of financial payback of the building upgrades, to the tenant denying access for the upgrades to the property to be completed…to name only a few of the possible reasons that you can apply for an exemption.

Whatever the concern around listed properties and or MEES, our experienced EPC assessors can help and provide the tailored advice you need.