No EPC certificate issued when purchased flat

G_M

Glass of wine - I'm balmy....

ComicGeek

Bex123456 wrote: »

So the reason that the EPC inspector thought it would be less than an E was actually just because the attic has no documentation and therefore he said it would have to be treated as being in line with regulations from when the flat was built (1895) and not 1983 when it was actually done, which apparently gives it a big penalty. He said there was not much else we could actually change to gain a grade as already double glazed/gas heating with thermostat/energy saving bulbs etc.

When we bought it, we were under the impression it was an EPC C grade because of the incorrect certificate that we were given...

Well, if you didn't notice it wasn't the right EPC then perhaps the future tenants won't either.....

Worst case, pay an EPC assessor £50 to undertake a proper EPC for the correct property, and ask them to call you before they lodge it to confirm the EPC rating. If it's an E or better, then go ahead and lodge, and problem solved.

As an EPC assessor myself, I very much doubt that a gas heated maisonette would achieve worse than an E anyway. The EPC assessor is correct in that the insulation standards in the loft conversion would be as per the Building Regs standards in 1895 (ie none!), but that is only part of the overall calculation. Did the assessor actually type all of the inputs into the calculator, or just state it wouldn't work? Just sounds like nonsense to me, get another assessor in to do a full assessment.

Just say the 'thought' in bold in your reply - no point guessing, they need to enter the information into the EPC calculation and confirm either way.

ComicGeek

Bex123456 wrote: »

The various EPC inspectors (including the ones who incorrectly labelled the certificate for the flat below) have so far been spectacularly unhelpful. Seems we're stuck in a ridiculous situation which isn't easy to remedy.

Well, all the original EPC assessor could do is apply to get the EPC deleted from the register. That doesn't help you as as they won't have any requirement to produce a free EPC for your flat.

Should be simple to remedy though - get a new EPC produced, and this will overwrite the incorrect one on the system, as there can only be one EPC per address. Worth checking that there are two separate addresses on the EPC register for your flat and the flat below before proceeding with this - wouldn't be the first time that an address is missing, and the assessor selects the wrong one. Your assessor would just have to apply to the register to get the addresses added before lodging, simple task.

Bex123456

ComicGeek wrote: »

Well, if you didn't notice it wasn't the right EPC then perhaps the future tenants won't either.....

Worst case, pay an EPC assessor £50 to undertake a proper EPC for the correct property, and ask them to call you before they lodge it to confirm the EPC rating. If it's an E or better, then go ahead and lodge, and problem solved.

As an EPC assessor myself, I very much doubt that a gas heated maisonette would achieve worse than an E anyway. The EPC assessor is correct in that the insulation standards in the loft conversion would be as per the Building Regs standards in 1895 (ie none!), but that is only part of the overall calculation. Did the assessor actually type all of the inputs into the calculator, or just state it wouldn't work? Just sounds like nonsense to me, get another assessor in to do a full assessment.

He hasn't given us the calculation yet, just said he didn't think it could make an E grade. It was my partner who spoke to him, not me, so I'm not sure exactly what he said, but he apparently thinks that it's not to do with the roof (which we know is uninsulated) but somehow the loft conversion means we'd have a low rating.

I had a look at the EPC ratings of other top floor flats on my street which presumably are similar (it's terraced so same walls etc) and most of them, even without roof insulation seem to be getting D grades at least.

Think we'll do what you suggest and ask him what his rating works out as before lodging.

ComicGeek wrote: »

Well, all the original EPC assessor could do is apply to get the EPC deleted from the register. That doesn't help you as as they won't have any requirement to produce a free EPC for your flat.

Should be simple to remedy though - get a new EPC produced, and this will overwrite the incorrect one on the system, as there can only be one EPC per address. Worth checking that there are two separate addresses on the EPC register for your flat and the flat below before proceeding with this - wouldn't be the first time that an address is missing, and the assessor selects the wrong one. Your assessor would just have to apply to the register to get the addresses added before lodging, simple task.

I think the issue that makes it difficult to remedy is simply if the EPC rating does end up too low and effectively impossible to improve - that would certainly have given us pause for thought before we purchased.

Bex123456

So an update - turns out the EPC assessor was talking nonsense, and you guys were right - the grade has come out as a 'D' (60), so crisis averted!

Thanks for all your replies.