ENERGY PERFORMANCE
CERTIFICATES (EPCs)

Energy ratings

Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) show potential home buyers or tenants how energy efficient the building is. The EPC contains information on potential energy costs and carbon dioxide emissions. A coloured chart represents how energy efficient the building is, or could be, similar to those used on household electrical appliances.

Energy Ratings

Buildings are rated from A, meaning very efficient and coloured green on the chart to G, meaning inefficient and coloured red on the chart; properties with a higher rating are likely to have lower fuel bills.

The Law

EPCs are needed whenever a property is:

  1. Built

  2. Sold

  3. Rented

Not having an EPC could lead to enforcement action from district councils, who are the enforcing authority in Northern Ireland, and the issuing of a penalty charge notice.

Each EPC is valid for 10 years and can be used multiple times during that period. An EPC can only be produced by an accredited energy assessor who will visit the property to carry out an assessment.

A copy of the EPC is lodged on a national register and this can be accessed via the EPC search facility on the register at the link below. It will be publicly available and some of the underlying data may be shared with others for the monitoring and compliance of the EPB regulations. The Government may use some of this data for research or statistical purposes.

Click here to Retrieve an EPC

EPC Enquiry

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