By Bea Patel, TLE Property Editor and Director of Shop for an Agent
In 2007 the UK Government introduced EPCs (Energy Performance Certificates).
The Housing Act 2004 made it a mandatory requirement that an energy assessment is made on all properties listed for sale in Britain and late also applied to rental properties.
This was derived from an EU diktat, European Union Directive 2002/91/EC.
Britain was told it must adopt a regime of sending inspectors to all homes marketed for sale or to let, before they could be advertised.
Now Britain has voted to leave the EU, Russell Quirk, founder and ceo of online estate agent eMoov has launched a Parliamentary petition to scrap “these pointless pieces of bureaucratic wastefulness”, in order to streamline the home moving process and to save the country millions of pounds.
It is estimated that over £16m EPCs have been produced at a consumer cost of over £800m.
Parliament will have to debate the issue if 100,000 signatures are achieved. As it stands now (14 July 2016), there are 339 signatures. The petition deadline is 7 January 2017.
Quirk said: “I have launched this national petition in order to get rid of EPCs and the unnecessary cost to the consumer of paying for them. When introduced as part of the failed Home Information Pack in 2007 they were widely criticised as pointless and wasteful by the property industry.
“Thousands of inspectors have had to be trained and then re-trained under adapted legislation, forced upon us by an EU directive that, now that we have voted for Brexit, can be unwound.
“EPCs are of no benefit to anyone and have created a bureaucratic burden on home sellers, landlords and estate agents.”
Quirk has also contacted the Housing Minister Brandon Lewis MP to ask for his support.
