Selling a home without an EPC

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Use the sections below to jump to the most relevant section of this guide on Energy Performance Certificates, also known by the acronym EPCs, which is designed for any homeowner to help resolve potential issues with the certificates when selling a property.

1. What is an Energy Performance Certificate?
2. Your duty as a homeowner to have an Energy Performance Certificate
3. Potential liabilities if you don’t have an Energy Performance Certificate for your home
4. How to get an Energy Performance Certificate for your house or flat
5. Options for selling a home that doesn’t have an Energy Performance Certificate
6. Top queries about how to sell a property without an Energy Performance Certificate

What is an Energy Performance Certificate?

An Energy Performance Certificate, commonly referred to by property buyers and others as an EPC, is a standardised certificate that you receive from an approved energy assessor who will rate the energy efficiency of your house or flat on a scale from A (the most efficient) to G (the least efficient).

EPCs will include important facts about how your home uses energy and the costs associated with that usage. The certificate will also typically include suggestions for steps that the homeowner could take to make the property more efficient and reduce energy costs.

The UK government first required homeowners to obtain EPCs in August 2007 as part of Home Information Packs (HIPs), sometimes called a seller’s pack, that include a broad range of paperwork about a property that had three or more bedrooms. But the often-large costs and effort involved with putting together HIPs led to a lot of pushback from homeowners, and the government ultimately scrapped the requirement for the seller’s packs in January 2012.

But even though HIPs are no longer mandated when you want to sell your home, the requirement to have an EPC is still in place. And that duty applies not only to houses or flats that people are looking to sell, but also to any property that is being rented or built.

Your duty as a homeowner to have an Energy Performance Certificate

You are required by UK law to have an EPC for your home, and you must have the certificate before you attempt to sell your property as prospective buyers are allowed to ask to see it. Note that even if you previously obtained an EPC, it’s no longer valid if it’s more than 10 years old.

However, not every type of property will require an EPC. As the UK government’s website explains, a number of buildings including some residential housing can be exempt from the requirement.

Some of the many different types of construction that do not need an EPC include:

• Churches and other places of worship
• Workshops and industrial locations that use a minimal amount of energy
• Agricultural buildings not used for residential purposes that don’t use much energy
• Temporary constructions that will be torn down within two years
• Stand-alone structures with less than 50 square metres of usable floor space
• Houses or other buildings scheduled for demolition
• Residential properties that will be used for four months or less each year
• Holiday buildings rented for four months or less each year
• Listed properties

If your house or flat falls under any of the above categories, you might be able to avoid having to obtain an EPC before trying to sell your property. But most conventional homes, you’ll likely have to obtain a certificate.

Potential liabilities if you don’t have an Energy Performance Certificate for your home

The UK government created the rating scale for EPCs from A to G, with G being the least efficient type of property, in part to protect people when buying homes, because the form provides important and potentially deal breaking information on a property’s energy efficiency.

If you are planning on renting out your house or flat, it’s crucial to understand that an EPC rating of either F or G means you are prohibited from letting your property to tenants (as at April 2021). If that is your situation you should take steps to rectify the issue and improve your home’s energy efficiency or maybe this would be the time to consider selling your tenanted property.

And you must adhere to the government’s guidelines for obtaining an EPC before selling your home, because it is a legal requirement. Any EPC that is more than 10 years old is considered to be invalid, so you cannot rely on such a document to satisfy the requirement. It’s vital that you take steps to get an up-to-date EPC because any violation of the mandate to have the document can result in you potentially having to pay a financial penalty.

How to get an Energy Performance Certificate for your house or flat

If you don’t have an EPC for your property but would like to sell it, or if you have an EPC but it is more than 10 years old and therefore no longer valid, it’s relatively easy to get a certificate.

Search online to find a domestic energy assessor in your neighbourhood; there are many highly qualified professionals throughout the UK who will visit your property and conduct the necessary survey for you to obtain an EPC. You can expect the survey to take anywhere from 45 minutes to a full hour to complete, and during this time the assessor will take a look at everything that can affect energy usage in your home including the roof, walls, boiler, insulation and windows.

The assessor will then use the information that they gather during their visit to write your EPC which will outline the energy usage and costs for your home. They should be able to email you a copy of the certificate, which gives you quick access to it should a potential buyer want to see it.

And EPCs are not incredibly expensive compared to other documents you might need for your home. The HomeOwners Alliance, which is an independent organisation that advocates for the rights and protection of homeowners in the UK, says that you can expect to pay between £60 and £120. However, this is just a guide because there are no set rules on the rates that companies who provide energy assessments for the certificates are able to charge homeowner.

Some of the factors that might affect the total cost of your EPC include the rates that the local provider charges, the size of your house or flat, and other potential issues.

Did you know that if you’re selling a house with solar panels, you can potentially show an improved EPC.

Options for selling a home that doesn’t have an Energy Performance Certificate

When you’re ready to move to a new home and sell your current property, with or without an EPC, you will have to decide which option for finding a buyer works best for your needs. The choice is typically between selling at a property auction, using a fast cash buyer like LDN Properties, or enlisting the services of an estate agent, and each have their own pros and cons.

Selling your home at a property auction

One benefit of trying to sell your house or flat at a property auction is that it provides some certainty about when you will sell, because if anyone places at least the minimum reserve price bid on your home then that is considered to be a legally binding agreement to purchase it. And you can sue to enforce this agreement in the event the buyer tries to walk away from it.

And you also get a specific date for when your home is likely to sell, which is the day on which the auction is scheduled to take place, helping to reduce the uncertainty further.

But there can be a few delays involved with selling your home at auction, including a wait of potentially a few weeks or possibly longer after you have listed your property for sale and the day of the auction. Also, even if someone makes a winning bid on your home, there might be many more weeks of paperwork to be completed before the sale is finalise.

You might also have to settle for less money than you need or want from the sale, because auctioneers often persuade homeowners to set the opening minimum bid on a property at a low level to generate interest. But if this reserve price is far less than you ideally want for your home, you’ll be required to sell the property if anyone at the auction bids that price.

Further, auctioneers will charge you commission for selling your home, and you’ll have to subtract this cost from the overall net profit you’ll make from the sale.

Using a fast cash buyer like LDN Properties

Another option for selling your home, with or without a valid EPC, is to contact a fast cash home buying company such as LDN Properties. They can make swift and competitive cash offers to buy properties of all shapes, sizes and types, even if the home does not have an EPC.

A big advantage of using a "cash buyer only" company is how quickly the process of selling your home can go compared to selling through an estate agent or property auctioneer. Most fast property cash buying companies can complete the entire sale within just a few short weeks, and that includes the time that it takes to exchange contracts and to pay the seller their cash proceeds.

LDN Properties and other fast cash buyers also have plenty of experience with buying homes that are in various conditions or that might have elements that could be considered problems when trying to find a buyer – such as the homeowner either not having an EPC, or having an energy certificate that is more than a decade old and therefore invalid. If you’re in that situation then a fast cash buyer can still make an offer of your home and help you make a quick sale, which can be a huge relief if you’re worried about the lack of an EPC preventing a sale.

And another advantage of using a quick cash home buying company is that they typically don’t charge any fees to sellers. That means you can be assured of receiving the full profit from selling your home to such a company, rather than having to deduct any fees from it.

Enlisting the services of an estate agent

Estate agents are experts at selling a huge range of properties, and that’s why many people like to use them when trying to find a buyer for their houses or flats. Estate agents will relieve a lot of the stress from selling because they will take care of putting together an attractive listing for your property, along with marketing it and generating interest from potential buyers.

But one potential drawback of selling your home using this option is that you will have to agree to viewings, where people interested in possibly making an offer to buy your property come to see the interior and exterior in person. Although estate agents typically handle these, they can still take up a lot of your time and be very inconvenient for homeowners.

Another downside of selling your house or flat via an estate agent is the lack of any deadlines, and it’s not uncommon for homes that are sold this way to not receive any serious purchase offers for a number of months or in worst case scenarios more than a year. When you want a swift sale, using an estate agent might not be your most favourable option.

And, similar to selling your home through an estate agent, you will also have to pay an estate agent fees for finding a buyer for the property. As a result, you’ll have to deduct the commission from the total cash profit that you can expect to make from selling your home.

Top queries about how to sell a property without an Energy Performance Certificate

Homeowners looking to sell fast often ask us for further information on selling timescales and selling without an EPC. Here are some key questions we’ve been asked about selling without an EPC: