RESIDENTIAL NEW BUILD PROPERTY
Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) for residential new build property are different from those for existing dwellings. EPCs for new build property are called On Construction Energy PerformanceCertificates (OCEPC). All homes that are physically complete on or after 6th April 2008 will require an OCEPC and not an existing dwelling EPC.
There are several aspects to this legislation, firstly with regards to the
Completion Certificate you will require from Building Control and secondly in
relation to the marketing of the property.
ON CONSTRUCTION ENERGY PERFORMANCE CERTIFICATE (OCEPC) The mandatory requirement
for an OCEPC on all new build property is driven by the building regulations and
not by Home Information Packs. However, you will need to include a copy of the
OCEPC in the HIP (if the HIP is required, see more information on this below).
Unlike an EPC on an existing dwelling, the OCEPC does not require a site visit and is created from the plans and specifications of the building.
The OCEPC must be based on SAP 2005 ratings irrespective of which building
regulation approved
documentation it was approved against. We include updates to any previous SAP
Assessments in our pricing structure.
The OCEPC is more in depth and accurate than assessments on existing
dwellings, this is because the software for existing dwellings has to take
account of so many variables relating to various types and ages of existing
housing stock and therefore has to make many assumptions. In relation to this,
the existing dwelling EPC has approx 15 reference points and the OCEPC has
approx 120.
PLANNING DEPARTMENT & BUILDING REGULATION REQUIREMENTS
An OCEPC is required for every unit and will need to be submitted to the Planning Department in order to obtain a completion certificate for each property.
When you complete the build Building Control will require you to submit a
notice which includes an
energy rating to demonstrate that your building complies with the latest
Building Regulations. The
energy rating element will include the OCEPC which has to be carried out by an
accredited On
Construction Domestic Energy Assessor.
Building Control will not give you a final completion certificate until they are sure that the OCEPC has been completed and that it meets current Building Regulation requirements. It is important that we liaise with your Building Control Officer to ensure that we provide the information they are expecting.
This is particularly important for Buildings that have been built to the pre
April 2006 Part L building
regulations. It is possible that your building could fail current requirements,
however, if it was built to pre April 2006 Part L Building regulations the
Building Control Officer is likely to be more flexible if we work with them by
agreeing what they may make allowances for.
If you are at design stage and have not submitted your planning application
you will need the SAP
Assessment for your application and we would also produce the PEA at this stage
so that you could
market the property off the plans as soon as planning is approved.
Our service includes all energy assessments from design right through to
completion.
HOME INFORMATION PACKS (HIP) From 6th April a HIP is required if you are
marketing new build property whether it is complete or off plan. The only
difference in the pack is the completed property HIP will include the OCEPC and
the off plan EPC will require a Predictive Energy Assessment (PEA). There are
current exemptions to this requirement as listed below.
We include the PEA and the OCEPC in our price, so if your property is off plan you will receive a PEA to put into the HIP. When you advise us that the property is complete we will provide you with the OCEPC which will replace the PEA in the Home Information Pack.
We can provide quotations for the Energy Assessments alone or for both the Home Information Packs and Energy Assessments. Prices for Home Information Packs will be in the region of £199.00 per pack. This does not include the price for the energy assessments. There are some potential savings on the search information contained in the pack as we may be able to use one search for all the property in the development depending on a number of variables that we would need to ascertain from you.
Which property requires a HIP?
From 6th April 2008 all new homes will require a HIP unless you can genuinely
prove that they have been marketed before the relevant commencement date that
relates to the number of bedrooms in the property and the Building Regulations
they were built to.
Exemptions for all property built to pre-2006 Part L standards the following
exemptions apply :-
• Four bedroom property and above marketed before 1st August 2007 is exempt.
• Three bedroom property and above marketed before 10th September 2007 is
exempt.
• Two bedroom and below marketed before 14th December is exempt.
Homes built to 2006 Part L standards marketed before 6th April 2008 are exempt
from requiring a HIP. If a property is exempt from having a HIP it is also
exempt from requiring a PEA. All newly built homes that do not have a completion
certificate before 6th April 2008 will require the OCEPC regardless of if they
need a HIP.
Conversions
Buildings that have been materially changed or altered would not be classified
as New Build. They will need a Home Information Pack if being marketed based on
current regulations for existing dwellings.
Multiple Properties on One Development
If, for example, you are marketing 100 properties on the same development by the
same developer you must provide 100 separate HIPs for each individual plot, each
property will need its own individual HIP.
Documents that apply to more than one property can be copied across to each
pack. However, some items such as the sale statement and the OCEPC are specific
to each property.
Length of Validation of Searches
Searches have no defined validity period. Under the HIP regulations, searches
cannot be more than 3 months old when marketing begins.
PRICING STRUCTURE FOR NEW BUILD ENERGY ASSESSMENTS
Our pricing includes SAP Updates, PEAs and OCEPCs. Please note that any changes
to the building
between the SAP Updates and the completion stage could incur further costs. In
order to obtain a price guide you will need to identify the number of units and
the number of unit types. Unit types are not exactly related to those on the
plans in terms of layout. For example a unit which has exactly the same floor
plan but is positioned between floors above and below and apartments
on either side would be classed as different to a unit which is positioned on
the corner of the building with external walls, or on the roof or ground floor,
as the energy calculations would differ. If you enter a guide for how many unit
types you think you have on your development you will get a good idea of
pricing. However, we will need to confirm pricing when we have seen the relevant
information.
INFORMATION REQUIRED FOR QUOTATION CONFIRMATION
• We require a full set of plans including sections, elevations and the overall
site plan.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REQUIRED TO CARRY OUT WORK AT DESIGN STAGE
• Auto CAD files (if work carried out on Auto CAD).
• Full specification including building type, windows, boiler and heating
systems, insulation used,
doors and any other specification information that could have an effect on the
Energy
Consumption. You can email us for a form which covers all the relevant
information required.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REQUIRED TO CARRY OUT WORK AT POST DESIGN STAGE
• Date planning granted as we need to identify if the Building Regulations are
pre or post April
2006.
• Details of the Building Control Officer and permission to speak with them
(this is so that we
ensure we deliver exactly what they want. Air Pressure Tests may need to be
conducted and
results of these tests will need to go into the OCEPC data before the
certificate is produced. If
the building is built to pre 2006 Par L Building Regulations it may not need air
pressure testing
but only the Building Control Officer can make this decision and if it is built
to post April 2006
Part L Building Regulations then Building Control will need to tell us what
percentage of the
building needs air pressure testing. Some buildings that were built to pre 2006
Part L Building
regulations may fail current standards, we will need to discuss this with the
Building Control
Officer and agree compromises which they are happy to proceed with.
• Final addresses of properties, we will need these as soon as possible during
the project so that
we can request that the new addresses are added to the Landmark Register where
all EPCs have
to be filed and registered.
• Any previous SAP Assessment information, even though this will not be used to
produce the PEA
and OCEPC, it will give us background information that we require.
For further information please contact us on
Energy Assessment Ltd
24 Stanley Road,
Stourbridge,
West Midlands,
DY8 2DN
Tel: 0845 094 0891 Email: info@energyassessment.biz
Website: www.energyassessment.biz