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 later, this applied to rental properties too.
The reason for the introduction was as a consequence of European Union Directive 2002/91/EC
Simply, 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. At an average total annual cost of £100m to the UK home seller and landlord. The resulting energy rating that the certificate assesses is of little help to either buyer or seller and has not proven to reduce energy consumption in any attempt to assist in mitigating the effects on the environment, as was the intention when first conceived by the European Commission.
Founder and CEO of leading hybrid estate agent eMoov.co.uk, Russell Quirk, has launched a Parliamentary petition to bring about the scrapping of these pointless pieces of bureaucratic wastefulness, in order to streamline the home moving process and to save the country millions of pounds. This petition will be the first shot to be fired by the property industry in achieving swift benefit from the EU exit.
If 100,000 signatures are achieved this would mean that Parliament has to debate the issue.
Quirk has also contacted the Housing Minister Brandin Lewis MP to ask for his support.
Since inception, it is estimated that over 16 million EPCs have been produced and at a consumer cost of over £800m*
Russell Quirk commented: “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.”