Some friends of mine recently put their home on the market and found that the estate agents couldn't officially declare the house for sale until an energy performance certificate or EPC had been provided for the house. Much like the now standard home information pack, the 'EPC' has become a legal requirement. Since October 2008, whenever a building is built, sold or rented out, an 'EPC' has become a legal prerequisite.

There is a sliding scale in operation that rates buildings according to their energy efficiency. This scale runs from A to G with a home rating of A being the most efficient and of course G being the least energy efficient. British homes have been averaging an energy efficiency rating of D until recently. The EPC should now be provided by Accredited Domestic Energy Assessors, along with a detailed report explaining what can be done in a property to make it even more energy efficient.

Generally there are two main types of energy performance certificate. A Commercial EPC and the more common one when selling a home, is the Residential Energy Performance Certificate. A Display Energy Certificate is a third that is used in slightly different circumstances.

A brief outline of the residential energy performance certificate, you can find below.

Residential Energy Performance Certificate

Now required by law for homes bought, homes sold or homes let The residential 'EPC' is valid for 10 years and is reusable within that time EPC should be commissioned by landlords - Landlords EPC Applicants must be permitted to inspect the EPC A free copy should be provided to a tenant prior to any agreement.

As my friends found out, you won't be able to sell your house without these certificates being present, so it is vitally important to know what an 'EPC' is as they can have an impact on major life decisions.