The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero have launched a joint consultation on proposed reforms to the Energy Performance of Buildings (EPB) regime.
This article provides a background to the regime and highlights the reforms proposed within the consultation as set out on GOV.uk here.
The EPB regime was introduced with the goal of improving the energy efficiency of buildings, reducing their carbon emissions and the impact of climate change. Legislative measures were introduced through the Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012 (EPB Regulations).
The EPB Regulations require:
The EPC has become a key tool for assessing the performance of buildings and is now widely used beyond its original scope. For example, EPC ratings are used as the basis for energy efficiency targets, for regulatory requirements such as minimum energy efficiency standards for the private rented sector and as an eligibility requirement for funding, such as in the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund.
The EPC will remain an important tool for delivering the Warm Homes Plan, which aims to save families money and contribute to the UK meeting its climate targets, including by setting new PRS standards for homes by 2030.
The consultation notes that buildings account for around 20% of the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions. In order to meet the government’s net zero commitments, a significant shift in the way domestic and non-domestic buildings use energy needs to occur.
The EPC acts as an enabling tool supporting actions across a range of areas working to improve the energy performance of buildings. This includes supporting lenders with information to assist with finance for energy efficiency improvement; allowing businesses to provide innovative products and services based on accurate building data and allowing government grants to be targeted to where it is most needed.
The Energy Act 2023 introduced powers to amend the EPB Regulations, and represents a new opportunity for government improve the current regime and help deliver in its net zero ambitions.
The consultation proposes reforms to the following:
Proposals include moving from a single headline metric to multiple complementary metrics, providing a more comprehensive representation of building energy performance. Proposals also include new metrics in relation to energy cost, carbon, energy use, fabric performance, heating system, and smart readiness. For non-domestic buildings, the carbon-based metric will remain the single headline metric. Changes to these metrics are expected to be introduced in the second half of 2026.
Proposals include:
The government is also considering reducing the:
Proposals include granting accreditation schemes more responsibility for energy assessor training and improving compliance and enforcement through updated guidance.
Proposals include removing cancelled or unissued certificates from the EPB Register after two years and removing the option for building owners to opt-out of making their EPC publicly accessible on the EPB Register.
Government proposes to increase the penalty for non-compliance with air conditioning inspection report requirements for systems over 12 kilowatts to £800 to improve low compliance rates. The government is also seeking views on redesigning air conditioning inspection reports to make them more concise, potentially including a cost metric in the assessment methodology to demonstrate savings from specific recommendations.
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