Dwellings in multiple occupation
Where individual rooms in a building are rented out and there are shared facilities (eg kitchen and/or bathroom), an EPC is not required. This because an EPC is only required on the rental of a building or part of a building designed or altered to be used separately. Renting a room does [...]

Cost of an EPC
The cost of an EPC is set by the market. It includes the travel time to the dwelling and back, the survey, the energy modelling, production of the EPC, the lodgement and compliance with any quality assurance procedures.
The costs of EPCs may differ for the rental sector compared to those for private [...]

Reduced data Standard Assessment Procedure (RdSAP)
The energy performance of existing dwellings is determined using a government approved domestic energy model known as Reduced data Standard Assessment Procedure (RdSAP). This is a streamlined version of the Standard Assessment
Procedure (SAP) into which data for new build dwellings is entered based on drawings and specifications.
RdSAP has been developed [...]

EPCs must be produced by an accredited Domestic Energy Assessor (DEA) or a Home Inspector (HI). Home Inspectors are accredited to produce Home Information Packs for private marketed sales, of which the EPC is one element.
Dwellings for rent only require EPCs and the associated Recommendations Report.
To be accredited, a DEA or HI must be registered [...]

General requirements
The landlord must commission an EPC and ensure a copy of it, including the recommendation report, is available free of charge to prospective tenants at the earliest opportunity. As a minimum, this should be when prospective tenants are first given written information about a dwelling or are arranging to view it, and before any [...]

When landlords are planning an EPC compliance strategy some of the main issues to consider are:
• size of portfolio
• whether the portfolio is spread over a large geographical area, or concentrated in one location
• similarity of the stock
• turnover of the stock, or particular parts of the stock
• any energy efficiency data already held and [...]

A typical Energy Performance Certificate showing ‘fridge style’ ratings for the Energy Efficiency and the Environmental Impact of a dwelling is reproduced below. An accompanying Recommendations Report is included on the following page.

from 1 October 2008, an EPC will be required whenever a building2 in the social or private rented sectors is let to a new tenant

a building can be: the whole of a building; or part of a building where the partis designed or altered to be used separately. For residential purposes, ‘designed or altered to [...]

A summary of responsibilities is provided below:

copy of the certificate: the landlord must provide the whole EPC (including the recommendations report) free of charge to the new tenant

understanding the running costs: though this is not an obligation, the landlord should advise the tenant that the estimated running costs (a) are based on standardised consumption (number [...]