The Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007
| Year | 2007 |
2007 No. 991
building AND Buildings, ENGLAND AND WALES
The Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007
Made 23th March 2007
Laid before Parliament 29th March 2007
Coming into force in accordance with regulation
The Secretary of State is a Minister designated1for the purposes of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 19722in relation to measures relating to the energy performance of buildings.
In accordance with section 14(3) of the Building Act 19843she has consulted the Building Regulations Advisory Committee and such other bodies as appear to her to be representative of the interests concerned.
The Secretary of State makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 and by sections 1(1), 8(6), 35 and 47 of, and paragraphs 1, 2, 4, 7, 8 and 10 of Schedule 1 to, the Building Act 19844.
PART 1
Introductory
Citation, application, extent and commencement
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007.
(2) Subject to regulation 4, and notwithstanding section 4 of the Building Act 19845, these Regulations, other than regulation 8, apply to all buildings including buildings which are exempt from building regulations by virtue of that section.
(3) These Regulations extend to England and Wales.
(4) Each provision of these Regulations mentioned in column 3 of the Table in Schedule 1 shall come into force on the date mentioned in column 2 of that Table, for the purposes mentioned in column 4.
Interpretation
2.—(1) In these Regulations—
“accreditation scheme” means a scheme approved by the Secretary of State in accordance with—
(a) regulation 25; or
(b) regulation 17F of the Building Regulations 20006;
“advisory report” means a report issued by an energy assessor pursuant to regulation 19;
“air-conditioning system” means a combination of all the components required to provide a form of air treatment in which the temperature is controlled or can be lowered, and includes systems which combine such air treatment with the control of ventilation, humidity and air cleanliness;
“asset rating” means a numerical indicator of the amount of energy estimated to meet the different needs associated with a standardised use of a building, calculated according to the methodology approved by the Secretary of State pursuant to regulation 17A of the Building Regulations 20007;
“building” means a roofed construction having walls, for which energy is used to condition the indoor climate, and a reference to a building includes a reference to a part of building which has been designed or altered to be used separately;
“display energy certificate” means a certificate which complies with regulation 17;
“dwelling” means a building or part of a building occupied or intended to be occupied as a separate dwelling;
“energy assessor” means an individual who is a member of an accreditation scheme;
“energy performance certificate” means a certificate which complies with regulation 11(1) of these Regulations or regulation 17E of the Building Regulations 20008;
“home information pack” means a home information pack in relation to a building obtained for the purpose of complying with section 155(1) or 159(2) of the Housing Act 20049;
“inspection report” means a report issued by an energy assessor in accordance with regulation 22(1);
“penalty charge notice” means a notice given pursuant to regulation 40;
“recommendation report” means the recommendation report required by regulation 10, and includes a report issued by an energy assessor for the purposes of regulation 17E(4) of the Building Regulations 2000 or regulation 12(4) of the Building (Approved Inspectors etc.) Regulations 200010;
“relevant person” means—
(a) in relation to a building which is to be sold, the seller;
(b) in relation to a building which is to be rented out, the prospective landlord;
(c) in relation to a building in circumstances where regulation 9 applies, the person responsible for carrying out the construction work; and
(d) in relation to an air-conditioning system, the person who has control of the operation of the system.
(2) Unless otherwise defined in these Regulations, terms used in these Regulations have the same meaning as in European Parliament and Council Directive 2002/91/ECon the energy performance of buildings11.
Meaning of “prospective buyer or tenant”
3. A person becomes a prospective buyer or tenant in relation to a building when he—
(a) requests any information about the building from the relevant person or his agent for the purpose of deciding whether to buy or rent the building;
(b) makes a request to view the building for the purpose of deciding whether to buy or rent the building; or
(c) makes an offer, whether oral or written, to buy or rent the building.
PART 2
Duties relating to energy performance certificates
Application of Part 2
4.—(1) This Part does not apply to—
(a)
(a) buildings which are used primarily or solely as places of worship;
(b)
(b) temporary buildings with a planned time of use of two years or less, industrial sites, workshops and non-residential agricultural buildings with low energy demand;
(c)
(c) stand-alone buildings with a total useful floor area of less than 50m2 which are not dwellings.
(2) Nothing in this Part requires an energy performance certificate to be given or made available to a prospective buyer or tenant at any time before the construction of the building has been completed.
Energy performance certificates on sale and rent
5.—(1) Subject to regulation 7, this regulation applies where a building is to be sold or rented out.
(2) The relevant person shall make available free of charge a valid energy performance certificate to any prospective buyer or tenant—
(a)
(a) at the earliest opportunity; and
(b)
(b) in any event before entering into a contract to sell or rent out the building or, if sooner, no later than whichever is the earlier of—
(i) in the case of a person who requests information about the building, the time at which the relevant person first makes available any information in writing about the building to the person; or
(ii) in the case of a person who makes a request to view the building, the time at which the person views the building.
(3) Paragraph (2) does not apply if the relevant person believes on reasonable grounds that the prospective buyer or tenant—
(a)
(a) is unlikely to have sufficient means to buy or rent the building;
(b)
(b) is not genuinely interested in buying or renting a building of a general description which applies to the building; or
(c)
(c) is not a person to whom the relevant person is likely to be prepared to sell or rent out the building.
(4) Nothing in paragraph (3) authorises the doing of anything which constitutes an unlawful act of discrimination.
(5) The relevant person must ensure that a valid energy performance certificate has been given free of charge to the person who ultimately becomes the buyer or tenant.
Providing energy information with particulars
6.—(1) Subject to regulation 7, this regulation applies where—
(a)
(a) a building is to be sold or rented out in circumstances where section 155(1) or 159(2) of the Housing Act 2004 imposes a duty on any person in relation to that building;
(b)
(b) written particulars about the building are prepared for the purpose of providing information about the building to persons who may be interested in buying or renting the building; and
(c)
(c) the written particulars are given to such a person by—
(i) the relevant person; or
(ii) another person on his behalf.
(2) The person giving the particulars must ensure that—
(a)
(a) the particulars include the asset rating of the building expressed in the way required by regulation 11(1)(a); or
(b)
(b) a copy of an energy performance certificate for the building is attached to the particulars.
(3) In this regulation—
“written particulars” means any written description of the property which includes at least two of the following—
(a) a photograph of the building or any room in the building;
(b) a floor plan of the building; or
(c) a description of the size of the rooms in the building,
and a reference to giving particulars includes a reference to giving or making available particulars electronically.
Buildings to be demolished
7.—(1) Regulations 5 and 6 do not apply in relation to a dwelling which is to be sold or rented out where the relevant person can demonstrate that—
(a)
(a) the dwelling is suitable for demolition;
(b)
(b) the resulting site is suitable for redevelopment;
(c)
(c) all the relevant planning permissions, listed building consents, and conservation area consents exist in relation to the demolition; and
(d)
(d) in relation to the redevelopment—
(i) either outline planning permission or planning permission exists, or both; and
(ii) where relevant, listed building consent exists.
(2) Regulation 5 does not apply in relation to any prospective buyer or tenant of a building other than a dwelling which is to be sold or rented out where—
(a)
(a) the relevant person can demonstrate that—
(i) the building is to be sold or rented out with vacant possession;
(ii) the building is suitable for demolition; and
(iii) the resulting site is suitable for redevelopment; and
(b)
(b) the relevant person believes on reasonable grounds that the prospective buyer or tenant intends to demolish the building.
(3) In this regulation, “outline planning permission” has the same meaning as in article 1(2) of the Town and Country Planning...
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