The Telegraph is reporting on the problem associated with the ‘flawed rules’ with the EPC test.

We have been lobbying Government for some time regarding the review into EPC’s, and also into the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES) which can be seen here, but to date have received no satisfactory response as to when landlords will be re-assured the EPC assessment process will be made for purpose, or when the new requirements for MEES will be published.

In the Telegraph article, Melissa Lawford warns of the problems of similar homes ‘which share the exact same characteristics such as size, construction materials and wall thicknesses, are being given wildly different scores by assessors’.

David Fell, of Hamptons, said the independent assessors often used different assumptions about a property’s energy efficiency.  He said: “The fairly wide spread of ratings within blocks of flats is likely to be determined by EPC assessors making different assumptions about elements of the block which are not immediately visible during their visit, such as the extent of cavity wall insulation, rather than simply homeowners having made energy efficiency improvements.”

 Craig Powell, an energy assessor who asked to speak using a pseudonym, said: “Generally speaking, flats in one building should have similar EPC ratings.  But unfortunately the ratings can be different depending on the person making the assessment.”

These problems can lead to problems with mortgages, with Chris Sykes, of mortgage broker Private Finance, commenting that the gap was likely to widen. “I can see a premium in mortgage rates being put on properties that aren’t EPC band C or above,”