Home energy rating certificates slammed by regs commission

The Better Regulation Commission (BRC) has slated government proposals to go beyond European directive requirements with its home energy performance certificates and called for their introduction to be delayed.

The certificates, similar to those highlighted in last month’s EMC, which target commercial buildings, will grade residential properties on their energy consumption and will cost £100.

However, the BRC says that the requirement for homes to have an energy performance certificate every time they are sold would substantially increase the cost of moving. These proposals go beyond the requirements of a European directive, which states that home energy certificates only have to be updated every ten years.

BRC chair Rick Haythornwaite said: “In our recent review of the regulatory aspects of the Stern Review, we explicitly cautioned against ill considered regulatory responses to the climate change challenge, and using climate change as a justification for measures which have other motivations.

“Here, we have an example of proposals that are not part of a clear strategic framework and impose additional admin burdens with inadequate justification.”

The BRC has also warned that there will not be enough certified energy assessors available by the 1 June implementation date for the energy performance certificates.

It has called on Ruth Kelly, the community secretary, to postpone requirements for all houses sold after 1 June to have a certificate. Under the European directive, they do not have to be introduced until 2009 and are allowed to last for up to ten years.

Ms Kelly’s department claims that the introduction of the certificates could reduce carbon emissions by the equivalent of taking 100 000 cars off the road, even if only one fifth of households took action.