Web exclusive: Six –month delay emerges in rollout of performance certificates for public and commercial buildings

Energy Performance Certificates will not be required for the vast majority of public and commercial buildings until mid to late next year, it emerged today.

A new timeline on the Department for Communities and Local Government website says that only buildings with a floor area more than 10,000m2 will require an EPC in April 2008 when they are built, sold or rented out. The original floorspace for that deadline was 500m2.

The timetable adds that EPCs will be required for buildings over 2,500m2 in size on 1 July and that display certificates for public buildings over 1,000m2 will not be required until next October.

An EPC expert said he was shocked at the new timetable. “The Government will have to change the law to get this through. I’m very surprised that they have not publicly announced this. It’s clear they are not ready to implement the certificates.”

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