Pre-inspection Advice to Sellers & Landlords

The HI/DEA will start the inspection by taking measurements of the property and drawing floor plans. He/she will also be taking site notes and pictures of some aspects of the property (e.g. glazing, heating system such as boiler, hot water tank, storage heaters etc, lighting, construction of the property etc).

Access will be required to all rooms of the property to assess glazing and the methods of heating, lighting and ventilation in the home. Clear access will be required to meter cupboards, heating systems and their controls, i.e., boilers, timers, hot water cylinders and thermostats.

An inspection of the loft space (if accessible) is required to assess insulation. This can add or take away a lot of points therefore it is very important to have the loft insulated. For more information and advice on grants please click here.

To achieve the best rating possible, sellers and landlords should provide as much information about their property as possible. This will speed up the process of producing a correct EPC. Remember, this is a visual inspection so if any information is missing or access is denied, the inspector has to default the condition to the worst scenario. In your absence, please make sure that you leave a documentary evidence for the inspector to check.

1. Age of Property:

The HI/DEA will very likely have a local knowledge of the area however if   you know the year the property was built in let the inspector know.

2. Age of Extension/Loft Conversion:

The HI/DEA will check with the planning department whether there have  been any planning applications. Sometimes this information is not registered, either because the extension is illegal, it did not need a planning permission or the local authority does not have an updated database.

3. Floor Plan:

This is a luxury for the inspector but if provided it can cut the time spent at a property by half.

4. Internal/External Wall Insulation:

It is very important that you let the inspector know if your walls are insulated. Walls present large areas of heat loss (up to 35%) and it may be very difficult to identify whether or not the walls are insulated by visual inspection.

5. Floor/Roof Insulation:

Floors but particularly roofs are another area where there is a lot of heat loss. Please provide a documentary evidence if there is no loft access otherwise the inspector will have to tick a box saying 'No loft access' which means the software will assume there is no insulation.

6. Age of Double Glazing:

If your double glazing was put in in or after 2002 and there is no date stamp on the metal strip around the edge of the sealed glazing unit, please provide the inspector with this information as this could increase your rating.

7. Open Fireplaces

Open fireplaces include a chimney that strongly affects the ventilation rate  of the house. Please inform the inspector if

a) the fireplaces have been blocked inside and chimneys have been sealed

b) there is a flexible flue liner sealed into the chimney

c) a chimney is fitted with a damper, open flue gas fire where the flue products outlet is sealed to the chimney

d) a chimney is for solid fuel appliances with controlled flow of the air supply or contain a flued appliance