Energy Performance Certificates

[Martin_Sach_CE_EASCO]

From 30th June all holiday cottages (unless let for less than 4 months of the year in total) will require an energy performance certificate. This is a change in the guidance issued by the Dept. for Communities and Local Government. It is a change of interpretation but the Regulations are already in place. A special edition of EASCO News has been published on this topic and we are making it available to non-members who Like our Facebook page. To get the full briefing go to http://www.tiny.cc/fbeasco and look at the Fan Extras page - the menu is on the left in case you are unfamiliar with Facebook. You do have to join or be on Facebook to get this.

[Generaltig]

is this 4 continuous months? we mainly have w/e lets.

[mrsdianajacob]

From 30th June all holiday cottages (unless let for less than 4 months of the year in total) will require an energy performance certificate. This is a change in the guidance issued by the Dept. for Communities and Local Government. It is a change of interpretation but the Regulations are already in place. A special edition of EASCO News has been published on this topic and we are making it available to non-members who Like our Facebook page. To get the full briefing go to http://www.tiny.cc/fbeasco and look at the Fan Extras page - the menu is on the left in case you are unfamiliar with Facebook. You do have to join or be on Facebook to get this.

Until 2 weeks ago I was unaware of this new legislation. (I only found out when emailed by someone wanting to come and assess me!) I approached several people in the business, no one else knew either. I searched this accommodation Know-How site, and looked at the legislation page. Nothing! We need to organise these certificates NOW. And ignorance is not an excuse. There is a £200 daily fine after June 30th... or so I have heard! Quotes range from £20 - £90 per property - I have 8.

I am wondering why I am having to spend any money on what seems to be a box ticking exercise. Apparently I don't need to do anything with the information I receive. Of course I take care of the environment very seriously - and am as green as I can be....... more costs and hoops to jump through.....

[Windy]

As a clarification for anyone letting a caravan or other similar building like a holiday lodge which is transportable, the legislation does NOT apply to these types of buildings. I rang and had this confirmed by Eve Martin from The Communities and Local Government Department today. They will be publishing clarification of this and a few other details shortly on their web site.

[greenbarncottages]

Once again something comes flying out of the woodwork that has a serious effect on us, and once again thanks are owed to Martin Sach and EASCO for looking out for our interests.

Hopefully we'll see something definitive on AKH very shortly; it would be useful to know how to establish if your property actually requires a certificate before the vultures descend to take us for a ride by offering over-priced services, inflated by an unrealistic deadline and talk of daily fines.

Will our barn conversion into three properties need a certificate? It was completed in 2008 and had to have what I believe was called an SBEM (Small Building Energy Modelling?) produced at great expense which covered the heating and insulation, and energy footprint. Seems like it should fit the bill, but how do I go about finding out? And who will actually ask to see this EPC?

[VisitEngland_Feedback_]

Once again something comes flying out of the woodwork that has a serious effect on us, and once again thanks are owed to Martin Sach and EASCO for looking out for our interests.

Hopefully we'll see something definitive on AKH very shortly; it would be useful to know how to establish if your property actually requires a certificate before the vultures descend to take us for a ride by offering over-priced services, inflated by an unrealistic deadline and talk of daily fines.

Will our barn conversion into three properties need a certificate? It was completed in 2008 and had to have what I believe was called an SBEM (Small Building Energy Modelling?) produced at great expense which covered the heating and insulation, and energy footprint. Seems like it should fit the bill, but how do I go about finding out? And who will actually ask to see this EPC?

There will be an article covering Energy Performance certificates in this months AKH update which will be sent out next week. A link will be posted here following this.

[beamsleyproject]

From 30th June all holiday cottages (unless let for less than 4 months of the year in total) will require an energy performance certificate. This is a change in the guidance issued by the Dept. for Communities and Local Government. It is a change of interpretation but the Regulations are already in place. A special edition of EASCO News has been published on this topic and we are making it available to non-members who Like our Facebook page. To get the full briefing go to http://www.tiny.cc/fbeasco and look at the Fan Extras page - the menu is on the left in case you are unfamiliar with Facebook. You do have to join or be on Facebook to get this.
Shropshire Tourism newsletter dated March 2011 says these certificates do not apply to selfcatering and B&Bs and that their members should not do anything yet!

[VisitEngland_Feedback_]

Please find our news article on Energy Performance Certificates here: http://www.accommodationknowhow.co.uk/new-this-month/news/energy-performance-certificates-to-be-extended

[Martin_Sach_CE_EASCO]

Please find our news article on Energy Performance Certificates here: http://www.accommodationknowhow.co.uk/new-this-month/news/energy-performance-certificates-to-be-extended

To upadate readers on this, EASCO has identified some legal issues that we have asked the Department for Communities to consider. In our view the current UK legislation does not apply to holiday cottages because the wording of the 2007 Regulations makes specific reference to buyers and tenants. We are therefore disputing the Department's view that a change as proposed can be made by changes to the guidance. We have met the Department and I have followed up this week by letter. We await their response. Readers can see updates on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/eascouk. Our advice to our members is for the time being to get ready to have an EPC done but not yet to spend any money on it.
Martin Sach
Chief Executive
English Association of Self Catering Operators

[nyreestubbs]

Stronger Consumer Feedback: Websites Make Customers King
Not only are star rating schemes causing problems, but they are rapidly becoming out of date too. Increasingly, websites such as Tripadvisor or Expedia offer immediate and accessible feedback from previous customers to anyone considering whether to stay at a wide range of hotels, eat at a restaurant or visit a nearby attraction. This means they achieve the key aim behind any existing rating scheme: they provide better information to help visitors decide what they’re buying, in a convenient and easy to understand format, before it’s too late for them to change their minds. Unsurprisingly they’re growing fast, with some claiming growth of 50% or more per year.
The industry expects these websites progressively to take over many of the traditional functions of an old-fashioned rating system, and cure some of their flaws too. For a start they will be universal, because every firm will be rated by its customers whether it joins the scheme or not. And the feedback and ratings will, by definition, reflect a complete and up-to-date spectrum of what customers really want, rather than what the providers or rating agencies think they’d prefer. This means they won’t be elitist, and will accurately reflect if a particular hotel or restaurant offers good value for money, whether it is cheap and cheerful or expensive and luxurious. Finally, many of these sites allow sophisticated searches for customers who want accommodation with particular or specialist features, such as hotels with a low carbon footprint, good accessibility for disabled visitors or gluten-free food.
Interestingly, the tourism industry firms which are being rated on these websites are cautiously positive about their growing influence. The customer ratings can be extremely blunt – sometimes brutal – but well-run firms say they’re increasingly using them as a valuable source of customer feedback on whether they’re doing a good job, and what they need to work on to do better. This process is incredibly powerful, and will either drive up standards or drive out poor providers faster than anything any Government-sponsored scheme can do.
The new websites aren’t perfect, of course. They have to guard against malicious or inaccurate postings from customers with a grudge, or from unscrupulous firms which may attempt to divert customers from nearby competing hotels or restaurants. But consumers will naturally gravitate to the sites which are most reliable, and stop using the ones which aren’t, so there’s a strong incentive to ensure the content is clean and accurate. Equally, few of them can boil all the customer feedback down into a single, simple summary rating (the equivalent of a star system) just yet, although many of the firms behind these websites say it is technically feasible and should be available soon. And finally, of course, websites are no use to tourists who aren’t comfortable with technology. This is a shrinking minority of potential customers, but still represents a substantial proportion of the market.
The Government will encourage any rating schemes or customer websites which improve the quality of information which visitors can use to choose the right holiday for them, so they make informed choices rather than discovering problems when it’s too
30
Government Tourism Policy
late. We will also encourage every scheme to provide specialist information on travel, accommodation and attractions which is accessible to disabled people, and which is sustainably ‘green’ as well. The fastest way to ensure the industry gives proper weight to these two important issues is to allow customers whose needs aren’t being met to voice their frustrations directly, and to praise (and use) providers who ‘get it’ as well.

[nyreestubbs]

Finally, many of these sites allow sophisticated searches for customers who want accommodation with particular or specialist features, such as hotels with a low carbon footprint, good accessibility for disabled visitors or gluten-free food. Could this be something to do with it - from the new Government Tourism Policy. All pushing us towards using Trip Advisor etc

[Sarah]

Any news on this to date - there do not seem to have been any updates on FB?

The EPC requirement for holiday accommodation is based on such a silly interpretation of the wording! Not only that but the C&LG Impact Assessment seems to have inflated the positive benefits of the measure, based as it seems to be on experience of the domestic market and information from the Energy Savings Trust. After all, who really chooses a holiday based on the energy rating of the property they're staying in - especially when the energy used is potentially included in the cost?

[_grockles]

Guests arnt interested in making savings on holiday accommodation energy. They just want to get their money's worth. I have done the EPC but find them laughable. If I spend another £1,500-£3,500 on a condensing boiler I can save a massive £30 a year. At best I think thats 50 years to recoup. The certificate lasts for 10 years. I'm not putting them in the units as advised, not this year, I'm spending my time reading them and tutting.

[Windy]

"If I spend another £1,500-£3,500 on a condensing boiler I can save a massive £30 a year."

...and you can watch the icicle that will stop it working in a few hours start to form when it gets below 0c :-) I was gobsmacked to learn that this is a pretty universal problem with them.

I agree that guests seem t have have little if any interest in energy efficiency judging from the way they leave my heating on with all of the windows open so they can enjoy the fresh air!

[Willowfield]

We have been working with Trading Standards who are the authority on Local Government Regulations concerning the need for EPC's (Energy Performance Certificates) and their requirement for holiday properties.

Their stance is very clear, Carolyne Miller of Devon Trading Standards has confirmed "there is NO obligation on a holiday let owner to have an EPC".

[Willowfield]

I thought this may be of interest -- recieved today from a local ( Devon) Holiday Letting Agency
" We have been working with Trading Standards who are the authority on Local Government Regulations concerning the need for EPC's (Energy Performance Certificates) and their requirement for holiday properties.

Their stance is very clear, Carolyne Miller of Devon Trading Standards has confirmed "there is NO obligation on a holiday let owner to have an EPC".
Sounds good to me ?

[mrnickblankley]

I've read the articles and the threads and still don't know whether my self catering flat needs a certificate or not - any thoughts?