Scotland announces Energy Performance Certificates reform

The Scottish Government has confirmed revised Energy Performance Certificate regulations are set to be laid this year, with the intention to bring these into force in 2026.

What are Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs)?

An EPC provides information on how energy efficient a building is, using a rating of A-G from most to least efficient. 

What is the context?

EPCs play a key role in Scotland’s property market – over 200,000 certificates are issued every year.

According to the Scottish Government, EPCs are intended as a basic, standardised assessment and not a substitute for detailed, technical retrofit assessment and advice. 

Following the reform, EPCs in Scotland will remain a source of information only, unlike in other parts of the UK where they are linked to minimum energy efficiency standards. 

What does this mean in practice?

The proposed changes the Scottish Government has outlined include:  

• A new EPC rating system for non-domestic buildings.
• Validity period of EPCs will be reduced to five years from ten.  
• A redesigned EPC certificate, based on a first phase of user testing and to be followed by a second phase prior to regulations coming into force.
• A new EPC rating system for domestic buildings, which is set to give clearer information on the fabric energy efficiency of a property, the emissions, efficiency and running costs of its heating system and the cost of energy to run the home to standardised conditions.

What will be new about the non-domestic EPCs?

The Scottish Government will introduce a reformed set of three non-domestic EPC ratings:

• Energy Efficiency Rating (A to G) kgCO2e/m2/year: Based on modelled emissions from regulated energy use relative to a reference building to align with the rating system used across the UK.
• Direct Emissions Rating (kgCO2e/m2/year): The building’s modelled direct emissions from regulated energy use to allow a focus on the decarbonisation of individual buildings. For buildings which only use grid electricity, or are connected to a heat network, this will be zero. 
• Energy Demand Rating (kWh/m2/yr): The building’s modelled regulated energy use under standardised conditions to allow comparisons between buildings. 

Other information to be featured in the reformed non-domestic EPC includes: 

• Whether a building is in a heat network zone. 
• A rating for the main Heating System for the building. This will be based upon the same Heating System Type Rating classification as used on the domestic EPC: Clean heating, renewable bioenergy, hybrid systems, polluting heating.

What happens next?

A technical consultation will follow on the level of EPC lodgement fees. This will give stakeholders a further opportunity to contribute to the development of the new regulations.  

Subject to Parliamentary approval, the new regulations, new EPC rating system and redesigned certificates are expected to be brought into force during 2026.