EPCs will slow down auction sales warns NAVA

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

By Estelle Maxwell, Estates Gazette

Activity in the auction room could be slowed significantly by government requirements for energy performance certificates to be in place on the first day of marketing, the National Association of Valuers and Auctioneers has warned.

The changes are set to come into effect in April 2013, and failure to comply with them could result in prosecution, fines or conviction.

Guy Charrison, Chairman of NAVA said: "The impact of this change will be significant on our sector, which relies on speed and swiftness".

Speaking at the NAVA & RICS Property Auctioneering Forum, held at the Chesford Grange in Warwickshire, he added: "Marketing is a key factor for us, and we are always under pressure to get the catalogue turned around on time within our tight three-weeks time-frame between getting it out and going to auction. This can only increase the pressure".

At present, auctioneers and estate agents have 28 days in which to secure an EPC, which denotes a building's energy efficiency on a scale of A to G. The changes will reduce this time to seven days. In addition, trading standards officers would have the authority to make auctioneers and estate agents show that a certificate had been commissioned prior to marketing.

While new EPC rules may slow down sales, Ray Boulger, senior technical manager at mortgage broker John Charcol, told the 200 delegates that an uplift in ledning to the buy-to-let market was likely to boost  sales.

"The Yorkshire Building Society has just recently returned to the sector and later this year Santander is expected to do so" said Boulger.

"We are seeing a resurgence in lending, and you may see an increase in BTL investors. It is difficult to see the BTL market dropping off any more in the next few years because there are fewer first-time buyers and increasing tenant demand".