It seems to be a very well-kept secret, but from January first 2009 anybody wishing to sell or rent out a house or apartment will need to provide a Building Energy Rating certificate for that property to the buyer or tenant.
The building energy-rating certificate is very similar to the energy rating labels people would associate with any domestic appliance they would see in the shops. Just as an ‘A’ rated washing machine will cost less to run, an ‘A’ rated house will cost less to heat.
In the same way an E or F rated house will cost a lot more to heat over the course of a year. And with gas and electricity prices rising every few months the cost of heating your home is becoming more of a concern for everybody.
Additionally the rating of a house will start to have an effect on the resale or rental value, as naturally people will prefer to live in a house that costs less to heat.
The Building Energy Rating Scheme has been established under the European Communities Regulations Act 2006 and Sustainable Energy Ireland has been designated as the Issuing Authority.
When talking to people about the new BER requirement the same questions seem to crop up time and again. People want to know things like the cost of an assessment. How long does the certificate last? Is there a minimum ‘pass or fail’ score? And how can someone improve a rating on his or her home? Who will assess the property?
The cost of having your property assessed will vary from one assessor to another and so people are advised to shop around. All assessors are trained to the same standard, so just because you pay more for an assessment does not mean you will get a better product.
Once a certificate has been issued for an existing house or apartment it will be valid for 10 years and it does not need to be renewed if the property changes hands within that 10-year period.
There is no minimum score in a BER assessment. Unlike an NCT test for cars, a house or apartment cannot ‘fail’ its BER, however a poorly rated property will not be as attractive to a prospective buyer or tenant.
There are a number of ways that the rating of a property can be improved, and for a lot less than people may think. Very recently I rated a house that was built in the early 1970s and it came in with an F rating. As it turned out the house was being heated with an oil boiler that was over 20 years old. If the boiler were to be replaced with a modern high efficiency boiler the rating would move to a D. For a relatively small outlay of about €2,000 the house rating jumps from an F to a D and its sale price would increase by far more than the cost of installing a new boiler.
All BER assessors have to pass examinations accredited by FETAC and must then register with Sustainable Energy Ireland. The SEI imposes a strict code of conduct stating that assessors must remain impartial and cannot assess a property if they have any financial interest in it. (An assessor cannot assess his or her own home. Nor can they assess a property they are selling or letting for someone else. )
Around the country this small army of assessors are preparing for a very busy new year as sellers and landlords alike, seek out their services to assess their properties. There are currently 860 assessors registered with the SEI nationwide and there are 16 assessors operating in the Westmeath area. To date there has been very little media attention about this new legislation and so the average person buying or renting a house is not aware of their rights; indeed many sellers and landlords are not aware of their obligations. The SEI are planning an advertising campaign in the weeks before the new year to increase awareness among the general public.
As a result, BER assessors say the market is quiet now but it is expected to become very busy as the January 1 deadline approaches. So the advice is to get in early and have your property assessed before the new year in order to beat the rush.
For further information you can contact Sustainable Energy Ireland on 1890 734 237 or by visiting www.sei.ie/ber
Alternatively, you can contact Kavanagh Engineering on (044 ) 9390221 or email [email protected].
