Update on the collection of Energy Performance Certificate ratings

We recently introduced the collection of a property’s Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating on purchase and remortgage applications.

On Monday 3 April, we have added some additional system messages that will improve the Green Home products selection process.

We will check the product code being selected is eligible earlier in the application process. A new message will show on the ‘Quote’ screens if the product is ineligible based on the EPC Information on the ‘Loan’ screen.

This means that while the ‘EPC Information’ section on the ‘Loan’ screen remains optional to complete, e.g. to key a Decision in Principle when the property may not be known, when proceeding to a full application if a Green Home product is to be selected the EPC details should be completed on the ‘Loan’ screen. Otherwise, a message will ask you to return to the ‘Loan’ screen to complete / correct this information.

As a reminder we require a valid EPC to be captured on all purchase applications (or a predicted rating for New build properties) and on remortgages while the application can still proceed if the property does not have a valid EPC, we ask you to check and update the EPC information where available.

The ‘Exempt’ option must not be chosen unless the property is exempt from requiring an EPC, and the Exemption Form (PDF, 48KB) would then need to be completed to confirm why the property is exempt. It is important the EPC details we collect are complete and accurate. This is so we can better understand the energy efficiency of the properties we finance and create opportunities to promote conversations with homeowners regarding the energy efficiency of their homes.

Please see our previous Keying EPC Guide for further details of how we capture EPC details.