CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS

PRICING POLICY

DOMESTIC EPC
I charge £30 an hour, based on the time I spend on site plus time off-site in further calculation, research and production of the EPC.

The total time spent on a property will depend on its size and complexity but will be at least 90 minutes. As a guide, therefore, a simple two bedroom flat could cost as little as £45 but the average two or three bed property will cost £50.

I will give you a firm quote at the beginning. Should the property turn out to be more difficult to survey than I was given to understand, I will need to reevaluate the cost of the job. I should be able to ascertain this before starting the survey. If I think it will involve more than 15 minutes extra time, I will inform you of what the difficulty is and agree a new price with you before continuing with the survey.

Travel costs are included up to 25 mile round trip per job. Beyond this distance I charge on the basis of travel time at £15 per hour. I will try to combine jobs in particular areas in order to avoid the extra charge.

ADDITIONAL SERVICES
I can provide plans (via Metropix) and digital photographs for estate agents to use in their property particulars. This would cost a further £10 on top of my charge for the EPC.

HOME ENERGY ADVICE
I charge £99 on top of the EPC charge for surveying the home. The terms above apply for the EPC element. For dwellings up to three bedrooms the total charge would be £149.

ON CONSTRUCTION DOMESTIC EPC
I charge £30 an hour. For properties up to four bedrooms and which are fairly straight forward I have a package price of £99 per single property for the predictive energy assessment, including all subsequent revisions to specifications.

In a group of dwellings I charge a further £49 for assessing each additional property of a similar type but not exactly the same (there is no need to assess an identical property which is oriented the same way).

On completion of the build I will charge a further fee of £19 for lodgement of the EPC on the first property and £15 for each additional property assessed in a group.

For larger and more complex properties I will need to see the plans before I can give an estimate of cost. I will not proceed until I have your approval.

GENERAL
I am not, at the moment, VAT registered.

My terms are payment on receipt of the invoice in most cases, which facilitates the release of the EPC. Where we have arranged credit terms I require paying within 30 days.

Late payments on credit will be charged at the Bank of England base lending rate plus 8%, and charged from the date of issue of the invoice.

AREA OF OPERATION

My main area of operation is the whole of Wiltshire. I can accept contracts beyond this county, but please note my travel charges. It may be better to seek an advisor in your area.

WORK TIMESCALES

Normally I should expect to visit a site within five working days of receiving the order. This will depend on workload and things like being able to arrange a suitable time with the property occupant.

I expect to produce the EPC within three days of surveying the property, subject to being able to obtain all the information I need. If there is an emergency, I will do my best to meet your timescale. If I expect a delay, I will inform you immediately.

ON CONSTRUCTION ASSESSMENT
In normal conditions I expect to complete an assessment and report on my findings within three days of receiving the necessary drawings and specifications

THE RIGHT FOR THE ASSESSOR TO WITHDRAW FROM THE CONTRACT

I retain the right to cancel the contract under the following circumstances:

&# Danger to personal health and safety due to the physical condition of the property, its environment or the behaviour/attitude of persons or animals at the property.
&# Access to parts of the property are restricted to such an extent that it would be impossible to produce a sufficiently accurate and representative EPC.
&# A conflict of interest arises concerning the property, its occupants or other people connected with it.
&# The property or part of it is a building site which does not have a manager/contractor present who is competent in health and safety matters and who remains present throughout the inspection to ensure compliance with accepted safety rules.
I am persistently unable to have sufficient information to complete the contract.
I am pressed to produce fraudulent results.

If the withdrawal is due to circumstances which the contractor could have prevented, I reserve the right to charge for the time I have used up to that point.

THE RIGHT FOR THE CLIENT TO CANCEL THE CONTRACT

You have the right to withdraw from the contract at any point. Formal notice of your decision must be made in writing. Please be aware that I will charge for my time and expenses incurred up to the point at which I receive the written notice of the cancellation.

PROFESSIONAL BASIS OF THE EPC

An EPC can only be provided by a professional who has trained and qualified as an energy assessor, in the appropriate field. Existing houses are assessed by Domestic Energy Assessors (DEA), New houses by On Construction Domestic Energy Assessors (OCDEA), commercial properties by Non Domestic Energy Assessors (NDEA). These roles are not interchangeable and the assessor must be qualified in the appropriate field for the property. I am currently trained as a DEA and an OCDEA.

The DEA/OCDEA has to be enrolled with an accrediting body who monitor his standards of practice and service, and insure his professional liability. My accrediting body is Stroma - further details can be found below.

EPCs can only be lodged on the Landmark Trust database by an accredited DEA/OCDEA. If he is not able to do this then the certificate is invalid. Each certificate should carry a reference number (RRN) which can be used with a password which the assessor should provide, to check if the EPC has been lodged on the Landmark Trust database. The RRN will only be known to the client, the assessor and the Landmark Trust. Stroma may also see when they are checking my work.

The EPC gives a measure of the energy efficiency of a property, rated against a standard so that all properties, large or small, North or South of the country, can be compared on the same basis. It also rates the CO2 emissions from the property. An estimate of fuel costs is given, again based on the national standard and current prevailing fuel prices. These may not compare with the actual fuel bill which is also dependent on occupier activity. Advice about improving the efficiency of the property is automatically generated, but overseen by the assessor who will remove any inappropriate recommendations. Estimated savings from carrying out the recommendations are also given. I am also a qualified Home Energy Advisor and can give more comprehensive advice on how to improve your property’s energy efficiency as an additional service.

The method used to assess properties differs between existing and new build. New build is assessed under the full SAP2005 procedure which assesses every building element. Existing buildings are assessed under RdSAP, using a reduced set of measurements which relies heavily on the date of the property to assume the properties of certain elements.

The EPC remains valid for 10 years on a rented property but a property which is being sold must have a certificate no more than 3 years old.

WHAT HAPPENS DURING THE SURVEY

The survey is ‘non-invasive’. That means that I cannot drill holes, prise flooring up, unscrew panels, or pull light covers off. If parts of the property are not accessible due to obstruction or for health and safety reasons a default value will be applied, based on the age of the building and the construction practices typical at that time. Certificates, building regulations approved drawings or invoices for improvement work will be valuable evidence of work done which cannot be seen. Deeds or other documents to prove the age of property would also be helpful. I will simply take photographs of these documents for evidence.

I will need to measure the property and take photographs of the outside of the property and certain features relevant to my survey. I assure you that this information will be kept confidential and only available to the Landmark Trust and my accreditation body should they wish to inspect my work. They sometimes do this in order to maintain the high standards my work requires. I will be careful, however, not to photograph anything which might compromise your security or that of your property.

NEW BUILD AND RENOVATION
I work from dimensioned plans - paper or electronic and a printed specification of the proposed property or alteration to produce a Predictive Energy Assessment (PEA). This is based on the information given. Preferably all the internal dimensions should be marked on the plans or deducible from the dimensions given. I would rather not scale off the drawing since this can lead to inaccuracies, but if necessary I can scale off electronic plans in .dwg or .dxf formats.

The assessment will produce a Target Emmission Rate (TER) figure for that type of dwelling and a Dwelling Emission Rate (DER) figure which must be less than the TER and 25% less after October 2010. If it is not, I will explain where the problems are and suggest remedies. Once we have agreed on a new specification I will be able to issue a PEA.

On completion of the building, I will need to see conformation that the dwelling has been constructed to the specification on which the PEA is based and an air pressure test certificate in order to issue an EPC and add the new address to the Landmark Registry.

COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

In all instances I will endeavour to be courteous, professional, knowledgeable, thorough and cause a minimum of inconvenience to yourself. However, if in the unlikely event that you have a complaint to make against me, this is the procedure to follow:

1) In the first instance you should make your complaint directly to me, Robin Brookes, preferably in writing or certainly followed up in writing if you contacted me by telephone. You should give all the details and circumstances of your complaint. I will reply as soon as possible in writing, but certainly within 3 working days and open a complaint log.

2) I will investigate your complaint and respond with my findings within 14 days of receiving your initial complaint or give you a time by which I can complete my investigation.

3) I will offer you a resolution to your complaint which you will either agree with or disagree with.

4) If you agree and further action is necessary on my part, I will take the necessary action to put matters right as soon as possible.

5) If, after you have exhausted all the previous procedure my resolution is not satisfactory, you should refer your complaint to my accreditation body, Stroma:

In writing to:

General Manager
Stroma Certification Ltd,
Unit 4, Pioneer Way,
Pioneer Business Park,
Castleford, WF10 5QU

By phone: 0845 621 11 11
Email: certification@stroma.com

6) Stroma will investigate and return with their initial findings within 7 working days.

7) The accreditation body’s decision is final and both I, Robin Brookes, and yourself will be bound by their decision.

On accepting your contract I will provide you with a copy of Stroma’s complaints procedure as well as mine.

This page was last updated 26/11/10