Licensees selling up face fees surge

Hosts selling or leasing their pub will face greater upfront fees as the Government confirms that energy ratings on all sales particulars and marketing material will be compulsory from 1 July.

The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has also placed the onus on property agents to make sure that an energy performance certificate (EPC) is issued before a property is marketed, to increase compliance rates.

The changes mean agents must now issue an EPC within seven days of the property being marketed, instead of the current 28 days, or face a visit from trading standards officers.

It confirms weeks of speculation, after the Morning Advertiser learnt that DCLG had been in talks with some EPC providers about proposed changes.

EPCs, compulsory since 2008, show the energy efficiency of a property and how it could be improved. Licensees should have an EPC before they market a pub, but experts say sellers are waiting until a pub is under offer before paying for an assessment, which costs around £300-£500 for a typical pub.

Andrew Whelan, director of EPCforProperty, which provides EPCs for commercial properties, said: "Many vendors struggle to find the money and are often unable to find it at the time of instruction. This will also be an issue for agents as they will be unwilling to carry the cost of the EPCs themselves. It often takes more than six months to sell a property and no agent completes on every instruction, with many completing on under 50%. At the same time, the agent will not want to lose the instruction just because of the EPC.

"Until the recommendations report (that comes with a commercial EPC), gives practical advice to help purchasers and tenants reduce energy costs, many of my clients will see them as an extra cost and of little interest to the purchaser or vendor."