This article is from page 59 of the 2009-01-20 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 59 JPG
SINCE January of this year, the Building Energy Rating (BER) scheme has been extended to cover all residential property. This means a BER certificate is now legally re- quired when selling or renting hous- es and apartments.
Roger Leyden of Leyden Auction- eers Ennis, is a qualified BER As- sessor, accredited by Sustainable En- ergy Ireland (SEI). He explains, “A BER Cert rates the energy efficiency of a property. The Cert is designed to make it easier for prospective buyers or tenants to calculate how efficient a property is to heat.
Anyone selling or renting resi- dential property is now obliged to provide a BER Cert and solicitors require a BER Cert as part of the documentation needed to close the sale of a property”.
The good news is that the Cert re- mains valid for ten years from the date of issue, unless there is a ma- terial change to the building, which could affect its energy performance, for example an extension or a sig- nificant change to the building fabric or a change in the heating system or fuel used.
Although there has been much con- troversy about the cost of certifica- tion, Roger commented that while he could not speak for others, “we oper- ate a three- tiered pricing structure. A BER survey and certificate for an apartment is €225, which includes
the €25 obligatory fee to the SEI. We charge €250 for a semi-detached or town house and €275 for a larger detached house of up to 2,000 sq. ft
— again those prices are inclusive of price”.
the SEI fee.
For landlords with a portfolio of | with properties to sell is, “don’t wait
properties, Roger will “negotiate on
His advice to landlords and those
until the last minute to get your BER
cert in order, after all, once issued it remains valid for ten years”.
Roger 1s critical of the Govern- ment’s performance in communicat- ing this scheme to the general pub- lic.
“The Ratings are graded from Bands A- G, ‘A’ being the highest level of energy efficiency. Most of the second hand houses that are 10 to 15 years old, are commonly re- ceiving a C or D rating and many of the owners are disappointed by what they perceive to be a low rating, but that’s as much as they should expect because to make the leap to an ‘A’ rating they would need to have so- lar panels and geo-thermal heating installed and that is the exception rather than the norm’, said Roger.
He issued a word of caution to landlords, “Storage rads, which are prevalent in so many apartments greatly reduce energy efficiency and they alone can bring the ratings right Kenyan lee
From now on letting agencies will have to include the energy rating of all apartments and houses on their books, so landlords should act sooner rather than later to get their proper- ties assessed.
Roger’s final word of advice is to “ensure your BER assessor 1s regis- tered with the SEI, otherwise your Cert will not be valid”.