Domestic Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) reform: consultation

1. Ministerial Foreword

Reducing emissions from our homes and buildings is one of the most important things we can do to help end Scotland's contribution to climate change. Over the next 24 years we will transform Scotland's homes and workplaces so they are warmer, greener and more efficient.

Earlier this year, we published our draft Heat in Buildings Strategy setting out our proposed actions to meet our climate change targets, whilst maximising economic opportunities, ensuring a just transition and addressing fuel poverty.

The draft Strategy outlines the steps we will take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from Scotland's homes, workplaces and community buildings, and to ensure that we remove poor energy performance as a driver of fuel poverty. One of the main aspects of the draft Strategy considers how we can reduce the energy we use for heating our homes. Reducing our demand for energy and moving towards net zero emissions heating systems is critical in meeting Scotland's climate change targets.

In order to realise our climate ambitions and provide long-term certainty to home owners, landlords, owners of non-domestic premises and public sector buildings, we will introduce new regulations to set standards for zero emissions heating and energy efficiency, where it is within our legal competence, between 2023 and 2025. Setting standards through these regulations will require a robust assessment system and we propose to reform the current Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) to this end.

Michael Matheson
Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport