Scotland: new consultation and EPC reform workshops open

The Scottish Government have opened a technical consultation on Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) Register Lodgement Fees and Penalty Charges.

The idea is to build upon previous EPC Reform consultations conducted in 2021 and 2023. EPC Reform is close to happening, with the Scottish Government aiming to lay new regulations in Parliament later in 2025 and bringing them into force “in the second half of 2026, to align with the introduction of the UK Home Energy Model Calculation Methodology.”

As per the new consultation’s overview: “…lodgement fees and penalty charges form part of the EPC Regulations and need to, respectively, reflect the costs incurred in running the technical and operational functions of the regulatory system, and act as a…deterrent for any breach of the Regulations.”

The purpose of the consultation is to get stakeholder opinions on what the lodgement fees could potentially cover in the new proposals by the Scottish Government, and to monitor the level of penalty charges which haven’t been reviewed since 2009. All views will feed into the finalisation of the new EPC Regulations later this year.

Access more detail, and the consultation itself, via the Scottish Government’s website here.

Three online EPC Reform Workshops have also been planned across March for those wanting to stay in the loop with this ongoing work:

EPC Reform Workshop 1

3 March 2025 10am−12pm – register on Eventbrite here

EPC Reform Workshop 2

10 March 2025 2-4pm – register on Eventbrite here

EPC Reform Workshop 3

13 March 2025 11am-1pm – register on Eventbrite here