Edition 2020 Ninth edition

4.5.5. 
Unless so instructed, it is not the valuer's responsibility to obtain the EPC or a 
report on any technical building systems.
4.5.6. 
Buildings not needing EPCs — As the Directive's definition of a building for these 
purposes
 (see 3.2 above) 
only relates to roofed structures with walls "for which energy 
is used to condition the indoor climate", an EPC is not required for buildings where 
no effort is made to alter the climate within the building. These are outside the 
EPC regime. These might include some storage and many agricultural buildings.
4.5.7. 
Member states are also free to exempt the following categories of buildings from 
the obligation to issue an EPC:
•
Buildings officially protected as part of a designated environment or because 
of their special architectural or historical merit, in so far as compliance with 
certain minimum energy performance requirements would unacceptably alter 
their character or appearance;
Note — This exclusion applies only as far as compliance would change the character or ap-
pearance of the building, as perhaps where a historic building's appearance would be altered 

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European Valuation Standards 2020
IV. - EVIP 1: The Impact of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive on Property Valuation
233
by double glazing or external insulation. Its application to such buildings may therefore be a 
matter of interpretation of the relevant national law implementing the Directive on this point.
•
Buildings used as places of worship and for religious activities;
Note — Buildings used for religious activities might include such places as monasteries and 
facilities for ritual purification. It would not appear to matter that such buildings may also 
have other uses.
•
Temporary buildings to be used for two years or less, industrial sites, work-
shops and non-residential agricultural buildings with low energy demand and 
non-residential agricultural buildings which are in use by a sector covered by a 
national sectoral agreement on energy performance;
Note — This exclusion appears to come in three parts:
 •
Temporary buildings might include those used on construction sites and for specific 
events as well as those on temporary planning permissions;
 •
It appears that the "low energy demand" exclusion not only applies to non-residential agri-
cultural buildings but also qualifies industrial sites and workshops. "Low energy demand" 
is not defined in the Directive. Some member states may choose to define the term;
 •
Sectoral agreements on energy performance covering agricultural buildings are most 
likely to apply to buildings housing pigs, poultry and some horticulture.
•
Residential buildings which are used or intended to be used for either less than 
four months of the year or, alternatively, for a limited annual time of use and 
with an expected energy consumption of less than 25% of what would be the 
result of all-year use;
Note — This is most likely to cover seasonal housing, whether for holidays or work.
•
Stand-alone buildings with a total "useful" floor area of less than 50m².
4.5.8. 
When valuing a building which might fall into one of these categories, the valuer 
should, where relevant, check whether it is exempted from the energy perfor-
mance certification (and also the renovation requirements discussed above) in 
the jurisdiction in question.
4.5.9. 
Using an EPC — The Directive does not create a common format for the EPC 
throughout the EU. EPCs vary between member states, and sometimes within 
them. The Directive does instruct the European Commission to adopt a volun-
tary EU certification scheme for non-residential buildings
 (Article 11(9))
. Valuers may 
thus see EPCs in different national formats as well as those under the voluntary 
common EU scheme.