Now that it has once again been shown that the energy performance certificate (EPC) is insufficiently reliable and the current system is far from fraud-proof, CD&V representative Robrecht Bothuyne has come up with three remarkable proposals. These should better protect buyer and tenant against abuse. The most remarkable thing: “Make cheating EPC experts pay for the money that tenants or buyers miss out on due to an incorrect certificate.”
“Fraud is unacceptable. It is not possible for the same home to be given a D, C and B label by four different energy experts,” says Flemish Member of Parliament Robrecht Bothuyne, also a member of the Flemish energy and climate plan committee. “Stricter controls and higher fines (currently a maximum of 5,000 euros, ed.) are essential. “We believe that at least one percent of all EPCs should be checked.” But CD&V needs to do more to stop malpractice.
The most striking proposal: make the cheating reporter pay for the financial loss that a buyer or tenant suffers due to a blatantly incorrect certificate. “The buyer or tenant must be better protected: it is now the seller or landlord who must provide an EPC. While it is the later buyer or tenant who becomes a victim of fraud.” The new resident can of course now have a ‘counter-expertise’ carried out himself, but no consequences are yet attached to this.
“If the result of the counter-expertise deviates significantly from the seller’s original EPC, the disadvantage suffered should fall under the professional liability of the EPC expert,” says the CD&V MP. “In our opinion, the EPC expert who issued an incorrect EPC certificate must not only pay the second EPC, but also have to adjust the difference between the excessively high sales price and the actual value. Professionals can cover themselves against potentially enormous amounts of damage through professional liability insurance.” Major differences between two expertises should always be submitted to the Flemish Energy and Climate Agency (VEKA) for verification.
Fixed price per m²
According to Bothuyne, the free pricing – energy experts are now free in the price they ask for an EPC – also encourages fraud. Customers look for the cheapest provider, who is therefore inclined to deliver the certificates as quickly and as efficiently as possible for themselves. “The market for energy experts is currently free. This has an impact on quality, but also on the willingness to work ‘à la tête du client’. We therefore propose a fixed price per square meter of housing area, imposed by the government. Homeowners are better off paying the costs to the government, which then pays the energy expert. This benefits independence.”
Separate EPC from renovation obligation
Together with the greater financial importance that the EPC label has recently acquired, the problems also increased. Bothuyne would therefore like to see the conditions for the renovation obligation adjusted. “The renovation obligation must focus more on a checklist of concrete energy-saving measures, such as the presence or absence of certain types of insulation, glazing, heating technology and renewable energy generation. The EPC should be a tool, not an administrative burden.”
Bothuyne will submit the proposals to the competent Energy Minister Zuhal Demir (N-VA) next week.
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