S.L. 623.1 Art. 14Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) and Energy Performance Assessment (EPA). Cap. 552.

(1) An owner or his agent shall obtain an EPC in the form prescribed by these regulations when a building is constructed, sold or rented.

(2) To be valid, the EPC shall be obtained from an independent EPB assessor after it is registered with the Building and Construction Authority.

(3) As from the date indicated in this sub-regulation, a person or agent acting on behalf of the owner who commissions the design of a new building shall have in his possession an EPC based on the design rating of the building and in the form prescribed by these regulations just prior to obtaining a full development permit from the Planning Authority:

(a) in relation to dwellings whose development permit application was submitted after 2nd January 2009; and

(b) in relation to all other buildings whose development permit application was submitted after 1st June 2009.

(4) As from the date indicated in this sub-regulation, a person or agent acting on behalf of the owner who offers a building for sale or letting, shall provide an EPC to the prospective buyer or tenant prior to the promise of sale or at the time of signing of the rent agreement. The EPC shall be in the form prescribed in these regulations and shall be based on the design rating of the building if the building is not yet constructed and finished, or on the asset rating, if the building is already constructed and finished:

(a) as from 2nd January 2009, in relation to dwellings; and

(b) as from 1st June 2009, in relation to all other buildings.

(5) In the event that the person or agent indicated in sub-regulation (4) does not provide the prospective buyer or the tenant with an EPC within the period indicated in sub-regulation (4), the buyer or the tenant shall have the right to engage an assessor to issue the necessary certificate and, in all cases, the prospective buyer or tenant shall have the right to deduct the expenses incurred for the issue of the EPC from the amount of the sum agreed for the sale or the payments of the rent due.

(6) Notwithstanding the provisions of sub-regulations (1), (2), (3) and (4), the procurement of an EPC shall not apply to the following categories of buildings:

(a) buildings classified as scheduled property (Grade 1 or 2) by the Planning Authority under article 57 of the Development Planning Act and buildings officially protected as part of a designated environment or because of their special architectural or historical or contextual merit, in so far as compliance with certain minimum energy performance requirements would unacceptably alter their character or appearance;

(b) buildings used as places of worship;

(c) temporary buildings with a time of use of two years or less, industrial sites, workshops 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;

(d) stand-alone buildings with a total useful floor 2 area of less than 50m ;

(e) a building constructed for the Enemalta plc, the Water Services Corporation or any other similar entity, and used as a generation, transmission or distribution station.