A sharp increase in demand for energy assessors will be seen later this year according to new research commissioned by Big Strategies.

New measures to be introduced on 1 st October 2008 will see energy performance certification becoming a legal requirement for all rented housing and it has estimated that approximately 3,500 rental energy assessors will be needed to carry out the work.

This figure is based on data published by The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) which revealed the new measures will generate a demand for over 3m Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) in 2008 for rented homes alone.

Property industry experts feel the new regulations will cause problems due to the lack of trained assessors. Chris Larner of Steggles and Larner Property Management said: “The new measures will undoubtedly have an adverse affect on the rental market as we will be under pressure to comply with the new regulations and from a practical perspective it will be a struggle as there won’t be enough trained assessors to cope with the high demand.”
The new regulations are another step in the phased implementation process designed to meet the demands of the European Directive for the Energy Performance of Buildings. The directive requires all houses and buildings in the UK to have EPCs by 2009. The first step in December 2007 saw the introduction of EPCs for all homes marketed for sale in the UK.