The Energy Assessor Scheme Operating Board (EASOB) have updated the smart rules applicable to Domestic EPC lodgements. They will apply to audits being called from 1^st March, but as those will be for February lodgements, they effectively apply to EPCs lodged from 1^st February.

There are no significant changes to the rules from version 1.4 which has been in place since 1^st November 2020. A few words have been changed for technical reasons but primarily they have just changed in order of priority. 

There are two rules highlighted on the official document as changed but actually: 

Rule 27 is just Rule 23 changed from “EPC lodgements for the same UPRN” to “EPC lodgements for the same address”. This is presumably to deal with the fact that there are so many duplicates being created on the register now that there is no proper supersession of EPC on a single UPRN. 

Rule 14 does not appear to have changed but is highlighted as if it was a change because it has mover significantly in the priority order. It has moved from priority 17 to priority 6. 

Rule 26 has changed from "Roof room of any building part has insulation type/thickness ‘unknown’" to "Room in the roof of any building part that has insulation type unknown" but has not been highlight as a change. This is presumed to be a tidying up of the wording to be consistent with other documents. 

There is frequently some frustration expressed on our forums by assessors who have been called for audit because of the smart rules. However, the overall view seems generally to be positive. There is a widespread recognition amongst assessors that it does make sense to focus on the lodgements which have the highest risk of error so we do not need to be subjected to higher numbers of random audits.

Keep up to date with the smart rules on the EASOB website at www.easob.co.uk