Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic it’s been very difficult for both homeowners, tenants and surveyors to know the best way to still get done what needs to be done but at the same time to make sure all adequate precautions are being taken to keep everyone safe. 

During these times we have taken our lead on what to do from both the government and our accreditation bodies who oversee the energy assessor market and we will continue to do this during what is a rapidly changing situation.

When the UK first entered what we’d now call Lockdown 1 back in March 2020 a lot of EPC surveyors as well as homeowners were unsure what to do regarding having visitors in your property but the government soon clarified that due to EPCS being a legal requirement of the house moving/buying process and also because landlords have a legal obligation to have an EPC in place on rental properties, that energy assessors would in fact be able to visit to get surveys done but it was essentially down to the individual if they wanted to work and also to decide what precautions they needed to take in order to keep everyone safe.

How can you guarantee my safety when entering my house?

We of course understand peoples concern when letting strangers into their properties during these times and its a joint responsibility between the occupier and the surveyor to make sure both parties are kept as safe as possible.  At NN Home Energy Surveys we have a protocol that we follow that includes:

1: Text messages sent to homeowner/tenant upon booking of job and day before informing that all occupants of the property must wear a face covering, that windows must be opened to provide adequate ventilation and that social distancing of 2m must be observed at all times.  If these cannot be adhered to then the survey will not go ahead.

2: When we arrive at the property we wear high quality FFP2/KN95 face masks and our hands are sanitised immediately upon entering the property as we will be required to touch various surfaces throughout the survey.  We will ask all occupants to also wear face coverings, if this can’t be done then they survey will not proceed.

Once we have spoken to the occupier to discuss the process and what we require then it is preferable for all of the occupants to either remain in one room or if the weather is nice then to possibly move to the garden for the duration of the survey.  An average EPC takes around 40 minutes to complete so hopefully the disruption to you will be minimal.

What if someone in my property has COVID symptoms or is self isolating?

If anyone in your property has any symptoms of COVID or if anyone in your property has recently been in contact with anyone with COVID then we would respectfully ask you that you must inform us of this as the survey cannot go ahead in these circumstances.  We will re-arrange for a future date and will remain in contact with you.  

Aside from the procedures mentioned above then the survey can proceed as normal.  We will always aim to keep any disruption to a minimum but the safety of everyone has to be our main priority and we take our responsibility in this seriously.