Do you need an EPC to sell a house in Shirley?
Yes. You must commission an EPC before a Shirley property is marketed for sale, and hold the certificate within 28 days. The band has to appear in the advertisement. NextDay EPC provides accredited certificates across Shirley with next-day availability, usually before the photographs are taken.
- Check the national register before paying for a new assessment.
- Buy-to-let buyers price a sub-C band as a known future cost.
- The rating must be shown in the property advertisement.
- Trading Standards can issue a £200 penalty for a dwelling with no certificate.
- EPCs last ten years and belong to the property, so one may already exist.
The rule, precisely
Under the Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012, a valid EPC must be commissioned before a property is marketed for sale or let. The rating must appear in the advertisement, and the full certificate made available free of charge to any prospective buyer. Trading Standards enforces this, and the penalty for a dwelling is £200.
You may already have one
The certificate belongs to the building. Any Shirley property that has changed hands or been let since 2016 probably has a live one sitting on the national register right now. Search the government's Find an energy certificate service first.
Get a new certificate if either applies: the property has been improved since it was last assessed, or the existing one runs out before completion is likely.
Does the rating affect the sale?
Increasingly, yes. Buyers now read the band as a proxy for running costs, and mortgage lenders are paying closer attention to efficiency. On a property a buyer intends to let, the band is not a preference at all — it decides whether the purchase is viable under MEES.
Shirley is mostly long ribbons of 1930s semis along the Stratford Road with newer town-centre apartments, around Shirley Park and Parkgate and through Parkgate, Haslucks Green, Shirley Heath and Blackford. On inter-war semis and villas the score is usually limited by unfilled cavity walls, thin or compressed loft insulation, and original suspended timber floors that lose heat from below, so a low band on a listing here is rarely a surprise — but it is often fixable more cheaply than a buyer assumes.
The housing here is long ribbons of 1930s semis along the Stratford Road with newer town-centre apartments. That pattern holds from Shirley Park and Parkgate through Parkgate and Haslucks Green, and it is the single biggest thing shaping what a B90 certificate comes back at.
Worth improving before you list?
Cavity wall insulation and a loft top-up are the classic pairing on this stock. Together they routinely move a property a full band, and they are the cheapest points on the whole certificate.
It comes down to when you ask the question. Before marketing, with a fortnight spare, the quick wins are worth doing. After an offer is accepted, disclose the band you have and keep the sale moving.
| Band | SAP score | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| A | 92–100 | Excellent — very low running costs |
| B | 81–91 | Very good — efficient modern home |
| C | 69–80 | Good — the target for rented homes by 2030 |
| D | 55–68 | Average — where most of Shirley sits |
| E | 39–54 | Below par — today’s legal minimum to let |
| F–G | 1–38 | Poor — cannot be let without works or an exemption |
Book before you list
Book the EPC before the photographs. See the Domestic EPC service for what is included, the Shirley EPC page for coverage, or get a fixed quote now. If you are selling a rental, our MEES consultancy is worth reading first.
We cover every part of the town — including Tidbury Green, Cheswick Green, Dickens Heath and Solihull Lodge, and every other Solihull area.
