You are here: Parliament home page > Parliamentary business > Bills and legislation > Bills before Parliament > Commons Bill
         
House of Commons		 Session 1998-99
Internet Publications
Other Bills before Parliament

Energy Efficiency Bill

This is the text of the Energy Efficiency Bill, as presented to the House of Commons on 18 January 1999

 
     Energy Efficiency Bill
 
 
ARRANGEMENT OF CLAUSES
Clause 
1.Energy efficiency report.
2.Exemption where dwelling provided within previous three years.
3.Exemption where report prepared within previous twelve months.
4.Exemption for loans between family members and by family trusts.
5.Regulations.
6.Compensation for failure to give copy of report.
7.Interpretation.
8.Corresponding provision for Northern Ireland.
9.Short title, commencement and extent.
 

 

 
 
A

B I L L

TO

Make further provision for energy efficiency.

BE IT ENACTED by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:-
 

Energy efficiency report.     1. - (1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, it shall be the duty of any person in whose favour a mortgage of any legal estate in a dwelling is granted (in this Act referred to as "the lender") to ensure that, if any qualifying survey of the dwelling has been undertaken by him or on his behalf in connection with the mortgage-
 
 
    (a) a report on the energy efficiency of the dwelling (in this Act referred to as "an energy efficiency report") has been prepared by or on behalf of the lender in accordance with regulations under section 5 on the basis of the physical inspection undertaken for the purpose of the qualifying survey, and
 
    (b) the person granting the mortgage (in this Act referred to as "the borrower") has been provided, before the grant of the mortgage, with a copy of the energy efficiency report.
      (2) No duty arises under subsection (1) unless-
 
 
    (a) the mortgage relates only-
 
      (i) to a single dwelling, or
 
      (ii) to a single dwelling together with premises occupied or intended to be occupied for business purposes,
 
    (b) the loan to which the mortgage relates was made in pursuance of an application made to the lender by the borrower,
 
    (c) the borrower is an individual, and
 
    (d) the dwelling is occupied by, or is intended for occupation by, the borrower as his residence.
      (3) The lender may, in fixing the amount of any fee to be charged for a qualifying survey, take into account any additional costs reasonably incurred in preparing the energy efficiency report, but the duty in subsection (1) arises whether or not the borrower has paid, or agreed to pay, any such additional costs.
 
      (4) In subsection (1) a "qualifying survey", in relation to a dwelling, means any survey or valuation which includes a physical inspection of both the exterior and the interior of the dwelling.
 
Exemption where dwelling provided within previous three years.     2. The duty in section 1 does not arise in relation to any dwelling which was provided (by construction or conversion) less than three years before the date on which the borrower applied for the loan to which the mortgage relates.
 
Exemption where report prepared within previous twelve months.     3. The duty in section 1 does not arise where, before the grant of the mortgage, the borrower has obtained, or been given a copy of, a report which-
 
 
    (a) relates to the dwelling,
 
    (b) complies with regulations under section 5, and
 
    (c) was prepared less than twelve months before the date on which the borrower applied for the loan to which the mortgage relates.
Exemption for loans between family members and by family trusts.     4. - (1) The duty in section 1 does not arise where-
 
 
    (a) the lender is a member of the borrower's family and is not lending in the course of a business carried on by the lender, or
 
    (b) the lenders are the trustees of a trust created by an individual for the benefit of members of his family and their descendants.
      (2) For the purposes of subsection (1) a person is a member of another's family if-
 
 
    (a) he is the spouse of that person, or he and that person live together as husband and wife, or
 
    (b) he is that person's parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew or niece.
      (3) For the purposes of subsection (2)(b)-
 
 
    (a) a relationship by marriage shall be treated as a relationship by blood,
 
    (b) a relationship of the half-blood shall be treated as a relationship of the whole blood, and
 
    (c) the stepchild of a person shall be treated as his child.
Regulations.     5. - (1) The Secretary of State shall make regulations specifying requirements which must be met by the lender in relation to the preparation of an energy efficiency report.
 
      (2) The regulations may, in particular, require a report to include-
 
 
    (a) information as to the presence or absence in the dwelling of specified measures for improving energy efficiency, and
 
    (b) a statement recommending measures which could be taken for the purpose of improving energy efficiency.
      (3) Regulations under this section may make different provision for different cases and different areas.
 
      (4) Regulations under this section may not require an energy efficiency report to contain any information in respect of the dwelling which is not readily ascertainable on a visual inspection of so much of the exterior and interior of the dwelling as is accessible without undue difficulty to the person undertaking the inspection.
 
      (5) Regulations under this section may not require an energy efficiency report in respect of a flat to contain information about the common parts of the building in which the flat is situated.
 
      (6) Before making regulations under this section, the Secretary of State shall consult-
 
 
    (a) such mortgage lenders or persons appearing to him to represent mortgage lenders as he considers appropriate, and
 
    (b) such other persons as he considers appropriate.
      (7) In making regulations under this section, the Secretary of State shall have regard to the cost of preparing an energy efficiency report.
 
      (8) Regulations under this section shall be made by statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
 
      (9) In this section-
 
 
    "common parts", in relation to a building, includes the structure and exterior of the building and common facilities provided, whether in the building or elsewhere, for persons who include the occupiers of one or more flats in the building;
 
    "flat" means a dwelling which is a separate set of premises, whether or not on the same floor, divided horizontally from some other part of the building;
 
    "mortgage lender" means a person who, in the course of a business, lends money secured by mortgages of dwellings.
Compensation for failure to give copy of report.     6. - (1) If the borrower suffers loss by reason of the failure of the lender to comply with his duty under section 1, the borrower is entitled to compensation for that loss from the lender.
 
      (2) In determining for the purposes of this section whether the borrower has suffered loss as mentioned in subsection (1) and, if so, the amount of that loss, a court-
 
 
    (a) shall assume that the borrower would have taken every measure that would have been recommended in a report complying with section 5,
 
    (b) shall have regard to the cost that would be likely to have been incurred in taking those measures if they had been taken immediately after the grant of the mortgage,
 
    (c) shall determine the likely expected life of each measure and apportion that cost rateably over that life, and
 
    (d) shall calculate the savings that would have been made during the relevant period if the measures had been taken.
      (3) In subsection (2) "the relevant period" means the period beginning with the day on which the mortgage was granted and ending immediately before the sixth anniversary of that day or, if earlier-
 
 
    (a) in relation to any measure falling within subsection (2)(a) which has in fact been taken by the borrower, with the day on which the taking of the measure is completed,
 
    (b) in a case where the lender provides the borrower with, or with a copy of, an energy efficiency report complying with section 5 prepared not less than 12 months before the day on which it is provided, that day,
 
    (c) the day on which the borrower ceases to own any interest in the dwelling,
 
    (d) the death of the borrower, or
 
    (e) the day on which any proceedings under this section are first determined by a court or by the award of an arbitrator.
Interpretation.     7. In this Act-
 
 
    "the borrower" and "the lender" shall be construed in accordance with section 1;
 
    "dwelling" means a building or part of a building occupied or intended to be occupied as a separate dwelling, together with any yard, garden, outhouses or appurtenances belonging to it or usually enjoyed with it, but does not include a mobile home;
 
    "energy efficiency report" shall be construed in accordance with section 1;
 
    "mobile home" means a caravan within the meaning of Part I of the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 (disregarding the amendment made by section 13(2) of the Caravan Sites Act 1968).
 
    "mortgage" means any mortgage or other charge on property for securing money or money's worth which is made by deed.
Corresponding provision for Northern Ireland.     8. An Order in Council under paragraph 1(1)(b) of Schedule 1 to the Northern Ireland Act 1974 (legislation for Northern Ireland in the interim period) which states that it is made only for purposes corresponding to those of this Act-
 
 
    (a) shall not be subject to paragraph 1(4) and (5) of that Schedule (affirmative resolution of both Houses of Parliament), but
 
    (b) shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
Short title, commencement and extent.     9. - (1) This Act may be cited as the Energy Efficiency Act 1999.
 
      (2) Section 5, section 8 and this section shall come into force on the day on which this Act is passed.
 
      (3) The remaining provisions of this Act shall come into force on such day or days as the Secretary of State may by order made by statutory instrument appoint, and different days may be appointed for different purposes or different areas.
 
      (4) The power to make an order under subsection (3) includes power to make such transitional provisions and savings as the Secretary of State considers appropriate.
 
      (5) This Act, except section 8, extends to England and Wales only.
 
 

 
© Parliamentary copyright 1999
Prepared 8 February 1999