The government is likely to miss a European Union deadline to make energy ratings compulsory for new buildings, say property bodies.

The RICS and the British Property Federation called on the government to take action to implement the Energy Performance of Buildings directive that comes into force on 1 January 2006.

The directive stipulates that all buildings built, sold or let be rated for energy efficiency as part of the UK’s commitment to reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

The delay has been caused by the government’s failure to publish a methodology for calculating the performance of non-dwellings. The RICS says that without this there could be no training system for the professional advisers required to issue energy certificates.

Roger Watts, RICS member of the directive implementation advisory group, said: “The government is at sixes and sevens about wanting to reduce CO2 emissions.

‘’On the one hand it says it wants to cut CO2 emissions 20% by 2010, on the other it says it doesn’t know how to implement the directive.”

The RICS and BPF also raised concerns over the implementation in multi-tenanted buildings such as shopping centres.

  • Fewer people than expected are applying to become housing inspectors as they fear that a change in government could lead to a rethink of the plans to energy rate dwellings, according to Brian Scannell, managing director of Sava, which runs a home inspector assessment centre.