The Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 came into force on 24th June 2024, amending the Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012 in relation to data sharing1. The instrument was made on 14th May 2024 and laid before Parliament on 15th May 2024, and it extends to England and Wales1. It was made by the Secretary of State under section 250(1), (3), (4) and (5) of the Energy Act 2023, and signed by Swinburne, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities1.
The central change is a new regulation 29A, which permits the keeper of the register, an accreditation scheme or an energy assessor to disclose assessment data. For a particular building, that data may go to the owner, landlord or occupier, or to a third party with the consent of one of those people. For an air-conditioning system covered by Part 4, it may go to the relevant person1. Assessment data is defined as any data held that was collected during an energy assessment, whether or not it has been entered onto a register, but it excludes green deal information and the name of an individual1. The new regulation does not apply to excluded buildings1. Regulation 29 was amended so that disclosure under regulation 29A is not an offence1.
A second change concerns publication. Regulation 30A now allows the keeper of the register to publish bulk access data on a website relating to any building appearing on the register, removing an existing restriction on the types of energy performance-related data that may be published1. The keeper may not publish the name of an individual, or any data in relation to which an opt-out is in effect under regulation 30(3)1. The explanatory note states that individual building owners or occupiers will still be able to request that data on their building is not published1. Schedule B1 is revoked1.
"These Regulations amend the Energy Performance of Building Regulations 2012 (“ the Principal Regulations ”) in relation to data sharing."
The explanatory note records that a full impact assessment has not been produced for the instrument, as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen1. No commencement date beyond 24th June 2024 is given, and no further steps are set out in the instrument1.
Why it matters for households
Energy performance certificates and the data behind them sit at the centre of how a home's efficiency is recorded, and the rules on who can see that data have now changed for England and Wales. Under the EPC regulations and reform framework, a householder who commissions an assessment can now receive the underlying assessment data directly from the register keeper, an accreditation scheme or the assessor, rather than only the certificate itself1. The same data can be passed to a third party, such as a contractor or adviser, but only with the consent of the owner, landlord or occupier1.
The publication change runs the other way. Bulk access data on any building on the register may now be published, which widens what can be drawn on by researchers, analysts and businesses working on housing stock1. Two limits remain: individual names are excluded, and an opt-out under regulation 30(3) still blocks publication of data on a building1. For a household, the practical effect is that more information about a home's assessed performance may circulate, while the route to keeping it out of published bulk data remains the existing opt-out. The instrument itself does not change how a home is assessed or what an assessment covers; it changes who may hold and share the resulting data. The wider statutory background is set out in the UK home energy regulation and policy guide, and the building rules that sit alongside it are covered under building regulations in England and building regulations in Wales.
What happens next
The regulations are in force from 24th June 20241. The instrument sets out no further commencement dates or review points, and no date has been reported for any guidance or operational change by the keeper of the register1.