The Scottish Government published an updated Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) on 24 August 2026 covering the Energy Performance of Buildings (Scotland) Regulations 2025 as amended by the Energy Performance of Buildings (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 20261. The assessment was produced as part of the government's intention to lay amended Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) regulations in August 20261.
The 2026 Regulations amend the 2025 Regulations by adjusting the coming into force date and the transitional and savings provisions1. According to the assessment, the amendments do not alter the underlying policy intent, scope or requirements of the 2025 Regulations, and the changes are limited to the timing of implementation1. The government attributes the delay to dependencies on UK Government technical and operational infrastructure, naming the Home Energy Model and Energy Calculation as a Service functions, which it says will support the statutory calculation methodology and register of certificates1.
On costs, the assessment states that lodgement fees will rise as planned, on 31 October 2026, which it says will ensure technical and operational infrastructure is ready1. It adds that consumers are further protected by the development of an effective audit regime1. The review of the original suite of impact assessments, including the BRIA, confirmed that the impacts previously identified remain valid, with no material changes other than their timing1.
"The amendments made by the 2026 Regulations do not alter the underlying policy intent, scope or requirements of the Energy Performance of Buildings (Scotland) Regulations 2025."
The publication does not set out the new coming-into-force date, the revised transitional arrangements, or the level of the lodgement fee increase. Those details have not been reported in the assessment text1.
Why it matters for households
An EPC records a home's energy performance and is used at the point of sale or rental, and increasingly in the design of EPC regulations and reform across the UK. For a Scottish household, the practical effect of this update is timing rather than substance: the rules themselves, and who they apply to, are unchanged on the government's own account1. The delay is tied to UK-level calculation and register systems, which sit outside the devolved powers over energy and buildings policy in Scotland1.
The lodgement fee increase, confirmed for 31 October 2026, is a cost that falls on those who lodge certificates rather than a direct charge on households, though it may feed through to the price of an EPC1. The assessment gives no figure for the rise1. The promised audit regime is presented as a consumer protection measure, intended to guard against poor-quality certificates1. Nothing in the assessment changes the standards a home must meet, so the document does not by itself alter what a property's rating means for its energy costs in Scotland's islands and remote areas or elsewhere.
What happens next
The government intends to lay amended EPC regulations in August 20261. Lodgement fees are set to rise on 31 October 20261. The revised coming-into-force date and transitional arrangements have not been reported1.