EPC Exmouth

Coastal property is different to assess

Exmouth's stock is dominated by two things that complicate an energy assessment: ageand exposure.

The seafront terraces. Georgian and Victorian, solid wall, often subdivided into flats atsome point in the last century. These properties rate poorly by default, and the standardrecommendation — external wall insulation — is frequently impossible on a listed orconservation-area frontage. Getting a fair rating on these usually depends on picking upthe improvements that are achievable: heating controls, hot water, lighting, and anyinternal insulation already present that a rushed assessment would miss.

Holiday and second-home stock. Exmouth has a very high proportion of holiday letsand second homes, and the EPC position is genuinely confusing. Whether a furnishedholiday let needs an EPC depends on how it is let and for how long, and the answer is notthe same as for an ordinary tenancy. If you are unsure where your property sits, ask us —it is a question we get weekly.

Retirement and downsizer housing. A large stock of purpose-built retirement flats andbungalows, much of it 1970s and 80s, typically electric-heated. Electric heating hitsdomestic EPC ratings hard under the current cost-based methodology, which catchesowners out at the point of sale.

Commercial. Town-centre retail on The Strand and Rolle Street, the marina and itsassociated businesses, hospitality along the seafront, and light industrial on the town'sedge.