The Scottish Ministers have made the Energy Performance of Buildings (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2026, SSI 2026/322, with two immediate effects. First, the instrument increases the fee that may be charged for entering energy performance data onto the register. Second, it postpones full commencement of the Energy Performance of Buildings (Scotland) Regulations 2025 by 18 months. The instrument was made on 28 October 2026 after approval by the Scottish Parliament. Under regulation 1, most provisions came into force on 30 October 2026, while the fee and register amendments in regulation 2 took effect on 31 October 2026. The Regulations apply in Scotland only.
Regulation 2 replaces regulations 10 and 10A of the 2008 Regulations. The revised text keeps the requirement for one or more registers of energy performance data from which an energy performance certificate and a recommendations report may be produced, and confirms that each register is maintained by a keeper. It also restates the rule that a member of an approved organisation must send the relevant data to the register before issuing either document. The replacement provisions also set out how the register must operate. Data must be recorded under a unique reference, kept for at least 10 years and, with a limited exception for updated green deal information, not altered after registration. In practical terms, ministers have used the amendment to restate the register framework while changing the charging position.
The direct financial change is the permitted fee where the keeper of a register is a Scottish public authority. The charge for entering data linked to a dwelling rises from £2.60 to £6.00. For a building or building unit other than a dwelling, the charge rises from £12.10 to £15.50, according to the explanatory note issued with the instrument. These provisions do not alter the substantive assessment method for an EPC. Their immediate effect is on the cost and administration of issuing certificates, because registration must still take place before an energy performance certificate or recommendations report is issued. Residential instructions are likely to see the sharpest percentage increase, while non-domestic instructions will also face a higher registration cost from 31 October 2026.
Regulation 3 resets the commencement date for the Energy Performance of Buildings (Scotland) Regulations 2025 from 31 October 2026 to 30 April 2028. The same amending regulation pushes back related transitional dates, including those affecting approved organisations and accreditation schemes, from 30 and 31 October 2026 to 29 and 30 April 2028. The instrument also moves later transition points that had been set for 31 October 2027 and 31 October 2031. Those dates become 30 April 2029 and 30 April 2033 respectively. The structure of the 2025 regime remains in place, but the operative timetable has been rewritten.
That change matters because the 2025 Regulations had been due to come fully into force at the end of October 2026. By deferring full commencement to 30 April 2028, ministers have given the sector a further 18 months before the new framework applies in full. The current regime therefore stays in place for longer, even as the administrative fee change has already taken effect. For building owners, landlords, agents, assessors and compliance teams, the position is mixed. Cost assumptions for EPC registration need to be updated now, but implementation plans tied to the October 2026 start date for the 2025 regime will need to be revised. Training, procurement, software configuration and contractual planning based on the earlier deadline may all require adjustment.
The legal basis for the amendment is split between the UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021 and the Energy Act 2023. The preamble records that a draft of the instrument was laid before and approved by the Scottish Parliament, and the Regulations were signed by Stephen Gethins, authorised to sign by the Scottish Ministers, at St Andrew's House on 28 October 2026. For practitioners, the immediate compliance points are clear. From 31 October 2026, register data fees change for certificates relating to dwellings and other building types where the register keeper is a Scottish public authority. For forward planning, the 2025 framework should now be read against a full commencement date of 30 April 2028, with the associated saving and transitional periods moved in step.