Q&A

Your property questions answered.

How can we improve home's energy rating?

My house was built over 100 years ago and is very poor when it comes to energy efficiency. We have done some insulation but frankly it's cold simply because of the way it's built. We intend selling up and moving in five years or so but are now concerned having heard about the Building Energy Rating (BER) whereby a house has to be energy rated if you are going to sell it. Won't this make our house unsaleable?

The introduction of the Building Energy Rating (BER) is on foot of an EU directive aimed at improving the energy efficiency of the housing stock. Homeowners who are selling or renting an existing home will be required to have a building energy rating (BER) carried out by a trained and certified assessor and must provide the BER certificate to prospective buyers/tenants.

The sort of things that will appear in the assessment in the size of the house, the construction, the insulation levels, the type of windows, details of the heating and hot water systems, etc. This information will then be used to calculate the energy performance of the house and to give it an energy rating.

Appliance buyers are used to such a system - if you go to buy a fridge, for example, it will have an energy rating clearly displayed on a sticker, an A rating being the most desirable.

It is proposed to phase in the commencement of mandatory BER elements in three steps: 1 January 2007 - BER of new dwellings; 1 July 2008 - BER of new buildings, other than dwellings; 1 January 2009 - BER of existing dwellings and other existing buildings, when offered for sale or rental.

In other words you have a bit of time to put your house in order. Go to www.sei.ie for advice on making your house more energy efficient. Even simple and relatively inexpensive things like proper insulation in the attic can make a big difference. If you are getting any work done in the future, i.e. replacing the boiler, window etc, examine the choices in terms of energy efficiency. Even if you don't do anything, your house will not be "unsellable".

Buyers who see a poor energy rating will factor that into the price they are willing to pay - in much the same way as people consider the decorative order, state of the kitchen etc, of the house when bidding. There's no doubt that homeowners with a high-energy rating will be making it a big selling point.

I'm first-timer - but I have to pay stamp duty

I have been told by the builder that stamp duty is payable on a house I am buying even though it is new, I am first-time buyer and it is €305,000 and so is below the threshold for stamp duty. Why?

It's down to size. Stamp duty is payable on a new house where the floor area exceeds 125sq ms (1,346sq ft). The stamp duty is assessed on either the cost of the site or 25 per cent of the cost of the site plus the building costs (less Vat), whichever is the greater figure. This figure is called the "Chargeable Consideration" and your estate agent should be able to work out your bill. You're likely to find that your bill will be relatively small. Most homes aimed at first-time buyers are not this big, and so attract no stamp duty liability.

• Send your queries to Property Questions, The Irish Times, 10-16 D'Olier Street, Dublin 2 or email propertyquestions@irish-times.ie.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to respond to all questions. The above is a representative sample of queries received. This column is a readers' service and is not intended to replace professional advice. No individual correspondence will be entered into.