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BREEAM Domestic Refurbishment FAQs This document includes FAQs about the new BREEAM Domestic Refurbishment 2012 scheme including questions on licensing, training and project registrations. The general, registration and certification section of these FAQs are applicable to any party with an interest in BREEAM Domestic Refurbishment or who uses/specifies the scheme. The training and licensing FAQs are more relevant to existing BREEAM assessors or those interested in becoming a BREEAM assessor.

General

1. What is the purpose of BREEAM Domestic Refurbishment? • BREEAM Domestic Refurbishment aims to help improve the sustainability and

environmental performance of existing dwellings in a robust and cost effective way. The scheme helps building owners and occupiers to save operating costs and reduce the environmental impact of refurbishments.

2. When does the BREEAM Domestic Refurbishment ‘go live’?

• The BREEAM Domestic Refurbishment Technical Manual was published on 11th June 2012. The scheme goes live for registration on the 2nd July 2012.

3. Where can I get more information about BREEAM Domestic refurbishment?

• The BREEAM domestic refurbishment scheme document is available to view or download on the BREEAM website via www.breeam.org/domrefurb.

4. Are the BREEAM rating types and scales different in the domestic refurbishment scheme

compared to other BREEAM schemes? • No. BREEAM will continue to rate buildings for the domestic refurbishment scheme as,

Pass (30%), Good (45%), Very Good (55%), Excellent (70%) or Outstanding (85%).

5. Are there any minimum standards in the domestic refurbishment scheme? • Yes. There are minimum standards for following issues:

o Hea 06 Safety o Ene 06 Energy efficiency rating post refurbishment o Wat 01 Internal water use o Mat 02 Responsible sourcing of materials (criterion 3 only) o Pol 03 Flooding

6. Are the BREEAM section weightings in the domestic refurbishment scheme different to

other BREEAM schemes? • The section weightings are based upon the code for sustainable homes, adapted to

reflect opportunities, scope of work in refurbishment on existing dwellings. As a result there is no ecology category and ecology weightings have been re-distributed to other sections, however there is an issue relating to the management of ecological impacts within the management category.

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7. How much harder is achieving BREEAM Very Good in the domestic refurbishment scheme compared to Ecohomes Very Good? • Two of the pilot project case studies available on www.breeam.org achieved a BREEAM

‘Very Good’ under the domestic refurbishment scheme as well as a ‘Very Good’ rating under EcoHomes 2006. BRE Global are currently putting together a comparison document of Ecohomes compared to BREEAM Domestic Refurbishment with assistance from Pozzoni architects the assessor for one of the pilot projects. As a summary, the key differences to note include:

o BREEAM domestic refurbishment has minimum standards, Ecohomes did not o The rating scales differ from EcoHomes, following the rating scales used in

BREEAM with 55% required for “Very Good” and 70% for “Excellent”. o There is no transport or ecology category within the domestic refurbishment

scheme however there is a new category for Innovation. o The weightings differ in the domestic refurbishment scheme with Energy worth

43.2% compared to 22% under EcoHomes o There are issues covering Water Meters, Safety, Project Management, Inclusive

Design, Insulation, Ventilation, Volatile Organic Compounds and Flood Resilience which are not included in EcoHomes

8. How does BREEAM domestic refurbishment assess energy?

• BREEAM domestic refurbishment measures energy in line with the EPC scale using either full or RdSAP. The dwelling is assessed before and after refurbishment to assess the improvements to be made by the proposed design. As well as the improvement to be made it also assesses the predicted energy use post refurbishment with assessment issues titled as follows:

o Ene 01 Improvement in energy efficiency rating o Ene 02 Energy efficiency rating post refurbishment o Ene 03 Primary energy demand o Ene 04 Renewable technologies

• The section also looks at energy use or savings associated with factors which are not accounted for in SAP such as:

o Ene 05 Energy labelled white goods o Ene 06 Drying space o Ene 08 Energy Display Devices

9. What is the scope of BREEAM domestic refurbishment?

• This version of BREEAM is designed specifically to domestic refurbishment projects so work carried out on self contained dwellings. This may also include change of use projects for example where an office is being converted into flats. Assessments can be carried out on a single dwelling up to a large regeneration projects such as a block of flat (see DuCane Road case study here http://www.breeam.org/page.jsp?id=502). It cannot be used for multi-residential buildings such as rooms for residential purposes which should use BREEAM New Construction, until BREEAM Non Domestic Refurbishment is launching in Summer 2013.

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10. What should I do if I want to assess my project under BREEAM domestic refurbishment? • Contact a licensed BREEAM assessor organisation. They will be able to advise you

accordingly and register your project for assessment with BRE Global. A list of licensed assessors and their contact details is available from the Green Book www.greenbooklive.com

BREEAM training and qualification FAQ’s

11. Under other BREEAM schemes there were separate training top-up days, is this also the case under BREEAM domestic refurbishment? • Yes, all existing assessors are eligible to carry out the existing assessor training in order

to qualify under the BREEAM Domestic Refurbishment scheme.

12. Will there be a test assessment as part of the BREEAM domestic refurbishment training course? • No. There is no test assessment as assessors competence is developed through the

training and examination process coupled with the appropriate level of auditing of BREEAM reports.

13. What is the structure of the BREEAM training and examinations?

• First time trainee assessors: The training is three days long and it will introduce you to the BREEAM Domestic Refurbishment scheme and the assessment process. The first two days of training are delivered through a mixture of pre-course learning, presentations, workshops and exercises; you will be taken on a journey through the BREEAM Domestic Refurbishment assessment process gradually building up your knowledge and confidence towards becoming an assessor. The third day is the exam day one month after the training course which will start by taking you through the post refurbishment assessment process and give you an opportunity to address any questions you might have before taking the course exam necessary to gain the BREEAM Domestic Refurbishment Assessor qualification.

• Existing assessors: The training begins with an online course consisting of presentations and exercises for you to go through in your own time followed by a one day at BRE Garston for half a day training and an opportunity to ask our trainers any questions and an exam. The exam consists of 25 multiple choice questions, the duration is 90 minutes. Once booked on to the course, you will be emailed details of how to access the online training material at least four weeks prior to the exam day. As this course requires pre-exam revision the last booking date for this exam will be three weeks prior to course commencement to allow delegates enough time to complete this revision.

14. Why is there a one month gap between the training and exam?

• The training will cover in detail the technical basics of completing a BREEAM assessment to the required level of competency. The period between the training days and exam day is intended to provide the trainee assessor with the appropriate amount of time to study and prepare for the relevant examinations.

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15. If I come on a BREEAM training course can I defer coming back the month later to the exam until the following month? • Yes, however deferring the exam by a month will incur an additional charge. Please also

bear in mind that BRE Global has set rules on completing the BREEAM qualification within a defined period of attending the training course.

16. If I have recently trained in BREEAM, how long does my qualification remain valid? • Provided you take out a BREEAM licence within 12 months of qualifying you will remain

qualified for the term in which the licence remains valid. If you go a period longer than 12 months without being licensed, and wish to become licensed, you will be required to undertake full or partial re-training. The licence is valid for a 12 month period.

17. I am an existing qualified and BRE Global licensed Code for Sustainable Homes or

EcoHomes assessor, do I need to re-train or sit an examination to be qualified in BREEAM domestic refurbishment? • BRE Global licensed Ecohomes, BREEAM or Code for Sustainable Homes assessors can

become qualified by carrying out online tuition followed by a one day top up course and exam at BRE in Garston.

18. If I am a qualified Code for Sustainable Homes assessor but licensed with another scheme

operator and not BRE Global, am I eligible for the BREEAM Domestic Refurbishment existing assessor training course? • No. As BRE Global operate under different procedures for the operation of their

schemes, you would not be eligible for the existing assessor training and would need to attend the new assessor training course.

BREEAM licensing FAQ’s

19. How will the BREEAM licensing be structured for the BREEAM domestic refurbishment scheme? • Assessors must obtain a license to submit a report and there must be one license per

assessor. The associated fees for the scheme can be found on the fee sheet (FS036) on the assessor extranet.

BREEAM registration and certification FAQ’s

20. What is the last date for registering assessments to Ecohomes 2006? • BRE Global accepted Ecohomes 2006 registrations for new projects up until 11.59pm on

the 1st july 2012.

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21. What is the last date for submitting Ecohomes 2006 assessments for certification? • The EcoHomes 2006 Refurbishment scheme will expire on 1st July 2014. Any

refurbishment assessment registered and submitted for QA and certification after the scheme and version has expired on 1st July 2014, will only be issued with a letter of compliance in-lieu of a formal certificate of performance. Any assessment registered after a scheme has expired will be charged the expired scheme admin fee and the current certification fee for the assessment at the time of submission.

22. What happens if I have a contractual requirement for an Ecohomes 2006 assessment and I

have not registered before 1st July 2012? • After 1st July 2012, we will no longer accept registrations under EcoHomes

Refurbishment. However, where projects have evidence of a suitable contractual requirement to achieve an EcoHomes rating, BRE Global will register the project and charge the applicable registration fee. After 1st July 2012 any new EcoHomes Refurbishment projects should be registered using the Previous Version registration form on the extranet and evidence should be uploaded to support the registration. Registrations will be accepted as previous versions until the scheme expires on 1st July 2014.

23. What are the certification fees for the domestic refurbishment scheme?

• The certification fees are given in the fee sheet (FS036). Certification is charged depending on the number of units being assessed on a sliding scale as follows:

o ≤ 5 dwellings: £250 minimum fee per assessment o 6th dwelling to 100th dwelling: £30 per dwelling o 101st dwelling to 500th dwelling: £25 per dwelling o 501st dwelling plus: £15 per dwelling

24. Is a registration fee charged?

• The process of registering a project includes a registration fee as given in the fee sheet (FS036) of £120 plus VAT per assessment as is charged for all BREEAM UK registrations.

Self declaration certification

25. What is the self declaration certification going to be available? • This is a new certification option and qualification route for the Domestic Refurbishment

scheme to allow those responsible for delivering refurbishments to issue self declaration certificates for projects they are involved in. This means that a designer (e.g. Architect, Social landlord, Surveyor etc) will be qualified to self certify projects they are involved in, providing BREEAM self declaration certificates for their clients, with auditing carried out by BRE Global. This will be available for small scale projects at the post refurbishment stage only and provides a low cost route for small scale projects. This option will also be available to Licensed BREEAM Domestic Refurbishment Assessors as an extension to scope of their license, referred to as a ‘Tier 2 license’ within the assessment manual.

26. When will self declaration certification be available?

• It is due to be launched late 2012 / early 2013.

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27. What are the benefits of self declaration certification?

• Self declaration certification is aimed at refurbishment designers who can go on to assess and certificate their own designs but also assessors who want more responsibility in the assessment process, reduce costs and speed up the process of certification. It aims to increase viability for small scale projects (e.g. projects of less than 5 dwellings and less than £100k value) where full third party certification may not be deemed necessary by the client, funding or planning authority.

28. What is the scope of the self declaration certification scheme?

• Self declaration is reserved for small scale projects of 5 dwellings of less or of value below £100k however small scale projects can also still opt to obtain third party certification through a BREEAM Domestic Refurbishment Assessor.

29. What additional training will be required to allow me to offer self declaration

certification? • In late 2012 / early 2013 top up training will be available for assessors trained in

domestic refurbishment and as an extension to the new assessor course for those wishing to offer this service. As self declaration certification is primarily aimed at designers, it will cover both training in refurbishment design and the self declaration certification. The full details of training will be announced later this year.

30. What are the licensing requirements for self declaration certification?

• It is required that the assessor gains a specific self declaration license.

31. What are the fees for self declaration certification? • The registration, licensing and certification fees will be announced when the scheme is

launched in late 2012 / early 2013.

32. What are the quality assurance requirements for the self declaration certification scheme? • Assessors must be audited at least once every 3 years where BRE Global will carry out a

site visit to the assessor’s organisation and this may also involve a visit to a project site. There will also be spot checks on assessors to assure that certificates are being issued correctly and that documentation is being correctly sought and gathered. If it is deemed that projects have not been correctly certificated, the assessor will be required to revise the certificate and reissue the certificate to the client, with the project rating removed from the www.greenbooklive.com listing until the corrective action has been taken. In the unlikely event that an assessor does not take necessary action to address any unconformities, BRE global will retain the right to withdraw the assessors license.