Gove calls for EPC upgrade delay for landlords

Gove calls for EPC upgrade delay for landlords

9:47 AM, 24th July 2023, About 10 months ago 44

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The Housing Secretary Michael Gove says the Government is ‘asking too much too quickly’ of landlords to comply with EPC measures by a proposed date of 2028, he told the Daily Telegraph.

Pointing to protests in Holland over tighter emissions regulations, Mr Gove says the ‘inflexible’ application of rules to reduce pollution will lead ‘to a backlash’.

And he says that the financial pressures facing landlords to upgrade properties to meet an EPC rating of C in the next few years mean ‘we should relax the pace’.

‘We’re asking too much too quickly’

In the interview, he said: “My own strong view is that we’re asking too much too quickly.

“We do want to move towards greater energy efficiency, but just at this point, when landlords face so much, I think that we should relax the pace that’s been set for people in the private rented sector, particularly because many of them are currently facing a big capital outlay in order to improve that efficiency.”

The move follows the drubbing last week of the Conservatives in two by-elections – and a close call in Boris Johnson’s former seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

And former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith also says a rethink of net zero ambitions need rethinking.

Confirm a deadline for EPC upgrades

In response, the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) says the Government needs to confirm a deadline for EPC upgrades so landlords can prepare and budget for the work.

The NRLA’s chief executive, Ben Beadle, said: “It is over two years since the Government completed its consultation on energy efficiency standards in rented homes.

“As a result of the delay in responding to this, there was never any hope of meeting the originally proposed deadlines, as we told the Minister earlier this month.”

He added: “The NRLA wants to see properties as energy efficient as possible, but the sector needs certainty about how and when this will happen.

“Ministers need to develop a proper plan that includes a fair financial package to support improvements in the private rented sector.

“We will continue to work with all parties to develop pragmatic and workable proposals.”


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Comments

Reluctant Landlord

19:45 PM, 24th July 2023, About 10 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Mick Roberts at 24/07/2023 - 18:45
refused a BTL mortgage outright on an F, or was it the cost of the mortgages being increased (making it financially unviable to accept one) just because it was an F?

Was the F property empty?

Curious to know because the legal min to rent is an E but a new owner of a property can claim a 6 month exemption if the property is an F (with tenant still in situ) allowing it time to be bought up to a min E.

GlanACC

20:46 PM, 24th July 2023, About 10 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Andrew Wilkinson at 24/07/2023 - 18:02
its only not an option for BTL motgages. Private residential mortgages its still not a big issue

Mick Roberts

5:57 AM, 25th July 2023, About 10 months ago

Reply to the comment left by DSR at 24/07/2023 - 19:45
It was refused outright on an F & my EPC man (who's now passed away) got him to put some LED bulbs in & something on the rads (maybe valves) & he got it to an E.

F property lived in. But tenant was going.

About a year ago.

Ian Narbeth

10:10 AM, 25th July 2023, About 10 months ago

Reply to the comment left by DSR at 24/07/2023 - 16:44
DSR, there is no obligation to evict a tenant to upgrade the EPC rating. The problem is how to do work with tenants in situ. How do you put in under-floor insulation or internal wall insulation? Replacing double-glazing is possible but requires co-operation.

Another problem is that as "D-Day" approaches it will be harder and more expensive to get contractors and materials. So £10,000 will buy rather less than it might do today. If a landlord cannot find a contractor to start work until after D-Day, will that landlord be confident of getting an exemption from his landlord-hating local authority? Just asking.

Mick Roberts

11:01 AM, 25th July 2023, About 10 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Ian Narbeth at 25/07/2023 - 10:10
Exactly Ian, how do we do under floors with tenant still there.
I mentioned the outside 10k heat pump to assessor yesterday being nicked, he said they very heavy, 2 people struggle to lift.
I mentioned the roof will need replacing in 4 years, he said Yes problem, need Solar Power guys to come back out & take off & back on.
Do I pay the 4k roof now (that doesn't need doing today) & then they pull the funding again that has happened the last 18 months? He said funding here to stay this time.

Reluctant Landlord

11:21 AM, 25th July 2023, About 10 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Ian Narbeth at 25/07/2023 - 10:10
if no obligation to evict a tenant = exemption on basis cant be done with T in situ or T signs letter to say doesn't want work doing/upheaval/rent increase as a result of works - exemption valid for 5 years.

Nothing stopping you booking a contractor before D Day even if a work date is after that date. Quite reasonable to show this as evidence that obligation has been met, but circumstances beyond your control mean physically unable to be done by the deadline.

If cost goes up nearer the deadline then it will mean that LL's potentially may have to do less to meet the cap - after which the exemption kicks in.

IF I have to do anything at all I am more inclined to use well known companies that have been in the business longer over the number of pop up companies that will inevitably come up to fill the gap. Where is the labour coming from exactly anyway?

GlanACC

11:45 AM, 25th July 2023, About 10 months ago

Could be all change now after Goves intent to 'relax' something - perhaps EPC D rather than C, maybe £5k cap limit, maybe extend the timeframe and they intend to change the way EPCs are assessed. No point in doing anything at the moment until its been passed into law.

david porter

8:03 AM, 29th July 2023, About 10 months ago

Where we have a gas boiler central heating system which is malfunctioning we are up grading to a combination condensing boiler and individual thermostats.
This is not an improvement but a necessary repair particularly if this equipment has malfunctioned previously.
This will help towards achieving an excellent rent going forward.
It is a silly idea to retro fit cavity wall insulation. Fine if the building was built with cavity wall insulation and designed with that in mind, Retrofitting in an old house is simply fitting cotton wool into a gap and waiting for the rain to come and make it soggy. The rest of house then becomes damp.
We currently have a semi d with the flank wall is damp and we will be getting a contractor in to remove the material next month at considerable cost.
These MP's who are advocating retrofitting cavity wall insulation are talking nonsense and should not be allowed to go out on their own.

GlanACC

9:10 AM, 29th July 2023, About 10 months ago

Reply to the comment left by david porter at 29/07/2023 - 08:03Could be worse, you could have the spray foam insulation for lofts that will almost always invalidate your insurance.

Jessie Jones

9:14 AM, 29th July 2023, About 10 months ago

Reply to the comment left by GlanACC at 24/07/2023 - 17:00
Except that an EPC expires after 10 years. A property which has a current certificate for a C rating may well not get a C rating when it is renewed. This is because the algorithms used are changing all the time to account for newer building materials. For example, double glazed units which are over a certain age are not considered as efficient as newer units. A loft was considered to be fully insulated if the depth was so many mm. Then it changed and had to be thicker to be considered fully insulated.
The real reason that Gove is pushing the scheme into the long grass is that he realises that the entire EPC system is not fit for purpose, and will force rents higher without making energy bills significantly cheaper. It's likely to be as ineffective and divisive as ULEZ

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