Government consultation to increase minimum EPC rating to band C for PRS

Government consultation to increase minimum EPC rating to band C for PRS

10:46 AM, 1st October 2020, About 4 years ago 100

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The Government has just released a new consultation proposing to amend the energy efficiency regulations for the PRS in England and Whales and raise the minimum EPC rating for rented property to band C.

To download the consultation document click here

The consultation proposal would also allow Councils to impose a fine on landlords of up to £30,000 for non-compliance.

This consultation seeks views on the government’s proposal to amend the Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015 (from now on referred to as “the PRS Regulations”). The proposed amendments would significantly improve the energy performance of private rented sector homes in the 2020s, in order to:

Deliver significant emission reductions, which will contribute to Carbon Budgets 4 and 5 and support a decarbonisation pathway consistent with our Net Zero 2050 target;

– Decrease bills for low income and vulnerable tenants, in support of the government’s statutory fuel poverty target;

– Increase the quality, value and desirability of landlords’ assets;

– Reduce energy bills for tenants and ensure warmer homes;

– Support investment in high-quality jobs and skills in the domestic retrofit supply chain across England and Wales;

– Provide greater energy security through lower energy demand on the grid and reduced fuel imports.

The detailed proposals for amending the PRS Regulations are set out in Chapter 1 below outlines the preferred policy scenario for improving the energy performance of privately rented homes, comprising four elements:

– Raising the energy performance standard to Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) energy efficiency rating (EER) Band C;

– A phased trajectory for achieving the improvements for new tenancies from 2025 and all tenancies from 2028;

– Increasing the maximum investment amount, resulting in an average per-property spend of £4,700 under a £10,000 cap

– Introducing a ‘fabric first’ approach to energy performance improvements.

The government strongly encourages responses by the 30th December to be submitted online using the Citizen Space link below as this supports timely and efficient analysis of responses.

Respond online at: beisgovuk.citizenspace.com/energy-efficiency/improving-energy-performance-privately-rented-home

Or Email to: PRStrajectoryConsultation@beis.gov.uk

When responding, please state whether you are responding as an individual or representing the views of an organisation. Your response will be most useful if it is framed in direct response to the questions posed, though further comments and evidence are also welcome.


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Comments

dismayed landlord

16:27 PM, 1st October 2020, About 4 years ago

hi Mike, i think I'd rather just gas up the the Citation and jet back to the Caribbean. I've allowed the staff enough furlough, its time to reclaim my island. .

Judith Wordsworth

16:38 PM, 1st October 2020, About 4 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Denise G at 01/10/2020 - 13:08
An EPC lasts 10 years so why are you having re renew it for new tenants if dated 2019?

Judith Wordsworth

16:40 PM, 1st October 2020, About 4 years ago

Will be getting out of PRS as asap. Enough is enough

Morag

16:45 PM, 1st October 2020, About 4 years ago

Why don't they just cut to the chase and make it illegal to be a landlord? Hopefully with a couple of years leeway to evict tenants and sell up.

dismayed landlord

16:52 PM, 1st October 2020, About 4 years ago

I'd sell the lot too if I could get them (the tenants) out. My view is that the government has had to put a 6 months notice period for possessions just to stop me leaving the PRS. Boris has been informed that he needs to do something to stop landlords selling up otherwise there will be no mugs to house the social rented sector. Keep us tethered and keep kicking us. Imagine nothing to rent and house prices falling as we all sell up. Maybe that is the only way the government and media will listen. Suppose they can always then requisition the properties.

Old Mrs Landlord

16:56 PM, 1st October 2020, About 4 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Mike at 01/10/2020 - 16:18
Thanks for posting something to bring a smile to my face Mike. Landlords certainly need a robust sense of humour at present. Every time I think the government can't dream up any more measures to make the PRS yet more challenging and even less viable they manage to surprise me with a further tranche of requirements unique to our sector of housing. I'm beginning suspect they must have a special think tank staffed by Dominic Cummings's oddball thinkers of the unthinkable, devoted to devising ways of torturing landlords, driving us all round the bend and towards the exit only to find our exit barred because we're unable to evict our tenants in order to sell our properties!

Whiteskifreak Surrey

17:34 PM, 1st October 2020, About 4 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Old Mrs Landlord at 01/10/2020 - 16:56
Absolutely not, don't you all remember that Mr Johnson was supposed to be a Landlords' friend? So much was here about it...
Well, I was never his fan, voted for him as a lesser devil... I am not so sure about that now. :0(

Dylan Morris

18:23 PM, 1st October 2020, About 4 years ago

If some landlords have had enough and are thinking of selling up then I seriously recommend you do it now, before Big Mac Sunak treats Capital Gains as income with a top rate of 45%.

Beaver

19:43 PM, 1st October 2020, About 4 years ago

When I read these kinds of things I think "...where's the carrot?....or is it all just stick?"

At the moment we have a tax system that favours demolition and rebuilding over renovation. There's nothing ecological about that. There's energy tied up in bricks and mortar. I have neighbours who have houses with solid walls. Some of them are still council houses. The only option if they were PRS houses would be to kick the tenants out and sell them to an owner occupier. I also don't see why PRS landlords should have to do what councils don't have to do.

When it comes to the EPC methodology I also think they need to think that through properly. EICRs or electrical inspections are complicated enough, but at least with an EICR you can measure something objectively. Many EPC reports seem to depend upon the personal opinions of the examiners rather than on any objective test. With things like this I wonder, "...will these just become another stick for left-wing councils to beat private sector landlords with?"

However, if they did think this through...by which I mean sort out the EPC system. First come up with regulations that are fair to both tenants *and* landlords...allow you to recover your property from tenants who don't pay.... allow you to invoice tenants for damage to your property etc. and they then created a carrot I wouldn't necessarily object.

There will be plenty of people on here who would say we should just be able to deduct our finance costs anyway as any other business can.

But if that isn't going to happen for all properties, if we could recover our properties, recover costs of damages and there was some kind of tax incentive then I would not necessarily be opposed to a change. If you could for example include something on your tax return that said "yes this is a responsible landlord" and that then allowed you to deduct your finance costs as we used to be able to then I might not be opposed to it.

At the moment though I think there's other stuff they need to sort out. Right now tenants aren't paying and landlords can't get their properties back.

Denise G

22:39 PM, 1st October 2020, About 4 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Judith Wordsworth at 01/10/2020 - 16:38
typo - 2009

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