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10:54 AM, 28th July 2023, About 10 months ago 48
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Have you invested thousands of pounds to upgrade your rental property to meet the proposed EPC rating of C? Or have you decided it’s too expensive to do the work and sold up? Then this week’s news from Michael Gove probably made you very angry. I know I was. In the words of the great Johnny Rotten: “Ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?”
It’s not just the number of idiots who keep pushing the non-existent deadline of 2025 to meet a minimum EPC rating of C for new tenancies, and 2028 for all tenancies – THERE IS NO DEADLINE! – it’s the fact that many of us girded our loins and started preparing for what we expected was to come.
Now Property118 reports that Gove is saying we should slow down the move to a deadline because too much is being asked of landlords and the predicted cost of improvements. What?
In recent years, the UK government has pushed forward with its environmental agenda, with the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating being one of the cornerstones of its efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
Despite the fact this proposal was only aimed at the private rented sector and not social housing and residential homes, most landlords knew deep down that we would be targeted with fines if we didn’t comply. So, many of us did.
There will be lots of landlords who will have spent considerable sums of money to upgrade their properties’ EPC rating or, in some cases, sold their properties altogether to avoid the never-agreed-but-everyone-thinks-there-is-one deadline. Now, with the government contemplating a rethink on when this should happen, landlords who are out of pocket will be left questioning the fairness and reliability of the whole process.
For me though, the biggest tragedy is for those landlords who had old homes and sold up, probably with a decent tenant family, because they knew it was an impossible task to improve the EPC rating. A family forced to move on, for what? A landlord who gave up an asset on a poorly thought-out wheeze.
I don’t doubt addressing climate change and reducing energy consumption is essential. As responsible citizens, landlords, like everyone else, should contribute to these noble goals. Nevertheless, it is crucial to address the issues arising from the government’s flip-flopping stance on the EPC deadline.
When it was first mooted, landlords came under immense pressure to upgrade their properties. This was not helped by various PRS organisations and even lenders who hadn’t quite twigged that the 2025 then 2028 deadline was an ambition and not a law.
This has created lots of confusion in the sector and led to many landlords investing significant amounts of time and money to improve the energy efficiency of their properties, only to now be told that the ‘deadline’ might be reconsidered. This inconsistency showcases a lack of commitment on the government’s part and raises doubts about the seriousness of their climate change policies.
Also, the cost burden of improving the EPC rating falls solely on the shoulders of landlords. These expenses can be substantial, especially for small-scale landlords who own one or a few properties. Selling up then made financial sense even though that leaves fewer homes to rent.
My other big issue is that the EPC ratings themselves have been criticised for their accuracy and effectiveness. Just read some of the forum answers on Property118 which highlight many landlords’ experiences that the EPC rating system is flawed and inconsistent – which leaves most of us with a lack of faith in the validity of the entire process. And the criteria for future EPC ratings might be changing! You couldn’t make it up.
If the government is serious about driving real change, they should work on developing a more robust, reliable and transparent system to accurately assess a property’s energy performance. And that’s for ALL properties and not just those owned by landlords.
We can’t be the only ones responsible for fighting climate change while other property owners escape the same level of scrutiny.
So, if you feel disappointed at forking out thousands of pounds on EPC improvements, or you have sold up or feel saddened that decent tenants had been forced to find somewhere else to live, then join the club.
I keep on saying the same thing: We need to organise properly as landlords to make a stand that the government and tenant organisations will be afraid of. Without PRS landlords delivering decent homes for rent, where will private renters live?
The EPC debacle is just one issue we should unite and fight against, but we probably won’t which means life as a landlord will continue being the depressing and soul-destroying occupation it has become.
Conned? Not quite the word I would use but then I’m not allowed to use a word that rhymes with ‘cooked’.
Until next time,
The Landlord Crusader
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Mick Roberts
17:21 PM, 28th July 2023, About 10 months ago
Reply to the comment left by DSR at 28/07/2023 - 13:16
Yes, I had tit tat with a high up woman in Birmingham Council about your SL. She was awfully defensive of SL & hated seeing Nottingham Labour Council being took to task when it was seen as money making. I thought then, Wow she wants Landlords to suffer.
What do u mean obligations?I believe they changed the conditions, nothing major. New form is apparently much much better. Not asking for any proof's now, as by time they looked at it, proof was out of date.
Yes they changed several things over the years. Stuff 2 years later where we said We told u that 2 years ago, why don't u listen?
I got room sizes dropped. That's unbelievable them asking for bathroom & kitchen sizes.
Nottingham wanted EVERYTHING 5 years ago. Apparently nothing now. Just our passport I believe. Which I had to send in 36 times for every house within the scheme. Proper thick they are.
I din't have time to start blanking names out but u have good point, GDPR etc.
Just had this in email from them:
The current selective licensing scheme ends on 31 July 2023, having begun 5 years ago on 1 August 2018.
While the Council awaits an outcome about a second scheme of selective licensing, the compliance activity including internal and external inspections that the team has undertaken will continue for properties where the licence is still in force after 1 August 2023.
If your licence expires at the end of July 2023, it would be good practice to continue to comply with your licence conditions. You will not need to renew your licence until any second scheme of licensing is confirmed.
Mick Roberts
17:25 PM, 28th July 2023, About 10 months ago
Reply to the comment left by at 28/07/2023 - 11:51
The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function
I I I.
Some of us have had SAME tenants for 26 years paying very cheap rent which doesn't cover the cost of solar panels etc.
I have UPVC, new boilers on most of mine. But it's not just about me. Others may not.
Chris Rattew
18:35 PM, 28th July 2023, About 10 months ago
Reply to the comment left by at 28/07/2023 - 11:51
WE have properties that cannot meet it, because double-cavity walls are treated as solid and LED tube lights as incandescent, because they are not on the spreadsheet. Lofts with 320 mm insulation are treated as uninsulated because they cannot be inspected. The EPCs are not fit for purpose. We therefore have EPC E flats with full double-glazing, insulated lofts, TRVs and all LED lighting and efficient appliances. WE are ignoring the proposed rules as they cannot be implemented. What we could do to improve EPCs would produce more carbon emissions that would be the case with our planned maintenance programme.
GlanACC
18:39 PM, 28th July 2023, About 10 months ago
Landlord I know, his tenant on benefits arranged for loft insulation to be fitted free. All he had to do was sign a form, which he did and it was fitted. All good so far. Unfortunately the loft insulation was this spray foam stuff which made his property uninsurable. Is the tenant to blame ? (probably not as they wouldn't know anything about spray foam stuff). Anyway its going to cost him a few thousand to get it removed unless he spends the next few weeks in the loft with a wallpaper stripper tool. Beware all that is free might cost you a lot.
SimonP
19:25 PM, 28th July 2023, About 10 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Darren Burrows at 28/07/2023 - 11:24
"it's a simple spend to save exercise".
Erm... don't you mean, 'landlords spend so that tenants save'? And the likelihood is that any work done to bring EPCs up will fall under Improvements and not Repairs which means no tax benefits until or unless the property is disposed of (i.e. CGT), probably some years down the line. Is that what you meant by "longer term picture"?
Beaver
19:33 PM, 28th July 2023, About 10 months ago
Reply to the comment left by SimonP at 28/07/2023 - 19:25
I think that's correct. It's my understanding that any significant improvements to the property would be capital expenditure, not revenue expenditure. So in the short term you wouldn't be able to deduct that against your rents and if you had to finance that you'd be obliged to go to the same financial services industry that along with the Bank of England is presently hiking up your interest rates.....you get s*****d in order that the tenant can save. And that's just not going to happen, is it? Either you are going to dramatically hike the rent, evict the tenant to do the works then put in another tenant at a higher rent, or sell. And none of that will work out well for tenants.
Contango
7:13 AM, 29th July 2023, About 10 months ago
its been put off for Resi landlords but not for commercial landlords.
Had we not improved insulation the tenants would have been really cold last winter with fuel costs through the roof.
The only unintended consequence is that tenants say their properties are a bit stuffy in summer. Should have added celing fans perhaps.
Chris Rattew
8:15 AM, 29th July 2023, About 10 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Trevor Leigh at 29/07/2023 - 07:13
Use heat-recovery ventilation
Ian Sam
9:34 AM, 29th July 2023, About 10 months ago
Paid for a ground floor to be insulated to improve the rating after a EPC report, to gain the same score. Because a limited company did not complete the work the assessor would not accept the improvements, My contractor provided documentation confirming the work had been carried which also included photos at different stages as evidence, but acceptable.
What is required? what are the rules? Where is the guidance for landlords? I did ask my MP but failed to gain an answer.
It's hard to plan ahead, so I am now planning to sell up and top my pension up.
Robin Pearce
9:47 AM, 29th July 2023, About 10 months ago
1000s of tenants face eviction due to unattainable EPC targets on rental properties.
Example: To obtain Band C on some ground floor flats including one I rent out, will involve digging up the entire floor & insulating it.
So the tenant will need evicting, no rent for some weeks & £thousands spent. Most landlords will just sell up. As I shall.
Yet there's a serious fundamental flaw using EPC software as it is currently programmed.
Because the government's aim is net zero by 2035. But EPC software doesn't even take into account electrically heated properties are lower carbon footprint than gas because around 45% of electricity is now generated from renewable sources.
So at present in many cases gas heated flats have a higher carbon footprint than electrically heated yet have a better EPC rating because the EPC software is geared up to running costs, not carbon footprint.
So there'll be massive upheaval based on wrongly programmed software !
Now add in this factor.. Legal net migration 606k last year +illegals = 5000 new homes needed very week !!!
Most people migrating to live in the UK move into rental property when they arrive. So this government are boosting the demand to an unprecedented level whilst throttling the supply with their war on private landlords. Crisis looming
I wrote to my MP who forwarded my concerns to Lord Callanan who's overseeing all this.
Who then replied with a generic letter with no mention of adjusting EPC software to allow for green electricity !
I've since heard they will probably adjust EPC algorhythm for renewable component of Electricity. Is so then all electric flats should be bumped up by one or two EPC bands. We'll see