10:10 AM, 17th June 2025, About 3 weeks ago 31
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Landlords face “death by a thousand clipboard checks” over new EPC rules that have come into force.
The government announced the biggest changes in the way Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are assessed in more than a decade, with the introduction of the Reduced Data Standard Assessment Procedure (RdSAP)
However, experts warn the new updated system will increase costs for landlords.
The news comes after Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has proposed all private rented properties need to meet EPC C targets by 2030 and 2028 for new tenancies.
Under the new system, energy assessors will now collect more detailed information about a property, such as the type and condition of windows, heating system efficiency based on model numbers or manufacturer data, and whether smart heating controls are installed.
Landlord organisation iHowz previously told Property118 that while the change is welcomed, landlords should be aware that the increased data collection requirements may mean assessments take longer to complete.
The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) has now warned that the extra time required for assessments means a rise in costs for landlords is “inevitable.”
Chris Norris, NRLA policy director, told The Telegraph: “It’s reasonable to assume that it will take assessors longer to take more precise measurements and input more specific data, so price rises are inevitable.”
Mr Norris warns the price of an EPC certificate, which typically costs between £50 and £120, could increase by £20 under the new system.
However, others warn the increase could be far higher.
Sean Horton, a mortgage adviser at Respect Mortgages, told The Telegraph that the more in-depth assessments could push EPC certificate prices up by £150 to £250.
He said to The Telegraph: “The window measurements alone are crackers. Instead of just noting ‘typical double glazing,’ assessors now need to measure each window individually, record orientations, frame types, glazing gaps, ages, draught proofing – the lot.
“That’s going to make each assessment much longer, with the cost passed on to the landlord.”
Experts warn that, alongside rising costs, the new EPC system may also cause some homes to drop an EPC band.
Kundan Bhaduri, of the Kushman Group real estate firm, told The Telegraph: “For portfolio landlords, this is death by a thousand clipboard checks.
“Costs will rise sharply, and worse still, homes that previously scraped a C rating could now drop to a D, dragging us into yet another regulatory penalty zone.”
Anna Moore, of retrofit company Domna, explains how the updated model affects energy ratings.
She says to The Telegraph: “The model changes how electric heating systems are scored, intended to solve the problem of people installing heat pumps and then seeing their EPC go down.
“The new model also lowers the ‘default assumptions’ on carbon emissions in traditionally heated homes, so many properties will see their EPC drop.
“For example, a 1960s 90m² home, with empty cavity walls, might drop five points from EPC D to EPC E.”
Despite the warnings, the government claims the new EPC system will “give people a clearer picture of how energy efficient their home is.”
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A Reader
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Sign Up10:11 AM, 17th June 2025, About 3 weeks ago
A farce and a scam and if the govt so care about tenants (which they clearly dont) they would be enforcing across all housing units including social and council housing.
Beaver
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Sign Up10:26 AM, 17th June 2025, About 3 weeks ago
Reply to the comment left by A Reader at 17/06/2025 - 10:11
So does this mean that all those landlords that put a lot of effort in to scrape their way from a D to a C are now likely to have their properties downgraded to a C anyway?
And are there any 'good bits' about these changes? Good in the sense that they give you either more options, or more sensible options to improve the energy efficiency of your property?
Suicide Jockey
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Sign Up11:03 AM, 17th June 2025, About 3 weeks ago
The sooner this government and the nodding muppets who run it are gone then the better it will be. If your in the PRS business or any small business you are targeted and penalised beyond belief by Liebour. Where's the incentive to provide housing at reasonable rents when you are living in fear of what obstacle is going to affect your business next. You need incentive not negativity from government. This socialist shower who are in power now have lost their tiny little minds beyond belief and there plan for housing is destroying it rather than increasing it. The losers will be tenants especially those on the lower salaries and benefits who this government should prioritise but there main aim is to destroy landlords completely. Shame on this government.
Valerie Hollylee
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Sign Up11:05 AM, 17th June 2025, About 3 weeks ago
As it's the councillors that sit on the planning committees that allow HMOs it's a bit rich complaining about them!
Beaver
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Sign Up11:15 AM, 17th June 2025, About 3 weeks ago
Reply to the comment left by Suicide Jockey at 17/06/2025 - 11:03
I agree that government policy for years has been to penalise landlords: The conservatives did it, labour are worse and the best that you can say of either of them is that the worst offenders of all are the SNP.
I also agree that tenants are being penalised for government policy in this area and will be penalised for this.
But in terms of the current changes does anybody know if there is any upside here? Is there anything at all about the recent EPC changes that make getting an EPC more meaningful than it was in the past? Are there now things that you can do for example to improve your EPC that you would not have received credit for before?
Dennis Forrest
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Sign Up12:02 PM, 17th June 2025, About 3 weeks ago
Reply to the comment left by Beaver at 17/06/2025 - 10:26
Orientation could be a good or bad bit. We had a ground floor flat in Windsor (now sold) and all the external walls and windows faced due south. The tenants were concerned about the running cost of the Heatrae Sadia 6 KW electric boiler. (the gas boiler had to be removed because of a communal flue problem) However due to the solar gain, even in winter on sunny days, they could turn the heating off, so they were surprised and pleased with the costs.
However when I had an EPC done the fact that it faced due south, according to the EPC inspector, would be rated exactly the same as a flat on the opposite side of the building facing due north?????
Beaver
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Sign Up12:09 PM, 17th June 2025, About 3 weeks ago
Reply to the comment left by Dennis Forrest at 17/06/2025 - 12:02
That's what I'm wondering. For years it's seemed to me that the EPC system was just a tick-box exercise, almost a generic report on which they wrote led lights, cavity wall insulation and photovoltaic panels.
But in terms of what the real running costs of what your property were, you might have been gaining or losing the most heat from something not considered in your EPC report.
So is there anything at all about the new EPC system that is better? If for example your walls aren't actually losing much heat and you have plenty of insulation in your loft, if you add a porch or upgrade your windows from double-glazing to triple-glazing, do you get credit for that?
Sally Robinson
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Sign Up12:09 PM, 17th June 2025, About 3 weeks ago
But when is this new assessment system being introduced?
northern landlord
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Sign Up12:12 PM, 17th June 2025, About 3 weeks ago
I wonder if these EPC regulations will apply to those landlords who rent out to Serco to house asylum seekers? Will a Serco house be classed as a social house with no need to upgrade EPC’s at huge expensive? We know from previous articles that the Government expects that the PRS will step up to the plate and house asylum seekers as the hotels are closed. It seems that landlords are being deliberately being incentivised to sign up with Serco to circumvent all the costly regulatory burdens and uncertainties for landlords coming down the line. So increasingly at the lower end of the PRS the option is cough up for expensive upgrades, sign up with Serco, or just sell up.
We also know that first time buyers are apparently on the rise. Whose houses are they buying? Could it be that they are snapping up cheaper houses as the lower end PRS landlords sell up?
Cider Drinker
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Sign Up12:31 PM, 17th June 2025, About 3 weeks ago
Does Ed Milliband follow the news?
What damage is being done to the planet with war in the Middle East and Europe?
Higher prices for EPCs mean higher VAT and Income Tax receipts for the Treasury. And higher rents for the tenants.
The landlord exodus will continue. The least energy efficient homes will be owned by owner-occupiers. The ‘improvements’ will not be done.
Remember, this is all about tax revenue and the National Grid’s ability to supply 1.5 million new homes for migrants.