Landlords will have until 2028 to hit EPC target – claim

Landlords will have until 2028 to hit EPC target – claim

11:08 AM, 30th March 2023, About A year ago 27

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Landlords will have five years to reach planned EPC targets for ALL rented homes, and the new cap on costs will be £10,000, a newspaper reveals.

The Telegraph says the government will announce the new deadline after responding to fears that landlords do not have time to meet the proposed 1 April 2025 target.

And they have been warned by various landlord organisations that landlords facing a big bill will decide to sell up and leave the private rented sector (PRS).

Under the government’s original proposal, all new lets from April 2025 would need to meet a minimum EPC rating of C, while all other tenancies would have to comply by 2028.

Proposed new 2028 deadline for EPC compliance

However, the Telegraph reports that failing to meet the proposed new 2028 deadline for EPC compliance will see landlords facing a fine of up to £30,000.

The move could see up to two million landlords having to boost their property’s EPC rating to help the UK reduce its carbon footprint.

In England and Wales, currently, a private rented home must have a minimum energy performance of E before being let.

One of the big issues facing for pushing the deadline back is that around 3,500 rented properties would have to be upgraded every day for the PRS to meet the 2025 deadline.

Now, the government has apparently been working with lenders on its EPC proposals which could see the cap on the maximum spend on each property being set at £10,000.

That amount will be regardless of whether the C rating is achieved or not, the Telegraph reports.

‘Delay would be a welcome acknowledgement of the lost time’

Rodney Townson, of the landlords’ organisation iHowz, told Properyt118: “If this report turns out to be true, the delay would be a welcome acknowledgement of the lost time caused by dither and delay since the consultation on EPCs.

“Implementation remains dependent on the publication of the new EPC SAP – which would define the balance between cost, payback period and carbon emissions – not just a higher MEES.”

He added: “We encourage the government to publish the new EPC and MEES requirements at the earliest possible date, together with a meaningful long term funding package to support their stated ‘fabric first’ insulation and retrofit approach to homes.”

‘More energy efficient and better insulated’

Goodlord’s head of tenancy services, Rik Smith, said: “I’m sure the market will welcome the proposed extended deadline to get properties up to standard, but there’s an enormous amount to do before then.”

He added: “The energy efficiency task force has only just been assembled, so they will need to get up to speed extremely quickly if landlords are to be supported in this transition, and the EPC methodology also needs a significant overhaul to ensure it’s accurate and fit for purpose if it’s to be used as such a fundamental lynchpin in our housing strategy.

“Landlords across the market are already feeling pressure on many fronts, including rising mortgage rates, so we don’t want a lack of required infrastructure or not fit-for-purpose guidelines to lead them into leaving the sector.”

‘Vital to balance long- and short-term considerations’

Tom Goodman, the managing director at Vouch, said: “With all market regulation, it’s vital to balance long- and short-term considerations.

“The last thing the sector needs is another push factor encouraging landlords to sell-up – there is already too tight a squeeze on rental stock.

“What we need now is a balanced and supportive approach from the Government on next steps, so that landlords are incentivised to make these upgrades and can afford them.”

A government spokesman says it has carried out a consultation on energy performance targets and is set to publish its official response ‘in due course’.


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Comments

Jon Sear

11:36 AM, 30th March 2023, About A year ago

I wish they would just get on with it, but they need to link the maximum spend to the property value or rental income. £10,000 is very little on a £500K house, but unviable on a £30K flat rented at less than £300pcm

Reluctant Landlord

12:30 PM, 30th March 2023, About A year ago

its all a cunning ploy!
Step 1 Abolish S21 first then bask in the glory ( its a vote winner for the demographic they seemingly 'want to help' just before the next election...)
Step 2 - now that all these bad LL's are severley restricted in getting their property back we can claim evictions are down so we are again 'helping tenants' look at the stats!
Step 3 - We promise tenants their accommodation will be perfect and the LL will pay for it all - the plan is there...look!. (again a vote winner sh*t show).

Juan Degales

13:54 PM, 30th March 2023, About A year ago

I’ll be long gone and all sold up by then. Had 8 rentals, now two remaining, soon only the house that I live in will be left.

Mick Roberts

14:37 PM, 30th March 2023, About A year ago

It's still not happening.

They/we not gonna' be able to retrofit these 1920 houses while tenant is living there & on the cheap rents a lot of tenants are paying.

Govt has to stop penalising tenants AFTER they’ve moved into their home.

Who’s paying for this then?
Cause if tenants are paying cheap rent ie. Landlord looking after em, & then maybe £5000 or £30,000 to upgrade from E to a C, Landlord then says I can no longer look after u with cheap rent. Cheap rent doesn’t pay for these outgoings, I’ve now got to charge u what the Landlord is charging his better off tenants up the road who’s paying more to live in that New build.

I’ve got to start telling tenants soon You can’t live here past 2028 anyway, Govt say u can’t if EPC not a C. And your rent doesn’t pay for a C.

Has anyone asked the tenants what they want? We know they want the better house, but when u give them choice I can give u New build for £1000pm or EPC C for £900pm, or still decent house EPC D but not New build standards for £700pm or £550pm I know what virtually all my tenants say.

Luke P

15:04 PM, 30th March 2023, About A year ago

Reply to the comment left by Jon Sear at 30/03/2023 - 11:36
The Telegraph reported:

"The Government has been working with banks on the proposals, which will cap the maximum spend per property at £10,000 – regardless of whether or not the C rating is achieved. Landlords of higher value properties face paying more, as it is understood that this cap could now work on a sliding scale, starting at £5,000, and rising in line with the rental value of the property."

Even so, £5k minimum on a £30k flat is still a much greater percentage than £10k on the value of some central London house...

Mick Roberts

15:12 PM, 30th March 2023, About A year ago

Reply to the comment left by Luke P at 30/03/2023 - 15:04
And can u imagine Luke on mine & yours amount of houses how much we'd be spending for the whole lot. Euro millions Lottery money.

I've just had a tenant who's been with me 15 years (20 in Mums house) refuse £6000 of free EPC work. Her house already thin and she din't want to lose any more.

Govt and Council are forgetting Have u asked what the tenant wants? Cause u only listening to the tenants who's paying extortionate rents for poor accommodation.
What about those that's saying cheap rent for good quality house? Cause u putting their rents up and making them homeless

Really Reluctant Landlord

17:16 PM, 30th March 2023, About A year ago

So when we can't afford to get the property up to a C, I have 5 that are E in an old building and reckon I can get them to a D only, what do we do? Are we then allowed to evict the tenants if section 21 is not available anymore? I'm happy to have them empty. But will I be forced to rehouse the tenant whilst I'm forced to have the beautiful building demolished and rebuilt to a higher grade? I just cannot see how this works at all. There's such a lack of information for every situation/eventuality it's astounding.

Grumpy Doug

23:04 PM, 30th March 2023, About A year ago

Article in the Telegraph this evening suggesting that Gove is revewing the whole EPC fiasco

"It is understood Michael Gove is “very worried” about the sustainability of the private rental market, and that landlords could be driven out by the huge cost of retro-fitting their properties to meet the ratings.

The Housing Secretary is examining how to make the assessment system fairer and more objective, following concerns it is open to abuse."

I'm sure there'll be full details in the days/weeks to come.

Tim Rogers

10:53 AM, 31st March 2023, About A year ago

Like most folks, I just wish they would sort it out and publish so we know what the playing field is. To me it's crazy that in the time of zero immersions etc, gas boilers score better than all electric.

I have one property, built 1890, currently 'E'. I started the process of improvement some years ago, (I doubt if those costs can be included in this "£10,000"), anticipating a move to 'D'. But to make it to 'C' is beyond any economic sense and certainly cannot be done with tenants in situ.

My tenants of 18 years are deeply worried that I may have to sell. I couldn't even sell and buy something else as the CGT would be crippling. So it seems that the best I can do is let it run until 2027/8. I don't envy my tenants the task of finding somewhere else suited to their disabled needs.

I don't even want to think of the issues that could occur if the council says stay put, the EPC is not C and I cannot get vacant possession to sell.....

JB

11:59 AM, 31st March 2023, About A year ago

I re-did my EPC's last year and have earmarked those to be sold.

Please can someone fill me on how MEES fits in?

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