MPs claim EPC upgrades are no excuse for landlords to hike rents

Reply to the comment left by Billy Gunn at 29/07/2025 – 21:35
I have just got a five year deal on a property below a C with no problem at all. The lender did not even ask about it.

Reply to the comment left by Reluctant Landlord at 30/07/2025 – 09:08
I think there are lots of ways around the proposals and none of them is good for tenants.

Ian Narbeth’s original point makes clear (by quoting the proposed legislation) that the proposal is that you can’t advertise “the letting”. And so if these proposals go through you wouldn’t be able to advertise the property in writing at all unless you included a price and this price was a fixed price.

For the bigger agents and bigger landlords this isn’t necessarily a problem because they will have waiting lists of people looking for properties: They don’t need to advertise in writing and for both landlords, and agents taking a % commission, their best interest is going to be to maximise the rent received if there are going to be restrictions on rent increases. So under the RRB proposals these two groups of larger lettings businesses are going to maximise rents without advertising.

For the smaller landlords who don’t have any facility for ‘waiting lists’ of any kind their only option is going to be to advertise at a high price and come down if they need to.

So, whereas not very long ago the advice of my lettings agency to me as a small portfolio landlord was to hold rents down a bit to minimise the risk of void periods. progressive interference in the market from conservative, labour and above all the SNP has conspired to drive up rents. And the proposals in the RRB are going to make this worse if they go through.

The Renters Reform Bill shouldn’t be allowed to see the light of day unless (1) the Competition and Markets Authority has taken another look at ridiculous proposals like this one (2) The Lords has seen the Justice Impact Assessment.

Implementation of the RRB in its proposed form will drive rents up and make an increasing proportion of people effectively unhouse-able (and probably also unflat-able).

Don’t you have to evict the tenants to carry out the works? Most EPC recommendations I see require 1) External wall insulation (£20k for a 3 bed semi) – to do this can the Government abolish Conservation Areas? 2) Internal wall insulation (tenants will probably complain about right to privacy while you carry out the works) and 3) Underfloor insulation including concrete floors. Oh but you can’t evict us because you are doing what the Government requires you to do.

Reply to the comment left by Justin Waite at 30/07/2025 – 13:57
I think the other options are to apply for an exemption, or possibly only to spend up to the minimum amount (which may change in future from what it is today). But yes, if you were to make significant changes that would genuinely make a difference to tenant energy costs or climate change emissions I think that for most properties you’d be looking at £20-50K and you’d need to remove the tenants whilst you did it, then re-advertise at a much higher rent.

Interesting that the worst offenders and highest volume of offenders as landlords are councils and housing associations!
Mold, poor energy efficiency, shoddy work….
But no pressure on them to improve or look after there tenants properly!

One of our local council tenants lost thousands in flood damage as they refused to pay out the 3rd time it happened… Ruined everything on the ground floor!
Councils answer… We can offer you a property elsewhere…. Like 15miles away…

Felt so sorry for them,

Many landlords won’t get grants to improve EPC rating in Scotland if landlord has three properties they are not allowed any grants.

Northern Ireland seems they have no funding.

£7000 average to improve EPC if only many house holders are spending £30 to £40 k

Reply to the comment left by Beaver at 30/07/2025 – 10:50My fixed deal comes to an end summer 2027. I’d love to be able to remortgage another 5 year deal in 2027 even though my property is EPC D, but I highly doubt I will be able to.

And BTW, the longer-term plan is that by 2035 all owner-occupied properties will need to achieve EPC C too, with mortgage lenders being banned from lending on properties below a C

Reply to the comment left by Beaver at 29/07/2025 – 17:12
With 11 people, and rising, per rental property surely the risk of a void period is falling?

A landlord can only ‘hike’ rents if the market is able to sustain it. E.g., a £5000 EPC bill spread over 3 years would be £138 per month.
It’s also worth saying that the use of the word ‘hike’ by an MP suggests the MP feels an increase related to increased costs (in this case an EPC bill), is a wanton use of landlord power, once again demonstrating that landlords are not seen by the Govt as a necessary part of the economy. Manufacturers and retailers have increased prices due to their increased costs: why the double standard?
I have been saying for 5 years now that small and medium landlords will gradually exit the market and renters will be left with LA housing, housing associations, and corporate landlords; the first two we know to provide often substandard housing. Without private landlords, the Govt would be ‘stuffed’.

Reply to the comment left by G H at 02/08/2025 – 08:05
You forgot to add the interest on £5,000. At 5% on an average of £2,500 outstanding, this would add a further £375. Plus void periods, let us assume one month in 36 means one has to recover £5,375 with 35 months rent, £153. Then there is the profit component, no one in business does anything for nothing, of around 30%, so I would suggest that a rent increase of circa £200 would be more appropriate.
All the forgoing ignores any tax liability, for I am sure that HMRC will have its claws in there somewhere.