Skipton offers £11m to help landlords with their EPC needs

Skipton has announced it will give 10 free EPC Plus reports for buy-to-let customers with property portfolios – even if just one property is mortgaged with the building society.

At a time when energy costs are rising, Skipton says it is prepared to invest £11m in helping to green the UK’s homes by giving all of its mortgage customers a free EPC Plus report.

Its launch comes as the latest household data reveals homeowners will be paying on average £1,570 more this year on energy bills alone.

Shave £450 off the annual household bill

However, following a recent government announcement, it is estimated that improving a home’s efficiency could shave £450 off the annual household bill.

The latest EPC data reveals that 60-70% of all homes across the UK currently have an EPC rating of band D or lower.

In the recent Autumn Statement, the Government reconfirmed that £6.6bn will be committed to energy efficiency.

However, energy experts estimate that it will cost more than £330 billion to upgrade all properties in the UK.

Goes further than a traditional EPC report

Skipton’s EPC Plus report is the first of its kind, going one step further than a traditional EPC report.

It provides each landlord and homeowner not only with the current energy efficiency rating of their home, but what the home’s potential EPC rating could be too.

It also includes a bespoke guide on how the homeowner or landlord can achieve this potential rating, how much it could reduce their energy bills by and signposts to sources of funding potentially available.

The report also estimates the tonnes of carbon produced by the household.

‘Support people living in rental properties’

Kris Brewster, Skipton’s interim chief commercial officer, said: “To have a healthy housing market, we need to support every rung on the property ladder, and that includes people living in rental properties.

“Landlords play an integral part of housing provision but equally face massive challenges in greening their homes. So, we believe it’s only right that we help here too.

“We’ve taken the decision to also offer free EPC Plus inspections and reports to our buy-to-let customers too.”

He added: “Irrespective of if they only have one rental property mortgaged with Skipton, we will provide up to 10 free EPC Plus assessments and reports for their property portfolios.

“It is only through making such investments, that we will see positive change in the UK.”

Each report also details the typical costs associated with making any of the recommended changes to their home mentioned in the report and provides access to registered, independent tradespeople who come recommended to carry out any improvements.