Landlords EPC
In England and Wales, as from the first of October 2008, social and private landlords are required to provide a Landlords EPC, otherwise known as an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) for all rental properties with a new tenancy. The EPC must be made available free of charge to prospective tenants before any contract is entered into. If you don’t have a landlords EPC and are required to do so, you could be fined for non compliance.
Landlords EPC’s are not required for any property that was occupied before 1 October 2008 and which continues to be occupied after that date by the same tenant.
A landlords EPC is only required for a property which is self-contained. It is not required when a tenant rents a room and shares facilities, where a tenant has a separate contract with the landlord.
How long is a Landlords EPC valid for?
Landlords EPC’s are valid for 10 years and can be reused as many times as required within that period. It is not necessary to commission a new EPC each time there is a change of tenant although landlords may commission EPCs for these properties at any time to prepare for a change in tenant.
If a newer EPC has been produced for a home within the ten year period, only the most recent one is valid.
What is a Landlords EPC?
Basicaly Landlords EPCs are no different to domestic EPC’s. The EPC’s look similar to the energy labels found on domestic appliances such as fridges and freezers.The energy efficiency and environmental impact of your property will be rated on a scale from A-G (where A is the most efficient and G the least efficient) as shown below. Current running costs for heating, hot water and lighting will also be shown on the certificate, together with a list of recommended energy saving improvements.
The energy efficiency rating is a measure of the overall efficiency of a home. The higher the rating the more energy efficient the home is and the lower the fuel bills will be.
The environmental impact rating is a measure of a homes impact on the environment in terms of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The higher the rating the less impact it has on the environment.
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What does an Energy Inspection involve?
During the assessment the assessor will need to inspect your property and collect information. This will include external or internal measurements, details about the construction, and the type of heating/hot water used in your property. The assessor will need to access all the rooms, the boiler and the loft, and will need to take photographs of your property and items relating to the assessment.
An assessment normally takes up to 60 minutes, however complex or larger properties may take longer.
Recommendations
Included in a Landlords EPC are recommendations for improvements regarding energy conservation. Each improvement in the recommendation report is accompanied by the typical cost savings per year as well as what the performance rating could be after improvements are made.
The recommendations within the report are split into low cost improvements (up to £500) and high cost improvements (over £500).
It also includes more advanced energy improvements that could be applied to a home to achieve the highest possible energy efficiency standards. Many of these will be more costly and have a much longer payback period.
The recommendations – do I have to act on them?
The recommendations are for you and your prospective tenant. At present there is no legal requirement to act on any of the recommendations. However, by taking on board the recommendations you are likely to improve the energy efficiency of your property thus making it more attractive to prospective tenants.
How to get a higher rating
Insulating your property is the most cost effective measure you can take. In most cases cavity wall insulation is straightforward, inexpensive and hassle free. An easy DIY job is to fit new loft insulation, the current recommendation being to a depth of 270mm, and this can be done in most properties.
If your boiler is over fifteen years old it could be time to replace it, combined with modern heating controls will give you a better rating and reduce heating bills. If space is an issue, an alternative could be to fit a combination boiler (combi) which does not store hot water in a tank but heats water directly from the cold water mains as it is used.
If you have a cylinder that stores hot water fit a hot water tank jacket.
Double glazing can be fairly expensive, however it will reduce noise and lower heating bills.
Grants
Grants for heating and insulation are available through the Government’s scheme Warmfront (England) and Heeswales (Wales) providing the tenant of the private property are in receipt of certain benefits. Grants of up to £2,700 (or £4,000 for properties with oil fired heating) are available through Warmfront, and grants up to £3,600 through Heeswales.
Tax
As a private landlord, you can reduce your tax bill if you have insulated your properties by claiming under the Landlords Energy Saving Allowance (LESA). The current allowance is up to £1500
The qualifying measures are cavity wall insulation, loft insulation, floor or solid wall insulation, draught proofing and hot water system insulation. These measures will give your Landlords EPC a better rating.
