40% of PRS is likely to fall short of proposed minimum EPC reqiurements

We all keep saying this & discussing this.
Govt wishes us to give tenants New Build 2025 Standards, but on a 2008 rent? That doesn't & won't work.
They making it unaffordable for tenants. Hence some of us are out of here when we can.

The EPC reports and their recommendations in their current format aren't fit for purpose.
Too much existing insulation is assumed not to exist because assessors don't understand Building Control certificates or construction methods.
The most expensive, impractical options are listed first as improvement suggestions while the cheaper, more cost effective methods are last on the list or not mentioned at all.
No weighting is given to the location of the property which is probably the biggest saving in overall household energy use and carbon emissions. A house within walking distance of all amenities has got to be better for the environment than one on the edge of town that requires a car journey to do anything.

I have a Top floor flat that has an EPC of D because the flat roof has no insulation.
As I do not own the roof space is it not reasonable to argue that the freeholder would be responsible for any insulation works as they are also a Leaseholder ?

Reply to the comment left by Jo Westlake at 26/07/2022 - 07:32
yes and therefore you would get exemption on this basis as long as there were no other measure you could take yourself to raise it to a C. That's how I read it anyway...but don't forget that could all change.....

Reply to the comment left by David Smith at 26/07/2022 - 09:41
Flat roofs are interesting as there are at least 3 possible ways of insulating them and EPC assessors will refuse to believe you have done any of them. Providing receipts for Celotex, photos of roofers installing Celotex, Building Control certificates saying it complies to whatever standard it needed to in the year of installation, etc. It doesn't matter how much evidence you have assessors will always want something else. Without the something else they will assume the insulation doesn't exist.

So we know the epc is not fit, I also have a further problem with them.

I own 3 flats on on an purpose built estate, built copying the methods used by Manchester Council, the design by Salford Uni mid 1980's, to build low maintainance, highly efffient flats, using the same budget as at the time built properties, they face to get the early sun, high insulation, at the time modern electric heating etc.
1st flat had just had a combi boiler installed and now rates as C, I expect the tenant to be shocked when her bills land at over £150 per month for both gas and electric
2nd flat young lad doesnt care, on a pre-payment meter, his bills over £250 a month as he leaves lights on, many electrical times etc,
3rd flat, lovely gent lived there over 30 years, his bills were under £150, likely risen to nearer or over £200 a year, yet that property is rated as E, the upstair flat had a leak few months ago, they got an expert out, dispite me finding two leaks for them, he used a thermal imaging camera, while I was not the client, he stated that the heat loss was limited and much inline with newer regs, yet the epc only uses the min building regs of the time.

System designed to fail 🙁