Citizens Advice calls for ‘Awaab’s law’ to be extended to PRS

Citizens advice on the EPC should be asking both sides of the story on this, otherwise they gonna' be making a lot of people homeless, as Citizens Advice would only get the people contact them that have a problem, whereas the other 90% haven't got a problem, so I'll keep repeating this, as applies to many attacks on us lately.

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.

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.

I've got a rare ECO 4 funding for £6000 work on internal insulation for EPC E house for gal that's been with me over 10 years-She DON'T want it doing. House is EPC E & should bring up to C.

Absolutely no need for this, property standards in the PRS are already fully covered under existing legislation - HHSRS anyone. Mould and damp issues in poorly maintained properties are all about Local Authorities failing miserably in their EXISTING statutory duty, its absolutely not because of a lack of regulation. Believe it or not, Damp and Mould is first on the HHSRS appendices hazard list; see extract below:

Housing Health and Safety Rating System
Guidance for Landlords and Property Related
Professionals

Appendices:

1. Damp and Mould Growth

A great proposal from CAB providing they are prepared to meet half of the costs in lifting the EPC rating to a C.
Or am I dreaming?

Another nail in the coffin of P.R.S. For mould read not opening windows,drying cloths indoors,taking a bath or shower without opening a window afterwards and likewise cooking with no ventilation.
Good luck government and council in housing all these people when no accommodation left for renters.

What they seem to forget is a lot of mould issues are caused by lack of ventilation. Tenants not wanting to open the windows in colder weather. No amount of "work" is going to fix mould if that is the cause.

Why is the legislation solely for PRS and social housing? Surely the rules should apply to ALL residential accommodation?

So then a landlord gets the blame for washing being dried on the radiators?
I think it would be a good idea for the government to organise a public information advertising campaign on TV about mould and condensation the way they used to do about road safety, say no to strangers etc.

Reply to the comment left by Jimmy Turner at 22/02/2023 - 10:48
Obv talking about property condition related Damp and Mould issues in my last HHSRS comment, but yes the many other comments are right, these issues are nearly always tenant lifestyle related and are not due to property condition and as such, cannot be resolved by the landlord.

I for one, am sick of PRS landlords being targeted for problems which, in many vases are caused by the tenants and their lifestyles.

Fully accept that their can and may be structural problems which must be dealt with but when we have sent builders to properties to deal with mould/condensation and alleged damp issues, all too often they report that there is little they can do to stop the problem with radiators full of wet clothes drying, windows closed, pans on cooker with the ventilation taped over and bathroom and showers not being ventilated even where there is a facility to do so.

How about turning the problem on its head and targeting tenants to ensure that they know what “they” have to do to help resolve the problem: that the cause may be their lifestyle.

It seems to me that requiring landlords to upgrade to EPC C will not necessarily resolve the issue of mould and condensation whereas education of tenants (and landlords where necessary) explaining how the problems can be avoided would be much more effective and constructive.

In the meantime, carry on blaming the landlords, as that is the easiest means of being seen to do something.

I had 8 rentals,now down to two, will not be re renting when current tenants vacate. Thoroughly dejected with all the demonisation of landlords. I’ve always been decent to my tenants,have had enough.