EPC upgrades can boost a property’s value by £28,000

The value of a property is set by what someone is prepared to pay.

It all very well using average house prices - but for those of us with cheaper houses (which often cost more to get the EPC moving upwards) it just does not add up.

For example a house worth, say £70,000, gives an increase in value for E to C of £4,900 - massively outstripped by the cost of upgrading (and because of the construction of the house causing damp issues !).

Yet another fantasy article.

A good EPC only adds value because of the limits about to be imposed which will drive sales, nothing to do with actual energy efficiency or savings

The problem with an EPC is the government need to decide whether it represents ENERGY costs or CARBON EMMISSIONS costs. We all know electricity is much 'cleaner' than gas and EPC correctly reflects this. However when Gas boilers are banned and we are forced to use heat pumps or electric boilers which are better for the environment, we end up with a lower EPC rating. Its make your ming up time Gove

Reply to the comment left by GlanACC at 10/08/2023 - 12:59
Exactly, money is tight for buyers. I can’t see many laying out an extra £28,000 to save even £1,000 a year on their energy bills. They will buy a house for £28,000 less and just wear a coat while they decide what to spend the £28,000 saved on, that’s if they actually have it to spare. The article assumes that every property can be updated for an outlay of £10,000 which is not true especially for older housing stock. Upgrade an older cheaper house for £10,000 (if you are lucky) and you most likely won’t get the money back when you sell. The argument that an upgraded property will be more attractive to tenants doesn’t hold up either as any property at all is attractive to tenants at the moment and most won’t like to pay an extra couple of hundred pounds a month as the landlord seeks to get the upgrade money back in a reasonable time. Cheaper older properties like ours will be the first to be sold. We have now adopted the tactic that as properties become vacant they will be sold. These are the ones that first time buyers and down sizers have their eyes on. We put one vacant D rated up for sale and got a good offer within a week. We have another one undergoing a bit of work that will also go on the market as soon as it is done. We have some C rated properties and may yet keep them on but at the cheaper end of the rental market where our properties sit, selling up and investing at say 5% will bring in nearly as much as the rent especially when the increased cost of maintaining an older property is taken into account. It provides a financial cushion in case you need it and no more dreading phone calls from tenants and letting agents or worrying what the Government aided and abetted by Shelter and Generation rent will dream up to punish landlords for trying to make a living .

Reply to the comment left by northern landlord at 10/08/2023 - 16:42
Happily of my remaining 6 properties only 4 need upgrading. As the cap has already been stated at £10,000 (might even go lower) I intend to fit solar and a battery on the other 4 which should cost around £7,000 each. Luckily my properties are only around 25 years old and in a high demand estate so I should at least be able to sell the properties when the tenants move out (no sign of that though - one has been in since 1996 !). The nice thing is that if your EPC is a C and it expires after 2028 no need to renew it as it is not a legal obligation like gas or electric (unless Gove changes that), and is only needed when a tenant moves IN.

Reply to the comment left by GlanACC at 10/08/2023 - 16:33
Electricity is not necessarily cleaner than gas except at point of use. It depends on the fuel used to generate it.

Who writes these articles and who are sponsoring searchland probably Blackrock
There should be a panorama program on all this.
hold on they are BBC who are sponsored by the Government.
We are all doooomed I tell ya.