EPCs for the PRS: Ed Miliband fires the starter gun for a landlord exodus

EPCs for the PRS: Ed Miliband fires the starter gun for a landlord exodus

9:36 AM, 2nd August 2024, About 3 months ago 91

Text Size

Here we go again with energy performance certificate (EPC) ratings needing to be a minimum of C for the private rented sector but not homeowners, social housing or government buildings.

Ed Miliband was rather slovenly when sprawling over the despatch box to tell MPs that landlords will have a deadline of 2030 to meet. That’s a deadline after Labour gets voted out of office.

The big worry for me is that the EPC move will be riding on the coattails of a new Renters’ Rights Bill which will undermine and scare many landlords.

I’m also concerned that the people making the decisions don’t understand energy performance certificates.

If they did, they’d know they aren’t worth the paper they are printed on.

I fear though that we will be coerced into going down this route since BTL mortgage lenders offer the carrot of cheaper rates for those who meet the EPC criteria.

However, in all of this, no one ever appears to consider the plight of the tenants.

They will in effect – if Labour don’t bring in a rent cap – be paying for improvements with higher rents.

But what’s the payback for landlords? One year, two years, or more?

That’s a frightening prospect of not making a profit while the tenant enjoys higher rents and (slightly) cheaper fuel bills.

When campaigning, Miliband and Sir Kier said energy bills would drop by £300 a year – but they’ve been quiet on this number lately. And tenants won’t be saving £300 if the rent goes up by £1,500.

But there’s a bigger issue at stake that could put the skids under this plan.

Not only is Labour being shy about the £300 (and Angela Rayner’s vow to ban Section 21 evictions on ‘day one’), but they are also not talking about the energy price cap going up in the autumn and again January. That’s a double whammy hitting pensioners.

We can add that to the already ever-growing list of failed promises for a government that has had the shortest honeymoon period in political history.

I’m pretty sure those pensioners who won’t get the heating allowance will be dancing in the streets as their heating bill rockets.

Landlords would be happy to improve their property

Let’s face it, most landlords would be happy to improve their property if it was cost-effective and helped increase its value.

But reading Property118 on this issue highlights that the assessors have a lot to answer for by ‘assuming’ a lot of the answers. Usually, wrongly.

Different assessors find different ratings for the same property. Surely, the job can’t be that hard, can it?

Again, politicians of a left bent don’t appear to understand the private rented sector and the implications that come when imposing new rules and laws.

Especially when they cost money.

We are now looking at fed-up landlords who don’t want to upgrade or can’t afford to and have to decide what they should do next.

It also means carrying out the work in a void or putting the tenants up in a hotel. I doubt we’ll be able to evict to get an empty property.

We also need to find someone to do the work.

Good luck with that since all the builders will be busy delivering Angela Rayner’s promised 1.5 million new homes. As if!

It will be a faff organising an assessor, arguing about why it doesn’t reach a C and then being told – hopefully in writing – what needs to be done.

Then you’ll have to spend money on the work and STILL not be guaranteed a C rating.

The whole thing is bonkers.

Ed Miliband will get my support when social housing has to comply with the rules, but no one ever asks why they don’t.

And for those who will wait to see what the law will be, you could be leaving things very late and might get caught out.

Or you could carry out the work for the rule to be dropped Rishi-like when it’s convenient to do so.

How many landlords will sell up?

This brings me neatly to calculating how many landlords will sell up to avoid the C rating nonsense.

If it takes a few years to recoup the expenses, then why not dish out a section 21 notice to sell the property? [Editor’s note: This sentence has been corrected].

It might be a struggle in front of a judge, but older landlords can say they are selling up to retire and the property is their pension pot.

Younger landlords? Judges might not be so keen if there are lots of landlords doing this though I’d imagine that would be a news story.

What if it is a landlord with a leasehold property and the freeholder declines to carry out improvements?

The more I think of the potential issues, the more I think it’s just easier to bale out altogether.

It’s the lack of joined up thinking by politicians that makes me nervous.

The portrayal of landlords as being greedy and unkind to tenants isn’t going to improve soon.

It will get worse but because the good and kind landlords – that’s most of us, Ed – are already fed up, it needs action from Labour to keep us in the PRS.

To make our point we must either sell up as one body or fight the portrayal of landlords as tenant exploiters.

Politicians can’t dictate how we are portrayed with a caveat they aren’t pointing at all landlords, just the criminal ones.

That isn’t true because you could easily say we are a crucial and respected part of the housing sector. But you don’t.

You could say that landlords should be helped by the government and not victimised. But you don’t.

I’m sure that the sound of landlords marching out of the sector and reducing rented home supply might get your attention.

And if it does, you will portray us as selfish and greedy and leaving tenants homeless.

We can’t win. Things were bad under the Tories but my good goodness, Labour look set to plunge to a new low in playing the blame game.

Until next time,

The Landlord Crusader


Share This Article


Comments

David Lawrenson

Become a Member

If you login or become a member you can view this members profile, comments, posts and send them messages!

Sign Up

10:20 AM, 6th August 2024, About 3 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Stella at 04/08/2024 - 17:09
Exactly, one rule for foreign owned blocks, owned by the likes of Macquarie Bank, Aviva, Legal & General, a different rule for private landlords.

"The Great Reset" available from all online bookshops now!

Beaver

Become a Member

If you login or become a member you can view this members profile, comments, posts and send them messages!

Sign Up

10:37 AM, 6th August 2024, About 3 months ago

Reply to the comment left by OJ at 05/08/2024 - 20:13
I agree that there is a problem with #### assessors. I thought that the implementation of the new EICR regulations was also problematic. It just created a gravy train for electricians and I doubt it did much to improve tenant safety.

As well as a problem with assessors there is also a problem with the EPC system itself in that you don't get any feedback on alternative routes to improve your property if for example the assessor recommends CWI but you can't do it. And it's not clear how you challenge either the assessor or the assessment to find a financially viable way forward.

TheC IsHere

Become a Member

If you login or become a member you can view this members profile, comments, posts and send them messages!

Sign Up

11:11 AM, 6th August 2024, About 3 months ago

Reply to the comment left by David Lawrenson at 06/08/2024 - 10:20
Not correct. And reading stupid conspiracy theory books won't help.

David Lawrenson

Become a Member

If you login or become a member you can view this members profile, comments, posts and send them messages!

Sign Up

11:20 AM, 6th August 2024, About 3 months ago

Reply to the comment left by TheC IsHere at 06/08/2024 - 11:11
It's not a "stupid conspiracy theory book" unless you think the chief of the World Economic Forum is a conspiracy theorist and so is his seminal book of that title.

Beaver

Become a Member

If you login or become a member you can view this members profile, comments, posts and send them messages!

Sign Up

12:23 PM, 6th August 2024, About 3 months ago

Reply to the comment left by David Lawrenson at 06/08/2024 - 11:20
It's an interesting book whether you agree with it or not.

It's certainly no conspiracy theory. However, the difficulty I have with all of the economists is that their understanding of the science of biology is very limited. In fact, even our human medical experts demonstrated both a limited understanding of the biological sciencesand in particular the behaviour of RNA viruses like SARSCov2 in their public pronouncements during the Covid outbreak.

Karen

Become a Member

If you login or become a member you can view this members profile, comments, posts and send them messages!

Sign Up

14:06 PM, 6th August 2024, About 3 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Stella at 04/08/2024 - 14:23
BTR will be newly built blocks, So they will have a C or B rating and not be affected even if it were to apply to them. The problem for the PRS if you have a flat in a block there is not much you can do about it if the rating is below C. Have not heard anyone address that problem and the govt probably has not even thought about that.

Mick Roberts

Become a Member

If you login or become a member you can view this members profile, comments, posts and send them messages!

Sign Up

14:37 PM, 6th August 2024, About 3 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Karen at 06/08/2024 - 14:06
I've thought about this flat in block below EPC C.
I was gonna' sell all my flats, but with this EPC thing, I may end up keeping 3 of em, as they are flats in Council blocks (Only 2 stories high) & if Council or Govt say No Mick we need EPC C B A, I can say On u go then, I have no control over the structure/fabric of the building, that's your department. If it's failing, it's not my problem.

Rupert Chapman

Become a Member

If you login or become a member you can view this members profile, comments, posts and send them messages!

Sign Up

15:11 PM, 8th August 2024, About 3 months ago

Last year I brought a three bed semi from E to B. New water tank, rip out gas boiler, air source heat pump, solar, new radiators and insulation.

The works were prescribed by a grant funded installer under the ECO4 scheme.

ECo4 requires that tenants are on benefits. Therefore, we can make the assumption that those having these improvements do not have spare cash for higher energy bills.

That is exactly what transpired. The tenants complained to me that their bills had gone up significantly!!!

So how is Labour going to take people out of fuel poverty with this measure?

The fact is that electricity is more expensive than gas (which is not surprising as electricity is a result of processing gas at a power station)

So the current measures will not help tenants. If landlords have to fund the improvements, then the rents are also likely to increase.

Beaver

Become a Member

If you login or become a member you can view this members profile, comments, posts and send them messages!

Sign Up

16:24 PM, 8th August 2024, About 3 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Rupert Chapman at 08/08/2024 - 15:11
This is absolutely right. The requirement to move to EPC band C will directly drive up energy bills, as you have found, even with solar. The effect of driving properties out of the PRS will also affect supply thereby indirectly driving up rents.

If labour wanted to do something that was fair then they would change the EPC system such that it was meaningful and let the market sort the problem out. If tenants want to rent a band D, E or F property then let them.

David Lawrenson

Become a Member

If you login or become a member you can view this members profile, comments, posts and send them messages!

Sign Up

9:18 AM, 9th August 2024, About 3 months ago

I got a quote for solar panels for a property I let.
All v keen to engage.
But total silence from the company when I asked them for info on the practices of the Chinese company that make them, in particular in relation to workers rights, environmental stewardship (pollution impacts in the production process) and ahem, carbon dioxide expended in the manufacturing process and shipping to the UK.
Climateaggedon con.

Leave Comments

In order to post comments you will need to Sign In or Sign Up for a FREE Membership

or

Don't have an account? Sign Up

Landlord Automated Assistant Read More