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

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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


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Beaver

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11:49 AM, 12th August 2024, About 3 months ago

Reply to the comment left by GlanACC at 12/08/2024 - 11:36
That's interesting. And did that get you from Band D to Band C? Or some other band?

GlanACC

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11:53 AM, 12th August 2024, About 3 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Beaver at 12/08/2024 - 11:49Low band E to a high band D - still got some other work to do (new front door which I have to pay for at about £1400) and upgraded heating controls (about £220) .. those can wait till 2030 as with a bit of luck the tenant will leave before then and I can sell the property.

Beaver

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12:10 PM, 12th August 2024, About 3 months ago

Reply to the comment left by GlanACC at 12/08/2024 - 11:53
So the real question is, do you think that the assessor would let you get from Band D to C without installing cavity wall insulation?

David Lawrenson

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12:24 PM, 12th August 2024, About 3 months ago

Reply to the comment left by GlanACC at 12/08/2024 - 11:53... or v likely Labour will get kicked out by then, people will realise climateaggedon is all likely a bit of a hoax (some hope) and the whole need to get to EPC grade C will get kicked into touch a few more years or as the Miklanovich cycles really kick in and it gets colder by then, the whole global heating thing will look increasigly threadbare and it will be binned entirely and Ed the Ball Millipede will be out of work.
I am hoping!
As it has been put off till 2030, I am not going to do the solar panels on my let property for a little while longer.
As it is all made in China, some Tibetan or Muslim slaves may now get an hour off their labours!

GlanACC

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12:38 PM, 12th August 2024, About 3 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Beaver at 12/08/2024 - 12:10
Daft thing is I already had cavity wall insulation -- the EPC system is so hit and miss and if you only have electric heating its very difficult to get it to a C.

Having said that I have 2 properties with gas and they are C and when the EPC runs out I don't propose getting it renewed as it is ONLY required when a tenant move IN or you sell the property, so the council can't force you to renew (unless Labour change the rules which could be possible).

Beaver

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13:08 PM, 12th August 2024, About 3 months ago

Reply to the comment left by GlanACC at 12/08/2024 - 12:38
So you already had cavity wall insulation and could only get from low band E to a high D, whatever that may mean.

I agree that the EPC system is hit and miss. It all seems to depend upon what you can get out of your current assessor.

GlanACC

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13:35 PM, 12th August 2024, About 3 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Beaver at 12/08/2024 - 13:08
Totally agree, EPC system is a mess. The assessor recommended insulating the floor (cost over £2000) and it would save the tenant about £140 a year. several other things like like. I have done all the low hanging fruit mods to the property. The problem I have now is with all that extra loft insulation the tenant is complaining its too hot.

Beaver

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13:48 PM, 12th August 2024, About 3 months ago

Reply to the comment left by GlanACC at 12/08/2024 - 13:35
I agree. I have similar issues with some of the recommendations that I have received. In some older properties insulating the floor (and stopping the air getting to the floor) can cause the floor joists to rot. Ripping all the floors up is like dry-lining walls and having to make good and redecorate is, of course, enormously disruptive.

Mick Roberts

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14:51 PM, 12th August 2024, About 3 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Beaver at 12/08/2024 - 12:10
Beaver,

I've been told by my EPC man mate on some of my 1920 houses with new boiler, windows, doors, TRV's etc. that the ONLY way to get to from D to C is with the internal wall insulation. Hope that helps, even if bad news.

And my one internal wall insulation done a year ago, we now got mould damp inside a cupboard-My builder experienced mate going to look this week.

Beaver

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15:02 PM, 12th August 2024, About 3 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Mick Roberts at 12/08/2024 - 14:51
That's similar to my own experience although I accept that my experience may not be representative of all landlords and I suspect that there is a problem with the consistency of assessments by EPC assessors: In my experience you are told that you have to have CWI, even if it would cause damp. Or you are told that you have to put in internal insulation and often the cost of that is prohibitive once you factor in ripping the house apart and making good. It's not as though in most cases you are just being told to increase the depth of insulation in your loft.

In theory you ought to be able to put in PV panels to mitigate the extra energy consumed by ground or air-source heat pumps although I think it's likely that there would still be an increased cost of energy usage because these systems have a low KW output and rely on constant heating, probably under-floor heating, and possibly also heat recovery ventilation systems to work efficiently.

I wouldn't be as sceptical of the system if you were able to have somebody point a thermal imaging camera at your house and show the EPC assessor that the walls and floors aren't where you are losing the heat and demonstrate that e.g. adding a porch or changing the windows is what would give the greatest benefit I don't actually know anybody who manages to challenge the system effectively.

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