Gobbledegook?

Notice periods, I believe, are back to normal but part of PD 55C still remains (the Covid impact assessment I think has stayed).

EPC consultation (which took place during lockdowns) that ended in June, is still out for deliberation...

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/non-domestic-private-rented-sector-minimum-energy-efficiency-standards-epc-b-implementation

Hi, yes there are all sorts of comments about what and when, it is or it isn't happening, it is approved it's not approved. It is all very confusing depending on what you read.

I'm an EPC assessor for both Commercial and Domestic properties and the only place I found to be certain of what is actually happening is to refer to the bill that has to be presented to Government for approval before it becomes law. I found this out only a couple of weeks ago because it was always the intention for the government to bring in this proposed legislation in the Autumn. I thought it would have been announced just before or around COP 26 , which would have made perfect sense. So I was surprised not to hear anything so that's when I started looking.

The link below is to the House of Commons bill. It got presented in August for it's first reading and normally the 2nd reading happens 2 weeks after that. For some unknown reason that has not happened and will now happen on the 18th March 2022. I have no idea how long things take but looking at the various stages after and then the House of Lords it must be summer next year before it is all finally approved.

Also on that link page under 'Current version of Bill' click on 'Get file' and there is an 8 page document which is exactly what is proposed. Have a read it is very interesting as it also has proposals for your own personal house and obligations of mortgage companies etc. Rented commercial properties to be a 'B' by 2030. Most people are not aware of these things.

The link is:-
https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3036

As a personal thought I have always thought this proposal is a step too far so they may tweak it to a 'D' in 2025 (which was there original proposal) and 'C' 2 or 3 years later. But if they don't push it then all it does is delay when people take action and with the recent COP 26 and climate issues then they may well be able to push it through government as it is. Either way it is going to happen it is just a question of when.

Hope that helps, happy reading.
Cheers
Guy

Reply to the comment left by Guy Couchman at 19/11/2021 - 12:17
The bill that you referred to will almost certainly never pass into law. I believe that it was introduced in the House of Lords in an attempt to force the government's hand but it does not represent government policy. The government response to the consultation which ended in early January this year is still awaited but everybody seems to think that it is imminent and that the operative date for minimum band C for privately rented property will be the 1st of April 2026 for new tenancies and 2028 for existing ones.

It is also rumoured that at some point the environmental impact rating will take precedence over or replace the EPC rating. I recall that introducing an EIR requirement was one of the options mentioned in the consultation so it's a question of watch this space until government show their hand.

Thanks for the clarification above. If they go for the 'C' rating it will be a nightmare and I for one will have to sell up. All my properties are Victorian except for one which has electric heating (modern and high grade but electrically heated properties never get above a D in EPC terms.)

This will cause many already hard pressed landlords like myself to exit the market and will exacerbate the already awful homelessness situation. This has already happened in Scotland with many PRS landlords having sold due to draconian regulations and costs.

I don't know much about commercial properties but a 'B' also looks unattainable.

Reply to the comment left by Seething Landlord at 19/11/2021 - 13:51
I thought it was minimum band C for privately rented property will be the 1st of April 2025 ( not 2026) for new tenancies and 2028 for existing ones.

Reply to the comment left by Judith Wordsworth at 20/11/2021 - 07:462025 was the original proposal but the current rumour is that it will be delayed for one year for new tenancies. The reality is that we do not know the dates or the details until the government publish their response to the consultation.

Reply to the comment left by Seething Landlord at 20/11/2021 - 08:57
Which is fast approaching six months since it closed in June! It won’t apply to social housing and our property will be devalued by an arbitrary standard that no-one really cares about.

Our only choice will be to sell to Council or owner-occupiers!

Welcome to 2015 to 2021 Landlord world. And your short great words sums it up entirely to why many of us want out the first opportunity the tenant is ever able to move, which Benefit tenants can't at the moment for your reasons and many more.

Reply to the comment left by Luke P at 20/11/2021 - 09:45
The consultation that ended in June related to non-domestic rented property whereas the one that I was referring to to and which ended in January 2021 related to domestic rented property.

Reply to the comment left by Seething Landlord at 19/11/2021 - 13:51I think the Government have already shown their hand. Since 2015 they have been waging an undeclared war of attrition against private Landlords. It is my estimation that the Government made back room deals, sometime before 2015, with corporate interests to hand over the PRS on a silver platter. Probably there were the usual inducements for Government ministers of seats on the Board, paid for holidays and lucrative speaking engagements. That is how Tony Blair was rewarded for taking the UK to war with Iraq to serve American political interests. Though firstly they will drive out many smaller landlords in order to create a huge amount of desperate customers (tenants) needing a place to live and who will be driven into the loving embrace of the corporate landlords. This we already see happening with John Lewis and Lloyds Bank.
This was a two for one deal as the government also picked up votes from the deluded mugs, ie Generation Rent, and most likely fed backhanders to Shelter as an anti landlord propaganda mouthpiece .
The corporate rentals will be new builds or total renovations of former offices and will comply with all the latest regulations.
The Government doesn’t actually give a stuff about tenants or you and I here on this forum.
The only question for those of us with a portfolio of Victorian houses is whether we are prepared to put the money into them to make them energy efficient enough to keep legally renting them out or whether we sell up and bale out of the sector. I’m still undecided at this point though everything I now do to my houses is with one eye on preparing them for sale, ie a new kitchen is good for the tenant and also good for a potential buyer. There has been a slight silver lining for me in that all my rents are now some 50% higher than a 3 or 4 years ago.
We will see.