Government consultation to increase minimum EPC rating to band C for PRS

Reply to the comment left by Jessie Jones at 03/10/2020 - 16:56
I think external wall insulation is just out of the question. It is far to expensive.
I am looking at internal insulation and would do it myself. The cost is £40 per 2.88sqm (so about £14 per sqm) using 50mm rigid board like celotex. You need 50 x 50mm batons, screws and plaster board, plus bags of plaster. This is trade prices and i do all my own work. So for my biggest house i might need to invest £800.

My question is how much of a points lift will this give a property ? I need to find this info out before i do all this work. The floors can be done quite cheaply as well, but again the question is what will this provide in terms of points ?

Reply to the comment left by Jessie Jones at 03/10/2020 - 16:56
Jessie you need to check the regulations because I believe that you cannot be required at the moment to spend more than a certain amount (£5000?) and if it will cost more than that to bring the property up to the required level you can claim an exemption. The current proposals suggest that the cap under the revised regulations will be £10,000 per property.

Reply to the comment left by John at 03/10/2020 - 17:09
Internal insulation is certainly a cheaper option, although it will bring the condensation point to the inside of the brick walls so can cause a damp build-up between the insulation and the wall. And it is so disruptive that it can't be done with tenants in situ unless they are very understanding. Skirtings, coving and window sills need to be replaced and radiators moved.
It might be a good idea to photograph the work when half of each wall has been done and to keep a copy of the spec sheet for the material you use, as EPC assessors will need to see these.

Reply to the comment left by Jessie Jones at 03/10/2020 - 17:27
Yes i will photo and video everything.

In my home i have done a lot of internal insulation when i converted the loft, replaced a new bathoom etc. We have no issues in our house, but the smaller terraces may well have an issue.

If i can do the work slowly over time hopefully it wont be an issue for the tenants.

Reply to the comment left by Jessie Jones at 03/10/2020 - 17:27
That all sounds a dickens if a job and I am struggling to envisage how it might be done in our house with curved bow windows reaching right up to the ceiling and into the side reveals, then a curved wall beneath.

Started to write a detailed comment but lost the will to live half way through, so will cut to the chase. When I read this last night my first instinct was thats enough now, time to sell up. I couldn't believe how light and happy I felt once I finally came to the decision.

Will have to sell gradually to make most of CGT allowance (if they dont remove that as well) but I feel great knowing I'm now getting out. Can't wait to be done with it all. Might just bite the bullet and pay more tax to be away from all this crap quicker. I have 5 really good tenants and 4 average. Feel sorry for the good ones. But enough is enough.

Jessie, Further to my earlier reply I have now had a chance to check the position under the current regulations, at
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/domestic-private-rented-property-minimum-energy-efficiency-standard-landlord-guidance
The guidance includes the following (but please read the rest of it as well):
"The cost cap: you will never be required to spend more than £3,500 (including VAT) on energy efficiency improvements.

If you cannot improve your property to EPC E for £3,500 or less, you should make all the improvements which can be made up to that amount, then register an ‘all improvements made’ exemption."

Reply to the comment left by Seething Landlord at 03/10/2020 - 21:19
You are reading the old guidance I believe . If you read the new one just click at the start of the page I think you will find the amount is much more .

Reply to the comment left by Alan Wong at 01/10/2020 - 12:24
Wow, what a thread. It's encouraging to see LL's now getting vocal on mass.

I somewhat agree with Alan's sentiment, but as I have said a million times now, this is just the continuation of the demolition of the PRS. We need to stop shouting that it is unfair etc etc etc. They do not care, and no one will hear our voice.

We are not yet collective enough to have any impact, and frankly, are we even big enough to have any power if we were a collective? We are not a unified industry like the construction industry, none of us are big enough to line the pockets of psychopath .gov.

If there was ever anything that proved that .gov is a corrupt force that is out to crush the independent citizen, it was S24. Everything after that is just icing.

.gov has now created the scam that fills all their power hungry needs, anything can be done under the charade of National Security.

I'm not saying we should not try to push back on this and call out their callous timing (they see it as perfect timing), but it is likely only to slow it down than to put it to a stop.

What I am saying is, you can not ignore that all the counter productive changes in PRS regulations over the last 8 or so years have been proportionate or even legally done in many cases.

Wake up and smell the coffee, this is much bigger than the PRS.

Bitcoin, Gold, Silver, pay down your debts if they lack a well cushioned return. This has only just begun and is likely to get much much worse.

Reply to the comment left by Question Everything at 03/10/2020 - 23:15
I agree. We are going through profound societal changes. America is at the cutting edge and what is happening over there will be here in a slightly more diluted form.

How do you actually buy gold and silver safely? I would only be interested in holding the stuff physically but then you have the storage worry.

This is why I think property is a better bet as you also have an income. Yes regulations and red tape make life harder but you still own a physical asset which produces an income. It’s no longer a passive income due to all the extra work you have to do.

Is the final stage the confiscation of property. It’s a possibility but that will only happen as society and the currency collapses. I think it’s coming but what the hell can you do to protect yourself.

Bitcoin is talked about a lot but these coins can be stolen and it’s happened before.