Renters demand EPC upgrades as energy bills vary widely across homes

Renters demand EPC upgrades as energy bills vary widely across homes

9:31 AM, 26th June 2024, About 6 months ago 17

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More than half of the UK’s housing stock—around 18 million homes—currently has an EPC rating of D or lower.

According to Rightmove, homes with the lowest EPC ratings can see their energy bills differ by thousands of pounds compared to those with higher ratings.

A survey by the property portal reveals the main reason people consider making green changes to their homes is to lower their energy bills.

Rightmove is urging the next government to make green initiatives more widely available.

Landlords need access to green improvement schemes

According to Rightmove, more than 87% of renters believe action needs to be taken to help make green improvements.

Figures by Rightmove reveal the average energy bill of a three-bedroom house with an EPC rating of F is £4,431 per year, compared with £1,669 for the same-sized house with an EPC rating of C.

Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s property expert, said: “While it’s a start to see some green support proposed in the party manifestos, there’s a big job to be done to address the widescale issue that at least 18 million UK homes need to be improved.

“Many homeowners and landlords need urgent access to schemes that enable them to make these improvements, which could help with huge savings on energy bills.

“Each home requires different improvements and the upfront costs are a huge barrier to change. Without more help, many homeowners and tenants will continue to live in high-carbon emitting homes with high energy costs.”

Moving from a gas boiler to a heat pump

The property portal suggests that suitable green improvements for homes could include window upgrades, roof or floor insulation, installing solar panels or moving from a gas boiler to a heat pump.

Nathan Emerson, chief executive officer, of Propertymark, says it’s more that the green funding initiatives are diverse and take into consideration the condition of the property.

He said: “We have long supported initiatives and practical measures to help enhance energy efficiency across the UK. We would be keen to see any incoming government construct a wide-ranging package of support to assist with upgrades at the first opportunity.

“It’s vital there is a diverse approach of funding, grants, and targeted schemes based on age, condition, and size and that there is robust infrastructure in place to deliver on such ambitions.”

Average annual energy bills for a three-bedroom house, according to Rightmove:

EPC rating Average Annual Energy Bill
A £508
B £1,039
C £1,669
D £2,340
E £3,292
F £4,431
G £5,674

 


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a.murray18@ntlworld.com

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17:06 PM, 26th June 2024, About 6 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Reluctant Landlord at 26/06/2024 - 12:47
My standing charges are 65p and 33p so almost a pound a day. £365 even if you do not use any energy.This is a massive burden for not so well off families.The question is why have standing charges doubled and the answer is So called SMART meters @ £900 a pop. They are not free and are paid for from your bills. They tell you what you already know and save you not one penny. And the first one's that didn't work properly could only be used with specific suppliers who were not the cheapest. People should have had a choice whether they wanted to buy these and pay £180 pound a year for something that only saves the energy companies money.

Reluctant Landlord

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19:16 PM, 26th June 2024, About 6 months ago

Reply to the comment left by at 26/06/2024 - 17:06
The EPC produces an 'average energy bill' (cost).

No account is taken for the s/c which can as you have shown can be a significant part of the bill.

The EPC should work on a use/consumption only basis - stating what the average consumption may be for the property given its specific heating system etc and the specifics of that property (does it have double glazing, insulation etc)

That would give a more specific picture of where any improvements could be made and what that could mean for lower consumption. Inevitably lower consumption ultimately translates into real and tangible cost savings to the tenant even if setting aside the s/c.

At the moment the EPC says average cost to run one of my two bed, all elec (No gas) G2 listed flats at rating E is - An average household would need to spend £1,345 per year on heating, hot water and lighting in this property.

So what is the average household in this case- two adults working out all day or single mum, 2 kids in all day?

It was let to a single mum and she used over the last year around £700 in total and probably most of this in 63p standing charges per day. If she had no money then nothing went on the elec meter. Simple as that.

At the end of the day you cannot legislate on CONSUMPTION, so forcing the issue on the basis of 'cost savings' to the tenant is completely fraudulent.

NewYorkie

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19:52 PM, 26th June 2024, About 6 months ago

Reply to the comment left by at 26/06/2024 - 17:06
All about net zero. The ridiculous obsession with smart meters is costing us a fortune, for no benefit, and many don't even work [mine doesn't]. Then there's the green levy to pay owners of wind farms to not produce electricity because we can't store it on the grid. And then there's a huge cost to pay those suppliers who gave gained millions of extra customers as a result of those companies that went bust. Octopus must be laughing all the way to the bank, not having to shell out £millions on marketing to gain new customers. Instead, we have paid them to take them!

Dylan Morris

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20:01 PM, 26th June 2024, About 6 months ago

A quick Google search will show that carbon dioxide is 0.04% of the atmosphere. That’s four hundredths of one per cent. And only 5% of this carbon dioxide is man made so 95% of it will be here regardless of us.Thirty years ago it was 0.03% but the amount does vary up and down over time. If CO2 falls below 0.02% vegetation starts to die reducing the production of oxygen and we all pop our clogs.
As for the other “carbon emissions” the next one up……is nitrous dioxide at 0.0004% of the atmosphere. In other words 335 parts per billion. Methane is even lower at 0.0002% so those cows can carry on farting ‘til their hearts are contented.
Nothing to worry about folks ……. it’s all a scam.

Dylan Morris

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20:09 PM, 26th June 2024, About 6 months ago

Reply to the comment left by NewYorkie at 26/06/2024 - 19:52And those wind farm generators (bird killers) have a life expectancy of around 20 years then get sent to landfill so stay in the ground forever. Same with solar panels. Nothing green about them at all. It’s a scam folks.

SimonP

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22:11 PM, 26th June 2024, About 6 months ago

Landlords are not the problem.

Maybe energy bills are so high because... utility companies are charging so much.

Never mind EPC's, stop the profiteering by the energy companies and those bills will come down. But who has the balls to do that, I wonder?

GlanACC

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8:43 AM, 29th June 2024, About 6 months ago

I have just had a property insulated using the ECO4 scheme, loft insulation has been massively increased. Tenants are now moaning that house is too HOT during the past few days heatwave

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