Energy assessors are speaking out against the government’s ‘unrealistic’ eco-demands for landlords, warning that even their own homes will not meet the new standards.
Landlords will soon be barred from renting out properties in England and Wales unless they upgrade them to an energy performance certificate (EPC) of C – the third most efficient category – or higher.
Those who fail risk a fine of £30,000, as part of the government’s latest energy efficiency campaign to lower household bills and reduce carbon emissions.
EPC ratings are the main metric used in the UK to judge how ‘green’ a home is and how much it costs to heat. Your home is rated from A to G, with A being the most energy efficient.
Unfeasible: a house with solar panels EPC ratings are the main metric for judging how ‘green’ a house is and how much it costs to heat
But experts in the field tell Money Mail these green requirements are going too far as it costs the average home £20,000 to meet the standard. Currently, rented properties must have a minimum EPC rating of E.
These hefty costs will be passed on to unsuspecting tenants, who will be forced to pay more rent and may be displaced during home improvements. In the worst case, appraisers claim that it will be impossible to get some houses on a C-band.
Two out of three landlords could be forced to sell their owner-occupied homes in the next five years because they fear they will not be able to meet these requirements, according to a survey by the Mortgage Advice Bureau.
In March, the government extended the EPC deadline for newly rented rental properties by three years, from 2025 to 2028, after warning the plan could drive out landlords.
James Court, who was one of the first to qualify as an EPC assessor in 2007 and visits more than 100 homes a year, says: ‘I don’t understand why the government is aiming for such a high standard.
“If they wanted everyone to meet the average D score, that would make sense, but C is out of reach for many people.”
Inspector: James Court was one of the first to qualify as an EPC assessor in 2007 and visits over 100 homes a year
According to the English Housing Survey, some 13 percent of homes in England and Wales – about 14.6 million homes – are rated E, F or G.
James’ own house in Leicester is rated D, but he believes it is efficient enough. The 58-year-old says: ‘We have cavity wall insulation, double glazing and a modern central heating boiler, why isn’t that enough?’
Many homes would need wall insulation to meet the new standard, which would cost up to £15,000 and be disruptive, he says. ‘I don’t see how it’s possible to add interior wall insulation with tenants living in the property, and the savings on bills later on would be negligible.
‘I know a landlord who had 19 properties and now only has three left. As a landlord I know how difficult it is to get them to a C rating.’
John Bradbury, a retrofit coordinator from Bingley, in West Yorkshire, who assesses properties to increase their EPC scores on a daily basis, warns that landlords will struggle to improve their homes on time.
John, 49, says the majority of people he visits are rated E, F or G. ‘It’s expensive – the average air-to-water heat pump, for example, would cost £10,000 to install.
“But another big hurdle will be finding the workers to do the job in the first place. We already find it difficult to hire workers for wall insulation,’ he says.
A nationwide deadline could trigger a stampede of buy-to-let owners who are simultaneously trying to upgrade their homes, making labor even more scarce and driving up prices, he adds.
Penalty: Those failing to meet the new standards risk a £30,000 fine, as part of the government’s latest energy efficiency campaign
Last November, the government announced a £1bn grant to insulate Britain’s draftiest homes under its ECO+ scheme, which runs until March 2026.
But only those with low energy efficiency ratings in lower council tax rates are expected to qualify, with savings of around £310 a year available.
John says the eligibility rules are “perverse,” adding: “There is more money for bigger properties. It means that the people who need help most often can’t get it.’
A 60-year-old Cornish energy assessor says it’s unfair that landlords could be forced to sell their properties because of the poor ratings he gives them.
“If I had to upgrade my own home, I would have no choice but to sell it,” he says. “There’s no gas line where I live, so we get an F because of the extra cost of running our boiler on bottled gas.
“There’s not much that can be done to improve the rating other than try to clad the exterior of a building in a heritage area.”
Warning: Landlords will soon be banned from letting properties in England and Wales unless they upgrade to an energy performance certificate of C or higher
Landlords can obtain an exemption if it is not possible to improve the energy efficiency of a home.
An EPC costs between £60 and £100 and an appraiser will come to your home to carry out an investigation.
Simon Brown from Wiltshire, whose name has been changed, says the new rules are ‘disastrous’ for tenants and landlords. Of Simon’s four buy-to-lets, split between Surrey and Cheshire, two are C rated and the others are E rated.
The 47-year-old fears he will be forced to sell at least one home, displacing his longest-serving tenant, who has lived there for nearly 20 years.
High mortgage costs on the two-bedroom house in Macclesfield, Cheshire, combined with costly eco-upgrades, mean it is no longer profitable.
‘Unfortunately, the real loser here is the tenant who will have to leave their house,’ says Simon. “He’s going to pay a much higher rent because I’m making him pay below market value because of his loyalty.”
Increasingly frustrated with the government’s ‘continuous interference’, Simon says private landlords are nearing a split.
“It’s done to protect the tenant or even the planet, but sometimes it’s clearly an attack on landlords.”
A government spokesman says: ‘We have been discussing raising the standard in a way that is cost-effective for landlords. We will publish a summary of the responses at the end of this year.’
j.beard@dailymail.co.uk
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