Home buying agency Spring has analysed which parts of the country have the dubious distinction of having the most rental homes with the lowest EPC grades.
Rented out homes in Cleethorpes (Lincolnshire), Barrow-in-Furness (Cumbria), Westcliff-on-Sea (Essex), Grimsby (Lincolnshire) and Accrington (Lancashire) have the worst ratings in the UK.
Of the 683 landlord-owned homes in Cleethorpes, 80 per cent have a D-G rating; while in Barrow-in-Furness 1,067 (79 per cent) rented properties have the lower ratings. Seventy-two percent of Westcliff-on-Sea and Grimsby rental homes have D to G ratings, while Accrington stands at 71 per cent.
The government has advised landlords across England and Wales that by 2025 all rental properties will need an EPC rating of C or above. However, research reveals that only 53 per cent of all UK properties have a registered EPC and 58 per cent of those with a registered EPC are rated between categories D to G, meaning they are not as environmentally friendly.
Research suggests costs of up to £6,000 to upgrade a one-bedroom property from rating D to C, rising significantly for larger homes.
Cormac Henderson, chief executive of Spring, comments: “A staggering amount of homes in the UK are not up to scratch in terms of energy performance, not only making them expensive to run but having a significant negative impact on the environment at a time when the climate crisis is front and centre of the global agenda. There appears to be a trend with a higher proportion of properties in the north having poorer energy efficiency.
“With many landlords already facing rising costs, many of which are passed onto tenants, they will have a decision to make as to whether the cost of upgrading their properties is worth it or consider exiting the market as many have suggested.”
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Is it possible to get a link to the full report from Spring
Aren't houses in those areas incredibly cheap to buy? Don't they start at about the price of a car?
If homeownership is what everyone is supposed to want why do people rent houses in the areas where property is so affordable?
Could it be because those houses would be more of a millstone than an asset and improvements would cost far more than the amount they would add to the value of a property?
If the government are serious about improving energy efficiency they need to introduce some grants and tax breaks for EPC improving works. For all rental properties, not just those that house benefit claiming tenants.
The article is right with the end comments, landlords are making the decision if it’s worth it…. I have decided it is not 💰💰.
So it's not just privately rented homes that aren't up to scratch , then why does this BS only apply to privately rented homes, why not social housing and owner occupiers ?
Only 2 million Landlords but 11 million tenants and 50 million others.
Politicians are only interested in votes and our 2 million, spread over 600 odd constituencies aren't as important as the 11 million tenants and the huge number of owner occupiers.
Andrew. I know you never really thought it was anything to do about achieving maximum benefit for the climate but c'mon, get back to asking sensible questions!
PS - hope age isn't blunting your thought processes?
:-)
Those areas mentioned with worst EPC’s unfortunately do also suffer the coldest winters, I think they should get special support.
Special support only insulates the nether regions.
They should get thermal vests, long Johns, woolly jumpers and furry hats so that they don't need to have their rooms heated to tropical temperatures.
I don't act like a proper Scotsman when the weather isn't suitable to do so - even although bits of me don't seem to be as dual purpose as in my earlier years.
What do you wear under your kilt Robert ?
Nothing is worn - all in perfect working order - as far as I can remember!
I've been spending too much time on this site - just missed another Government resignation!
I thought truss was a kind of support but I don't think I will ever rely on one if I want to avoid falling flat on my face ( doubly dangerous for a real Scotsman wearing the kilt!)
Does anyone seroiusly beleive the accuracy of EPC's when they are carried out by anyone who has attended a couple of days training and has no previous experience of working with, or calculating fuel efficciencies, heating loads, cooling loads, phsychometrics, (I bet they can't even spell that one), and the physics of heat transfer through various materials.
Do you think we would save more carbon by
a) bringing the PRS up to EPC C
b) cancelling the World Cup in Qatar
c) making flying illegal
d) cancelling Bonfire Night?
On the one hand LLs are being forced to make eyewateringly expensive upgrades to save virtually nothing on the other hand we encourage the whole of Europe to fly to Liverpool for a song contest! Where is the consistency in all of this?
Quite right, look at the PM, MPs and the Royals all hopping on jets flying all around the place, a case of do as I say not as I do, try leading by example
We're responsible for around 1% of the world's emissions.
We should offer to emulate the actions of China, India and USA , so if they adopt EPC C then so should we (for every property world wide).
A slight improvement on a 1% effect can all too easily be negated by a miniscule negative movement in a much larger polluter.
Jock strap, but seriously the climate varies a great deal in different parts of the Country, say London is usually quiet mild whereas East Midlands would skin you, EPC assessors should take that into account.
I agree Michael but the younger generation wander around their houses semi naked due to heating them to Sauna temperatures.
We had a coal fire in our living room and a portable paraffin heater which got moved to the kitchen or hall ( we called it a lobby) as appropriate.
Heating in bedrooms was with hot water bottles.
We wore extra clothes in colder weather, unlike today's entitled generation who demonstrate and disrupt the country when it's THEIR generation that's the biggest polluters and most energy inefficient ever born - and btw - there's too many of them ( due to the likes of the 7 kid, 4 partner waster you mentioned yesterday)
The Army top coat was a substitute for the duvet.
Billy Connolly does a very funny sketch about kids shouting about their legs being caught in the sleeves of the "duvet" when the priest was visiting.
Again you reinforce the argument that our generation was much "greener" in dual purposing things that would otherwise be unused when the owner was asleep!
My grown up kids don't even spend the whole day in the same clothes and have been known to have 3 showers in the same day!
I can go 3 days with the benefit of the one shower!
Bath day was Sunday evening, that was it, once per week, did we smell? not that I can remember, natural cotton clothing none of these man made materials , cool rooms and unheated bedrooms with windows open all year around, a different way of life
We had a bath on Saturday nights, all clean in fresh pyjamas before Dixon of Dock Green, and clean pants for Sunday School.
As the oldest of three kids, I got the clean hot water. I remember in summer, when the coal fire wasn't on that my younger brother and sister had a kettle of boiling water added to the tepid water I left - but my bath water remained - something we all really enjoy telling our respective kids and grandchildren who don't really believe us!
Extinction Rebellion are NOT the real Greens - although I wouldn't want to share bath water with any of them!
In addition to sharing the bath water, my father put a curtain across the living room so the wood burner only had to heat half the room. He put a curtain across the bottom of the stairs to keep the heat downstairs. He would turn his shirt inside out so he could wear it twice before putting it in the wash. He would use bread to mop up his plate and get the last bits out of the jam jars etc. He hated waste. When cooking on the aga he would not only put the lid on the saucepan, but also cover the lid with cloth for extra insulation. He would talk about environmental issues back in the 70's before it became fashionable.
Lucky you bath once a week. We had to share the water 3 kids jumped in and scrubbed together.
One room with a gas fire we all sat round. One telly 3 channells
Yep us baby boomers never had it so good, but I wouldn't change a thing, and I wouldn't change places with the young of today
In the 70's with 3 channels my dad thought the telly wasn't worth watching so we didn't have one. When something really good was on we would go next door to our elderly neighbours, we thought that was a real treat! Then in the 1980 with 4 channels he finally gave in and bought a 20" black and white telly to save money on the TV licence.
Does anyone else feel more than a little helpless with this. Sitting waiting to see if it will be a C unless happy Liz slips up and says B instead. There’s a belief they will never impose it due to the negative impact in areas mentioned above it I never believed they’d get the finance act through either!
I feel the same way Eric, no point in doing anything yet until we know for sure what's happening and what it will involve for each property, I'll make my decisions then, I don't want to jump ship, but if pushed into a corner I will do just that
Population has increased by 10 million in 20 years, maternity services are being overwhelmed. Funnily enough this does not impact on climate change. I was shocked to read that Birmingham wants to build on green lungs and intends to build enough properties for 150,000 in the next ten years. Figures are approximate.
Those areas mentioned are poor. No one, apart from the taxpayer, could afford to improve the EPC to C, the customers could not afford it the bill. I've been to Barrow a few times and some of it looks rather poor. Strangely the properties were near the shipyards who pay good money.
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