The Tenancy Deposit Service and the National Residential Landlords Association have produced a guide to improving energy efficiency in rented properties.
Although many landlords have already made energy efficiency upgrades to help reduce energy costs, and have passed on the 2022 energy discount for tenants paying all-inclusive bills, the two organisations say more can be done.
Steve Harriott, chief executive at TDS, comments: “Across the UK, energy bills are at an all-time high following the latest energy price-cap rise. Within the private rented sector, we’re finding that landlords are increasingly concerned about how to keep energy costs down and support their tenants, while having further concerns about improving their Energy Performance Certificate, as a result of proposed changes coming to the minimum EPC rating.”
The energy efficiency guide features low-cost tips to improve a property’s EPC and offers long-term ideas to make a home's carbon footprint future-proof.
The guide also features an extensive list of government grants that landlords and their tenants may be able to apply for, and lists some energy efficiency ideas that tenants can implement today.
Harriott concludes: “By improving the property’s EPC rating, landlords can help decrease their tenant’s energy bills and ensure their property is up to standard for 2025’s proposed adjustments.”
To download a copy please click here.
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This is Checklist I followed to tackle the problem:
I have a 3-bed rental, built in 1959 and it's not Listed. It was an EPC Grade E and my tenant was complaining of high energy bills last winter.
1. I got my domestic EPC assessor to prepare a draft 'as is' EPC and a draft 'predicted' EPC for the house based on the refurb I was planning to do.
2. My handyman installed 100mm of loft insulation between the joists and then an extra 200mm layer of loft insulation at right angles across the joists. This is current Building Regs standard for a new house. Loft insulation is £24 for a big roll at B&Q
3. I had a Google Nest thermostat/timer installed. I ordered this direct from Google and a professional installer fitted it within the price.
4. My plumber installed TRVs on all the rads and showed the tenant how to use them.
5. My electrician fitted a 'kill switch' by the front door wired into the lighting circuits of the Distribution Board. As the tenant leaves the house one push of the button turns off all the lights in the house. Very simple and effective.
6. My handyman changed all non-LED lamps over to Philips LED lamps
7.I had already got my handyman to install solid insulation board between the joists on the ground floor prior to some recarpeting that I did a few years ago. I specified that he used Gapotape along the edges of the PIR board to give a nice snug fit between the joists.
8. Pioneer Insulation fitted external wall insulation around the walls. This was a big investment but the house now looks brand new and it's a unit that I'm holding long-term.
9. I couldn't justify the expense of new windows so I bought 'poor man's' secondary glazing from a small British company called WindowSkin. I used their product before to cover a large sash window in the winter in a draughty office that I use to rent. It's a custom cut piece of totally clear Perspex that clips on the inside of the window frame in winter to cut out 100% of window draughts. Stores under a bed in the summer.
10. Whilst we were at it my handyman installed a Nuaire DriMaster Heat Positive Input Ventilation (PIV) unit up in the ventilated loft with a outlet in the 1st floor landing ceiling. The tenant was moaning about condensation and being unable to dry clothes/towels. This simple fit-and-forget unit has totally solved these problems.
11. My EPC assessor came back after I had completed these works and gave the house an EPC Grade B by one point (score 81)). This certificate stays on the national database for the next 10-years.
My mortgage broker expects to be able to get a better rate for me now that I have a 10-year valid EPC Grade B when I have to refinance this year.
The above project took me about 10 x phone-calls and 2 x site visits to sort out. It really wasn't that onerous and I was surprised how straightforward it was after I’d done the initial research
I'm now finishing a similar package of works on my own family home – this will raise it from an EPC Grade E to a Grade C and will start to really reduce my energy bills.
Not again! Crawl back under your bot rock and stay there!
Wonder which of these products he sells?
And what was the total cost? No point in ranting on about all the changes you made and not telling us what it cost!
What you dont say is how much you spent on all this!
It would be far better to have tax breaks than grants for all energy efficiency improvement measures.
Right now it is pot luck if you qualify for a grant. Has the tenant got a low enough income? Can you find an installer who is part of whatever scheme? Does that installer charge the same as a mainstream installer? Will the government cancel the scheme before your turn comes?
Treating eco improvements as tax deductible (instead of Capital improvements) would allow all landlords to just get on with whatever improvements they want to do in a timely fashion.
Martin, dearest how many more times are you going to re-post the same blog.
Did you have much problems showing Tenants how to use a thermostatic radiator Valve it must be awesome they are numbered 1-5.
They should print it on loo paper , then it'd actually be useful
Your one big piece of Perpex covering whole window cuts out 100% of drafts. Also cuts out 100% ventilation, does anyone really think the Tenants are going to be operating a substandard system like this.
It difficult enough to get them to open the windows at the best of times not alone putting obstacles in their way, making it more difficult to access fire escape opening sash as well.
Does an improved EPC reduce energy consumption and cost ? fact is it does not, it's just another line of BS.
Martin (7) How did you install solid install solid insulation boards between the joists prior to re-carpeting on the ground floor, without lifting the flooring boards and re-installing ?. I did my own so years ago with flexible poll sock fibreglass insulation from underneath and know how difficult that was with the limited space under suspended ground floor, no hope of putting PIR there & gaffer tape has no insulation value. Although there are over lay flooring solutions on the market.
Won’t need such guidance… and nor will my tenants 🤫…. I won’t be a landlord when this comes in 🎉🎉💵💵.
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