Some 21 per cent of tenants have spoken to their landlords about making energy efficiency improvements to their property, according to a survey by a lender.
In response to this, a quarter of landlords have already made energy efficiency improvements to reduce energy bills for tenants, and to meet proposed EPC requirements.
The research - by Shawbrook - also found that landlords have spent an average of £8,900 so far on improvements, which is almost 50% more than they had expected they would need to spend.
However, over a fifth of landlords say they have no idea how much updating their properties will cost.
When it comes to the energy efficiency changes tenants would like to see made to a property, solar panels are the most popular choice with 26 per cent of respondents stating that they would like them to be installed.
A further 22 per cent would like a new boiler, and 20 per cent stated that double glazing would be their preference. Nearly a fifth of tenants said they would even consider living in a smaller property if it meant it was more energy efficient.
Shawbrook’s latest figures come as the government has pledged to reduce energy consumption from buildings and industry 15 per cent by 2030, with aspirations for properties to have a minimum EPC rating of C in England and Wales by April 2025.
Under current government regulation, landlords are not expected to spend more than £3,500 on upgrades to meet the current EPC requirements for a rating of E. However, proposed changes could see all rental properties requiring an EPC rating of C by 2028, and a potential increase to this cap to £10,000, meaning landlords could be required to spend more to meet minimum requirements.
Emma Cox, managing director of real estate at Shawbrook, says: “It’s likely that efficiency standards will become tougher in the future, which is just one of the reasons that landlords should take note of tenant’s requests and start making a plan.
“As trends now point towards tenants favouring more energy efficient properties, these changes should not just be seen as a tick-box requirement by landlords, but also a worthwhile investment.
“If tenants feel their accommodation is more cost efficient and sustainable, they will be more likely to stay, which in turn will benefit landlords.”
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Ironic thing is that tiny improvements like low voltage lightbulbs make about the same difference to an epc as spending vast amounts on basically rebuilding a property
While UK produces less than 1% of supposedly harmful c02 emissions ( google it , c02 is actually beneficial )
Whole climate con is a total scam
WHAT !! 😱 £8,900…. Not a cat in hell’s chance that will happen, a bit of insulation or Led bulbs…. Anything more and they are sold. I am confident that my local authority has a stream of empty properties just waiting for my ex tenants 🤔🤔
Yes Simon
Emma Cox is not making commercial sense for landlords, if EPC goes up it will ruin the housing stock, ie lots of very good properties are old but brick construction. Think most cities. People invest to get a return, not to virtue signal or to solve social ills.
Did the tenants say they would be willing to pay increased rent for these improvements? It's a bit like all the NetZero stuff - people want to be green until it hurts their wallet!
Yep.. My properties are solid brick or stone. Tenants know the EPC Rating when they sign the tenancy agreement.
If I need to internally line the extenal walls of the flats, reducing all the room sizes, that's really going to increase the desirability for my tenants.
Of course given the cost of Kingspan these days cos of demand and war, this cost can't be recouped through rent increase as that's not allowed either.
Peter I know how difficult it is so many obstacles in the way like Electrics. Kitchens, Bathrooms etc and if you can’t get the property vacant how are you supposed to operate and accommodate with the place like a building site, not to mention its chocker with their belongings.
I suppose you are all aware when you apply for a HMO License which is now becoming compulsory for all in some Borough’s the outrageous license fees now being demanded by local Authorities is now tied to your EPC rating, did you not know that?.
Interesting that tenants would prefer solar panels (which can be installed in a day), while most EPCs start with internal or external insulation and solid floor insulation (which would require major upheaval or eviction for the tenant).
Solar panels tangibly lower their electric bill. They won't know what improvement (if any) the insulation made if they have been evicted for the work to happen.
These days solar panels tend to have apps which show exactly how much electricity is being produced, consumed or exported. Mine produced 76kWh in December and 547kWh last July. Overall in 2022 they produced 3820kWh of free electricity. Obviously not all of it could be used and it wasn't always when we needed to run appliances. Now it is standard to install batteries at the same time as solar panels and that really does make far more of the production usable.
It's frustrating that none of these eco improvements are tax deductible. Classing something that supposedly helps the government towards Net Zero as a Capital improvement is bizarre. Surely it is simply making a building conform to modern building standards.
Solar panels without a battery pretty much only produce power when tenants are at work - so their savings would be minimal for at least a £5k outlay for LL. If you have a battery as well the costs go up but not every rental has space for all this. I think this is just a tenants wish list.
DG on the other hand - every rental should have it by now!
Tricia - Surely the vast majority of rentals have had DG for at least the last 20 years.
From an EPC point of view it doesn't matter if your tenants are capable of making best use of the solar panels. In reality lots of people work unconventional hours or part-time or get home when the children finish school mid afternoon or are capable of using delay timers on their appliances.
What saving are they supposed to get from solid wall or floor insulation? One of my EPCs claims £122 a year saving if I spend between £4K and £14K on solid wall insulation or £363 a year saving if I install a 2.5kW array of solar PV at a cost of around £5K. The insulation would add 5 points to the EPC whereas the solar PV would add 10 points.
Jo - reality is if the house is insulated it is more comfortable to live in - no drafts etc however it’s the cost involved. It behaves like a thermos but your typical tenant will then create mould TCM
Jo. Well done the Solar Panels on the roof are a big help I am sure.
However that doesn’t stop you loosing heat from the property.
Michael - does it really matter? If the objective is to get EPC C in the most cost effective way solar panels often tick that box. Those properties have been perfectly acceptable homes for decades. EPC assessors have a tendancy to assume anything they can't see (like wall insulation) doesn't exist even if you have paperwork saying it does.
If the choice is to rip the building apart or stick solar panels on the roof I know which one I'd choose.
I don't mind spending a reasonable sum, and then increasing the rent, but there isn't a cat's chance in hell that I'll be spending thousands
Most landlord properties are EPC D, to go from a D to a C does not cost much nor does it take much effort. If you are at E it would be more costly, if you want to reach B it would also be more costly
Best wishes
James Tanner
Energy efficiency consultant
07836555100
No so for two of my properties, they are flats with electric heating and no gas supply !! For me to get a C I need to fit GCH 😂 and internally insulate every wall 😂 , that’s what the recent EPC said…. If this comes in, my tenants are out and they are sold.
I did get a D up to a C last month, replaced a 25 yr old boiler, increased loft insulation to 350mm and led light bulbs, but then I have 2 end terraced that are very nearly a C next step on them is wall insulation which I'm not doing yet, if at all
I got a D up to a C a couple of weeks ago by doing absolutely nothing other than using an experienced unbiased assessor.
The previous assessment had been done by an insulation company who were clearly going round with their eyes shut and making numerous assumptions that obviously present stuff didn't exist purely to try and sell more insulation.
Assessors can be audited but how often does that actually happen?
Several of my properties have varied by more than 10 points in either direction depending on the assessors agenda.
Just had 4 different properties redone new EPC’s using a proper professional surveyor pay a bit more but guess what all have hit 70 and above from low 60’s.
Put 300mm loft insulation in and energy efficient lights along with recent Combi. Over the moon. Def choose your surveyor carefully makes thousands of pounds difference and the ability to sell your house without markdowns
No different to MOT tests, they can vary a lot with who's carrying them out
Yes Andrew as you will remember. If it failed at one station will pass at another depends on what the tester thinks is a pass or if he thinks he can tuck you up with with unnecessary work to do. Traders use to stand up to them
Jahan, I was in the motor trade for more than 30yrs, I know all the tricks plus a few more, never an MOT tester though
Yes Andrew I remember you said before. (I used to sell Vauxhalls and was a trader as well) learnt a lot about people
The problem is I believe when we get to ‘C’ the’ll want a B much more difficult achieve.
For those from motor trade will know CH Boiler and heat/monoxide linked detector in integrated garages nightmares, gas engineer spend an hour checking Boiler for leak or fault but nothing wrong after it was reported by the Tenant after going to work in his flash car, it was the car that was causing the problem.
I the people on here are an honest hard working lot.
The easy money is been made right under our noses if I dare say so. I mentioned before a similar case to the one that transpired today.
A normal 2 storey 1930 Terraces house was sold last
Aug’ 22 Freehold in outer West London for £675k needing a bit doing so the price about right. What happened next is unbelievable it got carved up & remodelled into 6 studios with shares kitchen, probably legal as may avoid HMO regs don’t know. Today it was sold at Auction on a 21 year lease (supposedly producing £73.5k pa.) for how much are you sitting down £966’000.00 it looks like he sold it but still have the Freehold ?
Check it out for yourselves I am sure you’ll know your way around computers. I don’t need to I know the house.
I recon anyway you look at it must be £100k I’m back pocket in 6 months without lifting a finger the workers do the work.
Then this 21 year lease thing ?.
The other part I wouldn’t know about is SD section 11 or 12 reclaim.
Wrote this a few days ago and stand by it - I would have no qualms if the government turned around and said landlords must have low energy lighting, condensing boilers (if gas central heating), thermostats, 300mm loft insulation, double-glazing (if not a heritage area), and floor insulation where accessible to a basement. Plus the usual small details like draft proofing at the bottom of external doors etc.
All fine. Clear. At least we know where we stand, and although there could be some expense there, it shouldn't be massively expensive and it will make the living experience more comfortable for the tenant.
It's when they start talking about ''EPC C'' which becomes subjective and often entails internal wall insulation on these old terraced houses. It actually doesn't make a huge difference in terms of energy savings, but the disruption is massive and not realistic with a tenant living in the premises. What are landlords supposed to do, start ripping out tenant's kitchens to put internal wall insulation? This is utterly absurd. It also leads to possible long-term problems with damp/condensation as the house cannot breathe as it was initially built to do.
And as I've said before I'll pay a reasonable sum, but I'm not paying out thousands for no return, that's not how business works
Mr Simmons
It's a dirty political game where you are told to do something that is impossible and then berated for not doing it.
I don't know a single, well-informed domestic landlord who has not already improved their stock up to EPC Grade C. Its so blindingly obvious. Why would we want our customers living in fuel poverty, spending money on gas and electricity (that goes straight off to Norway and Qatar) when that money would be better spent on some rent increases - or just paying the current rent!
EPCs came in in 2008, the MEES Regs came in the 2015, the Government has done the right thing and given all landlords, both domestic and commercial, bags of notice - 8 years to be precise.
The only landlords I've seen that push back on making their assets better and fit-for-the-future, are the tiny minority on this website! I sometimes doubt that these contributors are actually landlords at all. They don't seem to be rational, well informed or invest for the long-term. I think they may be in the wrong business.
The Sunday Times article is interesting because, from what I've read in the professional property press this week, their whole so-called analysis has back-fired and actually proved the positive case for EPCs, not the reverse. Their evidence shows that folk living in the worst houses and flats in the UK use less energy than the EPC model would suggest. WOW, really??!! Well, the EPC model assumes that the tenant heats the whole property to 20 degree all winter long. Only Jeff Bezos could afford to heat an EPC Grade F or G house all winter long. That's precisely the point. The tenants living in EPC Grade E, F and G homes ONLY HEAT ONE ROOM, and they don't do that very often. CarbonLaces have PROVED how accurate EPCs are and their 'research' proves that 8 million families are today living in terrible fuel-poverty. Which means they don't have the CASH TO PAY THE RENT.
I, and every professional landlord I do business with, will continue to improve our investment assets through careful energy efficiency upgrades. Normally best done when the unit is in between tenancies.
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