Legislation requiring all rental properties to have an energy performance certificate rating of C or above will require upgrades to around 2.9m privately rented homes.
That’s the claim from high end lettings and sales agency Savills, which says its new study shows that landlords could face an estimated total bill of £30 billion to bring homes up to this standard.
Currently, across England and Wales there is a minimum EPC requirement of E. That was set to be lifted to a minimum EPC C by 2028, although this looks like it will now be pushed back.
Savills research estimates that over half the total 5.7 million homes in the private rental sector will need to be upgraded, if as and when these regulations see the light of day.
Lucian Cook, the agency’s head of residential research, says: “This analysis underscores the enormity of the challenge facing the private rented sector at a time when many landlords struggle to cover their costs.
“If the programme to introduce these changes is pushed back, it will reduce some of the immediate financial pressure on landlords and give them more time to plan works effectively. However, current mortgage costs and the end of assured shorthold tenancies are still likely to cause some buy to let investors to re-evaluate their position, constraining supply and adding to upward pressure on rents.”
Some 51 per cent of the 728,138 EPC certificates issued for homes in the private rented sector in 2021-2022 remained below EPC level C, down from 73 per cent of PRS housing stock in 2016-2017.
But the bulk of the problem remains with older housing stock.
Some 71 per cent of homes built before 1950 were granted an EPC below C in 2021-22, whereas just 12 per cent of private rented sector property built post-1995 require improvements.
Savills analysis of EPC recommendations reveals that the cost of fully upgrading properties to a maximum EPC C ranges from £8,807 for a property that is currently an EPC D, to £27,366 for a property currently rated an EPC G.
“Funding these works will be challenging. Low cost options such as low energy lighting and installing heating thermostats have been fairly widely adopted. The cost of big-ticket items, such as solar PV and heating, solid wall and solid floor insulation remain to be significant barriers to further improvement in many cases” says Cook.
"Not only are more pre-war homes in the private rented in need of upgrade, but these properties require more expenditure to bring them up to EPC C. We estimate that there are around 1.8 million of them requiring work and that they need around £22.5 billion of investment, albeit landlord’s actual exposure will be reduced by the proposed cost cap.”
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Uk contributed less than 1 % to so called greenhouse gases
Plus co2 is actually beneficial to the environment, so much for being green …
Come on Gibbons…Please give us your words of wisdom 🙄
Personally Nick I’d rather he didn’t bother.
Please don’t encourage the twit!
Good over half rental properties would fail new EPC Regulations.
That’s great news then they can’t be let out, go and find somewhere else to live you leaches.
Confiscating owners Property and removal of all his rights in-perpetuity.
What’s happening to the Justice System (O’ forget that) take the ownership rights for the person who scripted, saved & worked all the hours under the Sun to buy the property while paying taxes.
Give it to the person that just wal-in, maybe never worked just had sex, even the Birds provide a home for their own young except Cuckoo are they all Cuckoo’s
I agree with EVERY word of this Michael and bet most of us other LL’s also do. I wish we had you represent us instead of that Beadle idiot.
Sequestration of private property, you will own nothing and be happy.
Communism on its way…..
I agree with Daniel. Michael would be a wonderful landlord representative - and is doing a very good job contributing to this forum.
Oh please, the real reason for the delay is nothing to do with Private Landlords, we know from all the legislation that Gove and the opposition have not a care in the world about the impact on us.
The real reason is Councils and the original Housing Associations like Peabody have a few million properties between them that are pre & inter-war, that will not meet these standards. Travel around places like Barnet or Dagenham for instance and see those 1930s terrace estates that are still largely council owned and you'll see the problem.
To hit target is going to cost the councils money they simply do not have. Anyone for another £300 on their Council Tax?. No?
So don't listen to the nonsense that Gove is trying to help private landlords, the truth is both him and Labour know this is the real reason.
Would it be fair to state that over half of owner occupied houses would fail EPC C as well. A far greater number of properties. Where’s the outrage?
Don't worry the SNP has a solution... You won't be able to sell your home until it does...
EPC is a real gift to the SNP and their little Green helpers.
They can seem to be helping renters, where the vast majority of their votes come from, by hammering private landlords and owner occupiers who will be very unlikely to vote for them.
Their tenant voters are too thick to understand the economic folly of independence so they'll never understand that imposing higher costs on property ownership will inevitably impose higher costs on renting.
The situation in England is more nuanced and complex with millions of owner occupiers who can and do switch votes between the two major parties but both parties currently have the same contempt and disregard for private landlords.
My own house is probably a G, while all our victorian terrace rentals are D, bar one, an E - but as they were bought in the last century,CGT would be horrendous, with another 40% going once we pop off- one or the other but both ain't right
What is Labour's policy? Will we be saved from this policy under the Tories only for it to be thrown back at us under Labour after a GE?
Huff n puff, that's what will come of it for the reasons I posted earlier. Councils are already broke. They will not be able to meet the criteria either.
Mr Michael Gove is the super cause of unaffordable housing and Homelessness, no stopping him just make it the Law of the land based on lies.
Just add Mr Sadiq Khan another one or CEO of Coutts Bank on £5m, if they may mistake give them a further big pay out, can we not have any proper people in charge anymore ?.
All mine would fail, so if it comes in then I evict everyone and sell 💰 it’s that simple.
Not that simple. The mortgage companies won't lend soon and if Labour copies the SNP you'll be banned from selling until you do....any one see a stitch up??
John - Long before that even had a chance of coming in they would be on the market.
One of my properties is a very nice 4 bed stone built house, family have been there for 10 years, they are very happy living there, but to get it to a C rating, will totally charge the character of the 150 year old property and will cost a fortune.
Sorry family, I have too sell, please find somewhere else too live
I’m afraid we are totally ignoring these band C regulations for some of our properties. Try as we might these properties are still band D. We haven’t raised the rents for 6 years & our tenants who are struggling financially are grateful & being frugal with their energy usage. If & when this barmy rule comes in I guess they will have to move out & we will sell to owner occupiers who won’t have to worry about EPCs. The government & the Eco militants are destroying the lives of the very people they claim to want to help. This is the reality of this obsessive (& in our view grossly exaggerated) ideology!
I know 🤔 it’s really sad actually, in the end we will be fine, but the tenants will be living in servitude.
Paying out 10k+ to get a C ? get's a big fat NO from me
Is this going to include listed properties too?
I recently installed a damproofing course, only for the local listed planning dept make me have it knocked out again.
I finished up where I started with a damp property, but £16,000 lighter…
Well pointed out Joni, We have to be very careful with older properties. I have a gerogian townhouse which is an absolute gorgeous building but needs ventilation and a degree of looking after. To be fair the tenants in there have been there a long time and love it, however if this nonsense comes to a head then I will personally move in for an extended period and rent out the family home. That will be four sets of couples kicked out to live where?
There will have to be a new ground for evicting tenants "property failed to achieve high enough EPC grade".
When this happens i will have to evict my tenants because i cant make the improvements to achieve the required EPC grade with my tenants in situ
So News at Ten last night: I just watched it. I noticed that tenant (the one recovering from cancer) and his family haven't made any effort to tidy up their garden. It's just left there in a mess for the cameras. The fence panel missing probably not him. But these days tenants can remove things just to look good and claim more. Maybe the ITV camera crew removed it for effect. Mine all claimed asthma for compensation and on S21 defence.
We just want people who stand up straight and p*ss in a straight line….
Also 5 children! why have 5 children when you are unable to provide for them. irresponsible parenting
He was "still recovering". I wonder if we weren't having to pay for him he would have recovered by now and be back at work. I don't think he looked in a rush to get back to work. Just wanted a nicer home for free.
Yep milking the system
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