Rightmove reports huge landlord exodus as EPC worries kick in

Nice one, George. Electricity is expensive so your tenant will now enjoy lower energy bills which in turn makes paying your rent more likely. My wife and I have just upgraded a rental flat we've bought in Slough. Out went the dumb electric wall heaters and in went Powrmatic air-con heat pumps - a unit in the living room and units in the 2 bedrooms. These units do not have an external condenser so they are perfect for flats. Our electrician just had to drill 2 vents holes through the external walls, which the freeholder granted consent for. This upgrade has got the 'running cost' EPC Grade up to C and also the 'CO2 pollution' EPC Grade to C as well. We are hedging that the Government may switch to this measurement over the next 10 years. Another flat sorted and our future tenant will also have the air-con option in the hot summer months.

Chatbot Gibbons is back 🥱

Air conditioning is NOT Green and a proper EPC scheme should hammer properties with it. Opening windows is much greener in typical UK summers.

Quite right Robert - well said.
And new builds should be designed for natural ventilation (and not large expanses of glass, for excessive solar heat gain, and heat loss in winter even with triple glazing).
We only have just the one planet.

I agree with Robert. I am a retired heat pump/aircon technicial ans have istalled many systems all over the world. howevere I would not install them in a my home in the UK as ths climate is not conducive to their use as heat pumps . The COP at low ambient temperatures makes them quite inefficcient. Do you know what COP means Martin? However I do have aircon/heat pump split systems similar to those described in our home in Cyprus where they work well as heat pmps in the winter due to the higher COP acheived. Unfortunately using them as aircon units in the summer has now become so prohibitively expensive, we cannot afford to run them for this purpose and use fans instead and our electricity is cheaper than in the UK. My advice to landlords is do not waste your money. on heat pumps, Install oil filled or ceramic electric radiators if you cannot use gas. I reduced the EPC in one Manchester apartment from a D to a B by doing just this.

100% Michael- EPC’s are a big concern but are about 5th down the list. S21,S24,IR,Eviction process, EPC. Gove,Khan & Maclean all typical politicians and need to be put out to pasture

Agree totally Michael - Section 21 is of key importance - without it, the business is finished.

It’s S21 for me. The ability to get my property back. And the deterrent which promotes good behaviour of tenants. Without even the good turn bad.

Excellent observation Michael, after they have finished vilifying the Private Landlords they will go for the kebab and fish and chip shops. This will be Lloyds Bank next move, to become the biggest Stavros in the UK!! Backed by the soon to be out of work blue politicians.
Rightmove MUST review it's figures. Mr Gove has repeatedly stated that the measures he will bring in will not greatly change the dynamics for private landlords.
I feel like i'm in a spin off of the Hitch Hikers Guide to the galaxy and I need a Babel fish desperately to understand all this lunacy.

The master plan is to enact policies to deliberately drive out of the PRS as many independent landlords as possible while at same time corporatising the PRS with thousands of BTR units.
The corporate run PRS will then award seats on the Board to Govt ministers for services rendered.
The only problem is that independent landlords are selling up and baling out faster than corporate BTRs are being built.

Wait too long, have problems getting rid, an eviction ban or two, and then Labour in you may miss the boat.

I am worried about that, Nick, but have been doing the same as Simon - although I am not certain about selling as there may be other alternatives.

What are the alternatives you are considering Elile? AirBNB, Asylum seekers, company lets? I had to act as I could have gotten stuck with the Nigerians for the rest of my life! Would prefer to have waited but did fear a tidal wave of S21s, being in a long queue and perhaps missing the boat if they bought in eviction bans.

You did absolutely the right thing for your circumstances, Nick.

It is difficult to find a good alternative to the current system we have. However, personally, I definitely would not let on an indefinite basis and therefore letting to people who don't know when they wish to leave is ruled out.

Selling is a possibility, but I am trying to avoid being pushed into doing that. When I have the properties empty, I will try to find tenants who want fixed term accommodation. They could be employees of companies (a company let) or they could be international students (possibly a head lease with a university as the tenant) or visiting professionals like surgeons who are on secondment to a hospital and have a main residence elsewhere. An important issue is devising the right contract for the circumstances of the tenancy - one that is excluded from the new Housing Act. It may not be easy to find the type of tenants that I would be looking for.

I don't particularly like AirBNB because there is too much work attached to it with a big and quick turnover of tenants. I don't use an agent, and rarely use builders, gardeners, cleaners etc. so it would all fall on to me to do the additional work.

The asylum seeker option has the disadvantage that I provide everything at the moment (tvs, washing machines, irons, kettles, furniture (of course) bed linen etc) and the relevant housing associations want everything removed or gifted to the tenants.

What do you think is the best idea Nick?

Selling up and putting it into a pension. They way with relief I will get a 66% boost on my capital. It's tax free on growth and dividends.

I don't mind the stock market buying a spread of funds. I just wanted property too. But it's all so much of a headache. And a worry I won't ever get it back.

That might be the best plan, Nick.

Personally, I am not very keen on shares - I am selling mine gradually.

Ellie,

I thought property was better. But with CGT (and higher under Labour), red tape suffocating me and the risk of not getting the property back shares are tax free. Can be bought and sold within a matter of days. They don't harass me for repairs, and I won't get calls for compensation. You can own part of anything in the world.

I would still rather keep my properties but not under these conditions. I will hover explore company lets etc.

Shares definitely require less work, but they can be very risky. I think share prices could fall before the next election, but I don't know that that will be the case which is why I don't like investing in shares.

Another one on the list of NOT to rent to. Bad attitude tenants must be avoided for a good professional relationship and to protect mental health. Let the council house these people

Sandra, you are missing the point. We have stepped up and our complaints are to keep us in business. Where will you rent from if there are no Landlords.
Look at the state of social housing!
This Government is trying to get Landlord's and tenants to be at logger heads when the simple fact is that over 80% of tenants get on with their Landlord's. I am sorry to read that you are one of the 20%, but this does not change the facts.
Do not be fooled by these Politicians

To "step up and shut up" you should add Rents Up.
Looks like they are going up due to interest rate rises (see e.g. good, kind and thoughtful comments from Jo Westlake); and then likely for costs of meeting EPC-C requirement (amount depending on how much the LLD has done already).

BTW mine are either EPC-C already, or would be if reassessed now.
I do this mainly for the environment, assisted when help has been available but also out of my pocket; not because I see direct or immediate benefit to me in lower bills.

Govt. ought to be going back to the help given to hundreds of thousands of households during Coalition Govt. (not the drastic cuts since) to help both homeowners and LLDs increase energy efficiency: to help the planet, cost of living, energy security (which some of us have known for 30 years), and the poorest in society - including poorest tenants.

The EPC system does have real flaws/anomalies, as I've found.

Sandra, baby, this is a shared problem. If it costs landlords a lot more it will costs you the tenants a lot more. IF the landlords can be bothered to deal with it.

It looks like you will need to step out of your property if you keep going the way you are going.

Step up you say 😂 the only steps I will be taking are those onto my first cruise ship after I have cashed out and evicted my tenants 💰💰. No sympathy needed here thank you.

Step up you say 😂 the only steps I will be taking are those onto my first cruise ship after I have cashed out and evicted my tenants 💰💰. No sympathy needed here thank you

Sandra, don't you realise, if more costs are imposed on landlords like licence fees, additional red tape etc. These costs have to be paid for by increasing rents. If the rents cannot be increased then the landlord evicts and sells up. This causes less properties to be available for tenants so it is harder to find decent properties to rent and the rents just keep going higher.

If landlords are encourage to buy properties by being able to make good profits then their will be more choice for tenants and lower rents due to the competition.

Simon, I think Bowes-Rennox would consider that Sympathy for the Devil!

John, she's a Lefty. She doesn't understand any of that. Just make more laws and raise taxes :))

Hi Sandra,

Come on let me give you a Friday cuddle 🥰

Simon, Ellie, Nick, Jo, Repo, Michael are all here to help you…..

Again tell us the problems and we will advise you accordingly. Sending Love ❤️ x

Is Sandra related to Martin Gibbons? Perhaps we should all just ignore them both?

Love this reply Tricia

Sandra
We landlords are “whining” as many unfair restrictions and new legalisations have been imposed on us PRS landlords. When I bought my properties some years ago none of these new tax laws/legislations were on the horizon.Therefore unfortunately for some landlords under these unexpected and unforeseen circumstances they simply cannot afford to “step up!”

Been saying same when all this first started. Either the homeowner is the second class citizen or the tenant is. Which is it?

Too many owner occupier votes to be lost by forcing them to upgrade for better EPC'S.

Landlords are seen as easy targets and tenants are by and large too thick to realise that they are footing the bill to keep the tree huggers happy.

Fortunately they are often the same idiots so they are turkeys voting for Christmas! There's even one posting on here just now. Merry Christmas Sandra!

Robert, People have been caught at protests in favour of the boat people. When asked can any of them stay with you, the protester laughs and said I don't have enough room I rent :))). So they want a load more people here to compete with for homes.... Turkeys+Christmas.

Ive just be refurbing a victorian terrace left in a petty grotty stated by the current tenants before putting it on the market as it is an EPC E - everything new & great but electric heating. The owner occupier next door still has wooden windows & all his render is peeling off - probably doesn't vent make it on to the scale!

How very apt. No point in having a Tenant Tomorrow website as they’ll soon be extinct.

I used Helix Law. Based in Brighton. Cost about £1,500. They were good.

Try Landlord Action who the NRLA recommend. They are on TV a lot I think.

Try Mr. Fraser Young at fieldlings porter Solicitors. He is an excellent housing lawyer. Highly recommended. He is based in their Bolton office. They also have an office in Manchester.

Can imagine you would lose the will to live if you was dealing with tenant litigation..!

I used to have a great solicitor here in Norwich one of the boys so to speak, now retired, I have since used his partner, about as much use as a chocolate tea pot, good solicitors are a rare breed now

It seems that all the good professionals and tradesmen have either retired or died.

Thank God I won't have to rely on the younger generations for too much longer!

Robert, it's not just about hiring professionals and tradesmen. It's the younger generation of renter as well to be scared off. Entitled, lazy, Instagram loving people who want it all for nothing.

In east anglia there's Leskey Simkins T/as Norfolk Energy Performance 07748486990 we all use her around here she is fair and sensible, also a landlord her self

Too much prejudice against landlords Edwin, in my opinion that’s the real problem for the injustice of it all.