The regulations will come into force for new lets and renewals of tenancies with effect from 1st April 2018 and for all existing tenancies on 1st April 2020. It will be unlawful to rent a property which breaches the requirement for a minimum E rating, unless there is an applicable exemption. A civil penalty of up to £4,000 will be imposed for breaches.
With this in mind Zoe Innes, Head of Lettings at Cluttons, has the following tips for landlords, whose properties currently have a EPC rating of F or G, to increase rating to an E:
1: Redo your properties' certificate – in the the past 10 years the assessment methods have become more thorough with more variables which might give your property a better result than before, this will also give you fresh advice on what needs to be done to get the properties' grade up
2: Put a jacket on your hot water cylinder
3: Insert draft excluders into your property
4: Change light bulbs to LED
5: Install secondary glazing (but this can be costly)
6: Work with a government scheme to get costs of works paid for through a government grant
7: Ask for an exemption – but you need a legitimate reason with evidence to support it e.g. listed building, can’t get a government grant, can’t get consent from the freeholder.
