Straight ‘A’ Landlords

As of today, Energy Performance Certificates become mandatory for all new tenancies, and landlords will face charges of up to £200 per property if they don’t provide them.

The certificates, which will be valid for a period of ten years, must be issued by an accredited energy assessor, and provided free of charge to tenants.

EPCs rate a property’s energy efficiency using an A-G system of grading, with an ‘A’ rating being an all-singing, all-dancing top score and a ‘G’ being the equivalent of a ’see me after class’ scrawled in red ink.

The certificates were introduced last year for homebuyers, and so far, the average rating has been a ‘could do better’ ‘D’.

While recommendations to improve a property’s efficiency rating are given as part of the EPC, landlords are under no obligation to carry out any improvements.

However, if tenants are faced with a choice of properties with different ratings, it seems likely that they’d opt for the more energy efficient one, as their fuel bills would be lower.

We’d be interested to know what you think about EPCs:

Tenants:

Would a higher energy efficiency rating influence your decision about renting a property? Yes No View Results  Loading ...

Landlords:

Do you think mandatory EPCs will make any difference to your ability to rent out your property? Yes No View Results  Loading ...

Would you be prepared to implement any improvements suggested? Yes No View Results  Loading ...

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