Proposed changes to Energy Performance of Buildings regulations mean private landlords in England and Wales would have to get EPCs completed more frequently.
The government has launched a consultation - Reforms to the Energy Performance of Buildings regime – which contains proposals aimed at giving homeowners and tenants more accurate information, as well as supporting carbon emissions cuts, tackling fuel poverty, and improving decency and the Warm Homes Plan. It also wants to make EPCs more useful, complete and understandable.
An EPC is currently valid for 10 years and only required when a property is sold or leased. However, the government suggests that reducing this could allow building upgrades to be captured more frequently.
“Given the more frequent turnover in the PRS, a reduced validity period would more greatly impact PRS landlords,” it acknowledges. “There may be an information benefit for prospective PRS tenants and policymakers for more current EPCs, and landlords may be able to capture upgrades to their properties more easily, in turn potentially improving desirability in the market and aiding compliance with regulations such as MEES.
"However, landlords may also incur a very small increase in costs from more regular EPCs.”
A new EPC is only required when a property is re-let and not when the same tenant renews or extends their lease. However, it proposes introducing a new trigger point where an EPC is required when the current lease expires.
“It would be similar to other requirements on landlords throughout tenancies, such as valid building insurance or gas safety certificates, and can be managed through letting agents where appropriate.”
It also suggests that an EPC should be required for an entire HMO when a single room within it is rented out rather than when the whole house is rented.
Domestic EPCs currently represent the energy cost of a property based on a standard occupancy model but a new look certificate could see four headline metrics: fabric performance, heating system, smart readiness and energy cost.
Landlords are being invited to take part in the consultation which closes on 26th February.
Calls are growing for a thorough overhaul of the EPC regime amid claims that the information in many could be inaccurate and misleading.
A study by The Observer looked at certificates for homes on the market or recently sold and found some were up to nine years old while others appeared to give outdated or incorrect information about the cost of potential improvements.
One EPC for a four-bed detached home for sale in Birmingham gives figures for how much a buyer might need to spend on energy, and how much they could potentially save, but then says: “This is based on average costs in 2015 when this EPC was created.”
"Which? has flagged concerns over quirks in the system."
Rocio Concha (pictured), director of policy and advocacy at consumer body Which?, says one factor that can contribute to the lack of accuracy is that certificates are valid for 10 years, “regardless of any changes that have been made to the property”. It says this should be cut to five years.
Which? has flagged concerns over quirks in the system that mean a property owner who replaces a gas boiler with a heat pump can sometimes see their EPC rating fall as a result.
Low cost
Meanwhile, some EPCs are sold at very low cost and delivered very quickly. A Google search pulled up companies offering them for as little as £34, which casts doubt on how thorough a certification is going to be.
Timothy Douglas (pictured), head of policy and campaigns at Propertymark, believes the system probably needs some sort of revamp. He adds: “We know agents have concerns about consistency – five different assessors would probably come up with five different EPCs.”
The government has previously said that an independent review of net zero recognised challenges with EPCs and recommended it reform the metrics and ensure that EPCs were updated on a regular basis.
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