It seems with any booming niche market that it will invariably
attract attention to itself, none more so than the buy
to let market over the past few years, whether from the
revenue re: our post in May 2007 'Inland
Revenue may ensnare buy to let landlords' to March
06 'Buy-to-let
HMO licensing' to the more recent 'Tenant
deposit schemes' in April 07. The latest legislation
affects any landlord offering a property to let as from
October 1st, landlords will be legally required to provide
prospective tenats with an EPC (Energy Performance Certificate).
Whether the buy to let landlord is in agreement with the
principle of an EPC for a rented property or not, it is
a legal requirement and a property may not be made available
and/or marketed for letting without an EPC in place.
Similar to the labels found on domestic energy appliances,
the EPC will advise any prospective or existing tenants
exactly how energy efficient the property is and, importantly,
the impact on the environment based on a scale from A
to G. The information that the Domestic Energy Assessor
will be looking for is in some ways a correlation to how
a central heating system would be sized for a property.
The Domestic Energy Assessor of course concerning themselves
with how the heat escapes. With increasing energy bills,
this may well be a major consideration for tenants along
with location within the near future. Any landlord would
also be encouraged to contact their local authority to
see whether there is any funding or grants available for
cavity wall insulation and/or replacement boiler funding,
condensing boilers being the way forward. The assessor
will also look for a head and shoulders visual inspection
of the loft.
The assessor will take measurements of the property and
rooms, ensure what parts of the property have been insulated,
if at all. The condition of the central heating system
and boiler along with the glazing i.e. single pane or
double. An important factor to get right is the age of
the property and commensurate with the building standards
of the time, assuming a property built 20 years ago may
well have cavity wall insulation. It is important for
the landlord to advise the assessor of any remedial works
or upgrades that have been carried out on the property
in order that the assessor can factor this in and arrive
at the correct rating. Additions to the property will
also be taken into consideration such as a conservatory
or enlarged windows, loft conversions, extensions, solar
panels and energy efficient light bulbs.
Another consideration is of course is heat loss 'perimeters'
which are the number of walls exposed to the outside.
A mid terraced property by its physical virtue will only
have two walls exposed, a detached property having four,
flats would be viewed in such a way as to whether the
corridors are heated and what floor the flat is on. In
addition the certificate will make recommendations about
how the energy efficiency can be improved. The EPC is
valid for 10 years except where a property is being sold
and a home information pack is required. The landlord
is not required to obtain a new certificate everytime
the property is let, a new certificate may be requested
where remedial works and improvements have been carried
out.
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