Last updated 09:35, Friday, 04 July 2008

WITH all residential landlords being obliged to provide energy performance certificates (EPCs) with new tenancies from October 1, Whitney UK is offering tips on how to become a more professional and energy-conscious landlord.

A new EU Directive will stipulate that an EPC is required within each HIP provided to new residential buy-to-let or HMO tenants.

Currently, EPCs are already required when selling a property, although the new initiative will extend to all UK landlords each time a property is let to new tenants and/or each time a SAT is up for renewal, at a cost of between £80-£100 per property, says Whitney, a provider of investment and property educational programmes.

Such a directive reinforces the 2004 Housing Act and the introduction of compulsory licensing for HMO properties (mandatory within England and Wales) which currently costs approximately £350 per property.

So why should landlords comply and how can the industry make our rental properties more energy efficient?

In the first instance, landlords should comply because it is illegal not to and, secondly, there is a sound business reason.

Landlords or letting agents who don’t have a valid EPC risk being reported to the local Trading Standards and also the Office of Fair Trading. Penalties include fines of up to £5,000 and loss of the right to operate.

If a tenant has a choice of two properties to rent, he or she would be well advised to opt for the more energy-efficient of the two residences, keeping outgoings down and consciously limiting their carbon footprint.

From the landlord’s perspective, he or she is entitled to apply for energy efficiency grants of up to 100 per cent and may experience less void periods as a result of upgrades.

So what will EPCs contain?

The certificate will have a mixture of information about the energy efficiency of a landlord’s residential investment based on the following headings:

l Reference information;

l Estimated energy use;

l Energy Assessor details;

l Complaints;

l Energy advice;

l Recommendation report.

In terms of how landlords can make properties more energy efficient to comply with regulations, consider upgrades or installation of the following:

l Cavity wall insulation;

l Low energy lighting;

l Thermostatic valves on radiators;

l Loft insulation;

l Double glazing;

l Condensing boilers.

According to Whitney UK’s managing director, Iain Edwards: “While some homeowners may be dismayed at the current freeze in buy-to-let mortgages, perhaps we could consider this clampdown as a positive step for the property industry in the longer term.

“Amateur investors will fall by the wayside, particularly in light of the October 1 deadline and educated landlords will reign. I am regularly amazed at how few of our new students know about the 2004 Licensing Act and the legal requirement to become accredited and responsible property investors”.

“Some councils such as Burnley Borough Council are already implementing ‘Good Landlord and Agent Schemes’. Last year Hull City Council offered 50 per cent grants to landlords towards the installation of central heating, on the condition that properties meet certain requirements and joins an accredited scheme.

“I would imagine such schemes will be UK-wide within a couple of years and, who knows, may even link in with the implementation of a nationwide ‘Green Tax’.”