No fault eviction due to failed EPC

Cakeguts

Margot123 wrote: »

As far as I understood it, the new EPC ruling was to free up cheap housing stock for FTBs.
A lot of landlords are selling up due to this and there is a glut of tired old terraced houses now appearing for sale.

The same houses that were difficult to sell to first time buyers which is why the got sold to landlords in the first place. When you see adverts that say suitable for investors you know exactly what the house is going to be and where that you don't even need to view it. Usually difficult to sell due to double yellow lines outside and in a bad area.

SouthLondonUser

I have learnt that EPCs are, in 99% of the cases, totally useless. They give credit to whether energy-saving lightbulbs are fitted (how much does it cost to replace them? come on) and are very shallow on the actual insulation. I have seen totally different kinds of double glazing rated the same: old, unreliable sets of two windows which leave a gap and drought in the middle, and new modern fully insulating ones rated the same. I remember looking at the EPCs of properties I lived in in the past, and very warm properties were rated worse than properties I froze in.

Useless. Utterly useless. A typical example of a potentially decent idea made useless by poor execution.

FBaby

It sounds that it is not so much the EPC and need for updating work but the fact that this triggered the LL to realise that he wasn't getting the best off his business.

In the end, he is not getting rid of you, he is saying that he want to invest in his business for a higher return. He could have realise this without the EPC.

AdrianC

Margot123 wrote: »

...gas central heating boiler (there is no gas supply in the village)...

Right, and?

We have gas central heating, but there's no mains gas for miles.

45002

Snowy_da_cat wrote: »

This is more a word of warning to long term tenants than asking for advice.
We have lived in the same privately rented accommodation for nearly 18 years with few issues with the landlord other than his slow reaction to any repairs that needed doing. We have never been in arrears in our rent and are considered 'very good' tenants by the letting agency.
With the change in government regulations the property was given an 'F' on the EPC certificate and the landlord told he needs to make improvements by April 2020.
This has resulted in us being told we need to leave the property for work to be carried out, and the tenancy will be ended. We have been told he intends to completely modernise the property in the hope of receiving more return on the rent.
On the one hand we have until March 2020 to leave (as our landlord is in no rush to do the work), however, we have also been told that if we wanted to return we would have to go through the normal channels and there is no guarantee we would be successful in our application.
Obviously, after paying a deposit and searches etc on a property to live in while the work was done, it is unlikely we would want to go through all the effort and cost of moving back again, possibly a year later.
When the EPC came through we were under the illusion that we would be the ones to benefit from the improvements.
Be warned this is not always going to be the case!
Snowy

Strict speaking.


You lived there 18 years your only going to have a Assured short hold tenancy "AST" anyway, easier to evict.


Long term tenancy are


Moved in before February 1997 and No section 20 notice issued at start of tenancy, would be Assured Tenancy "Secure Tenancy"

Moved in Before January 1989 Regulated Tenancy "Protected Tenancy"

Assured and Regulated Tenancy are going to have far more protection from eviction than AST.
















....

G_M

ProDave wrote: »

Check the rules. I thought the EPC requirements only applied to a new let, so you may not have to comply as an existing tenant.

'fraid not. It applies to all new tenancies from this year (including renewals ie a replacement fixed term), but from 2020 it will apply to all existing tenancies as well.


My sister has just inherited a rented property - the tenants are long-standing/reliable and she initially had no intention of changing anything.



Then she discovered the EPC is 'F' and she would need o do considerable works to improve it, so she's decided to sell sometime before 2020.


At least she can give the tenants plenty of warning and time to make arrangements, but nonetheless it's a shame when both tenant and landlord is happy.