Help with the EPC

Country_Bumpkin_2

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone might be able to help us we have been renting out what was my grandparents house (built in 1970's) while it is not needed and our last tenants of 10 year who have just brought their own home have moved out.

We have installed 400mm of loft insulation and changed all the lights to LED with the house already being double glazed but due to the fact that it is a detached house 3 bed house in the countryside we were still hit on the EPC and scored only an F32. We have been advised that this is because it is a detached house and not a middle terrace. Rather ironically given the fact that it was not that long ago that Labour stopped new houses being connected to mains gas only for the Conservatives to scrap it though now they too are planning on stopping new houses being connected to mains gas in a few years as well as the fact that the mains gas line that supplies the south coast from Dover to Southampton passes less than 200m away from house in question we are also penalised because it LPG even though it has a modern A rated condenser boiler that is Which's best buy for both LPG and Mains gas so that even with an old boiler on mains gas it would still score twice as well as even the most efficient boiler on LPG.

We are told that the other main factor to the LPG is the lack of cavity wall insulation but given that we have recently just spent over £10k on keeping water out where it came through where the flat roofs of the bay windows meet the main exterior wall and so would rather listen to both the builder who did the work and others who have told us not to have it done especially with the driving rain that it is subjected to and we are concerned that if we did have it done it would void any warranty due to the fact that it has already had issues.

The other thing that actually puts us off is where the EPC surveyor said that he has done a lot for a landlord with a lot of properties where they have been finished to standard more akin to the top band in London rather Kent but that when they have gone up into the roof the insulation is sodden with condensation to the point you can wring it out and seemed to blame the tenants where they had put wet clothes on the radiators to dry. We can't see how though you can make the tenant not do anything to create condensation as you can't tell them to dry wet clothes outside in the rain instead of using a tumble dryer or the radiators, that they can't cook in the kitchen or use the bathroom or breath.

We were wondering if anyone had any other ways of improving the EPC as the other suggestions on the EPC when we spoke to a structural surveyor made him laugh as he said no one really has or does solid floor insulation, solar water heating in this part of the world works for 5 months out of 12 and can suffer problems in a really cold winter. Nobody he has met has a wind turbine put up in the back garden and the cost of their solar panels is greatly under estimated if you want any security that the guarantee will still be there when it is needed along with the firm as the brains of his own had gone up the creek and the firm who had installed it had gone under and the guarantee was useless leaving him with a large bill or roof ornaments.

Sorry it is rather long winded and rambling it just feels rather frustrating as we are told LPG is not cost efficient though their high pressure gas line that we had no say in whether we wanted it through the fields is not particularly efficient for us as not only does it mean we need to ring and wait for someone to come out if we have any deep tillage or groundwork done and has mucked the drains up, it just leaves us feeling as though we are being punished for not living in the middle of London, I am starting to think that they should have perhaps left the old farmhouse where the roof was going and several of the windows had fallen out of the solid wall that suffered damp problems as by now off it was still standing probably would have been listed and exempt.

Thank you

AdrianC

What does the full EPC say? Not just the one-page certificate, the full document. It'll tell you exactly how they're arriving at the score.

If you haven't seen it yet, it's searchable at https://www.epcregister.com/reportSearchAddressTerms.html

As far as gas goes, you can't just connect a house to a major trunk pipeline... and you definitely wouldn't want to pay for 200m of connection.

G_M

You have 3 options:


1) stop letting the property (sell, leave empty, move in yourself)

2) improve the EPC rating to E or better

The following chapter sets out information to help a landlord identify the improvements which they can make to an EPC F or G rated domestic property to allow it to meet the minimum standard, and examples of the funding options open to them, including information on the new capped landlord self-funding element. The chapter will first discuss the steps a landlord needs to take to identify “relevant” improvements they can make to their property. As you will see, in the first instance a landlord can identify potential improvements using the current EPC recommendations report for the property. There are also additional options available as set out below.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/794253/domestic-prs-minimum-standard-guidance.pdf

3) declare the property as a valid exemption on the PRS Exemptions Register.

Landlord self -funding and the cost cap

If a landlord of an EPC F or G rated property is unable to secure third-party funding, they will need to use their own funds to cover the costs of improvingtheir property to EPC E (or as close as possible). This requirement is subject to a spending cap of £3,500 (inclusive of VAT). This cap applies to the overall cost of improving the property, not to the cost of individual measures.

The requirement to meet the minimum level of energy efficiency (EPC E) does not apply where a landlord has made all the relevant energy efficiency improvements to the property that can be made within the £3,500 cap (inc. VAT)(or there are none that can be made46), and the property remains sub-standard

Full details of the rules here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-private-rented-property-minimum-standard-landlord-guidance-documents

Country_Bumpkin_2

Hi,

They have said it comes down to being LPG and no cavity wall insulation which due to previous problems with water ingress and advise from builders we are reluctant to have. On the summary of the home's energy performance related features everything is either 4 out of 5 or 5 out of 5 bar the walls which are 2 out of 5, main heating (lpg) 2 out of 5 which being lpg can only score a maximum of 2 and the hot water which is the same as it comes from the boiler.

Country_Bumpkin_2

We are also aware of not being able to connect to the gas line as our neighbour was rather upset to be quoted over £50k nearly 30 years ago to be connected.

markin

What is meant by "third-party funding" Grants?
£3,500 is very low so almost makes the law pointless.

.....................

What would get you the highest score solar, or lining the house on the inside with insulated plasterboard?

Country_Bumpkin wrote: »

We are also aware of not being able to connect to the gas line as our neighbour was rather upset to be quoted over £50k nearly 30 years ago to be connected.

Was that just for the 1 home, could that be split over 4, Most of the cost i would think is tapping the main and the 200m, are the rest relatively close compared. Has anyone had a recent quote?

AdrianC

Country_Bumpkin wrote: »

They have said it comes down to being LPG and no cavity wall insulation which due to previous problems with water ingress and advise from builders we are reluctant to have. On the summary of the home's energy performance related features everything is either 4 out of 5 or 5 out of 5 bar the walls which are 2 out of 5, main heating (lpg) 2 out of 5 which being lpg can only score a maximum of 2 and the hot water which is the same as it comes from the boiler.

That sounds like you're looking at the overview. Look at the full doc.

G_M

markin wrote: »

What is meant by "third-party funding" Grants?
£3,500 is very low so almost makes the law pointless.

Looks like you have not read the link provided!



There's only so much time, and spoon-feeding, I'm prepared to do. Read the guidance and explanation in full for yourself!


(sorry if that sounds unhelpful, but.....)

System

As a landlord you are responsible for the fist £3500 of any improvement works, should the work required cost more than that you can apply for an exemption but will need to supply 3 x quotes as evidence.

ComicGeek

Doesn't sound right to me that you're still only achieving an F rating. Has the assessor selected the right boiler or just used a default? What heating controls do you have (ie trvs, programmer, thermostat etc) and have these been included properly?

The comment re detached vs terrace is nonsense, the calculation is weighted to compensate for this.

Personally I would pay someone else £40 to do another EPC to check, lot cheaper than doing any unnecessary improvement works.