Private renter is cold!

davidmcn

dimbo61 wrote: »

Have you got a copy of the EPC ?
Your Landlord has to provide one which is less than 10 years old with a fine of at least £750 if they fail to provide one.
If by any chance it's F or G rated the tenant can request by law that the Landlord improves the energy efficiency of the house by spending at least £3,500 (This became law April 2019)

Does any of this apply during tenancies which predate EPCs coming in? I thought the point at which it's compulsory is the marketing of the property.

45002

Just to point out


Assured Tenancy are "Secure"

Moved in between January 1989 and February 1997 and No section 20 notice was served on tenant before tenancy started.

Regulated Tenancy are "Protected"

Moved in before January 1989.




...

Murphybear

I agree about storage heaters being expensive to run, we have them ourselves.

This is particularly applicable to old heaters. There is another generation of storage heaters called Quantum. Quantum is up to 27% cheaper to run than a standard storage heater system and they are programmable.

2 of these will be much cheaper than central heating so the landlord may be amenable. As others have said, the LL must provide heating but this doesn’t have to be central heating.

Davesnave

FestiveJoy wrote: »

I can only base my advice on the accuracy of the information a poster wishes to disclose.

Sorry, still incorrect.


People should base their input on what has been disclosed at the point where they make it, which means reading the thread. Post 5 gave the relevant info and a link. Yours was Post 19.

I know it's not great when a poster drip-feeds info, or others must dig it out, but if answers don't reflect what has been determined at a particular point, it may confuse those who do try to read the whole thread.

Davesnave

Murphybear wrote: »

I agree about storage heaters being expensive to run, we have them ourselves.

This is particularly applicable to old heaters. There is another generation of storage heaters called Quantum. Quantum is up to 27% cheaper to run than a standard storage heater system and they are programmable.

There's a few weasel words in there! Do you actually have one?

Quantums are still relatively rare. There's a thread about them somewhere on MSE and it's not all praise. Indeed, last time I looked there was an element of confusion.

Many of us oldies have had the standard storage heaters, and I agree they have faults. Leccy is the most expensive way to heat, but it always was. It is always 100% efficient though, no matter how old or young the storage heaters are; it's the controllability that's lacking.

unforeseen

45002 wrote: »

Just to point out


Assured Tenancy are "Secure"

Moved in between January 1989 and February 1997 and No section 20 notice was served on tenant before tenancy started.

Regulated Tenancy are "Protected"

Moved in before January 1989.




...

Would that be case with tied accommodation though?

[Deleted User]

I'm another one that would suggest looking at improving the insulation. My children couldn't sleep in their bedrooms in a private rental because it was so cold, put insulation in the roof (LL refused, I managed to get some from a utility company that was still offering it at £1 a roll). Instant improvement.

I also had a similar problem in a maisonette (no roof so no way to insulate against heat loss from ceiling), put insulating wallpaper up and again, instant improvement whether heating was on or not. The walls were very thin. Again LL (social LL, said it was down to lifestyle choices which it turns out it wasn't, it was always a problem with the walls) wouldn't do anything.

If the windows are not double glazed, plastic sheeting (even cling film) can be put on them to decrease heat loss, they can also be resealed.

I hope this helps.

tom9980

unforeseen wrote: »

Would that be case with tied accommodation though?

They do say they remained living in the property after ceasing employment, legally its unclear to me. It could get expensive legally to unravel this mess.

tom9980

dimbo61 wrote: »

So what is the EPC rating of the property ?
Have you got a copy of the EPC ?
Your Landlord has to provide one which is less than 10 years old with a fine of at least £750 if they fail to provide one.
If by any chance it's F or G rated the tenant can request by law that the Landlord improves the energy efficiency of the house by spending at least £3,500 (This became law April 2019)
New double glazing, loft and wall insulation, double glazed front and rear doors.
Time the landlord spent some money on looking after the tenants who have been paying rent for 27 years.
Check and see if you have an Protected Tenancy as your landlord can't evict you or Increase the rent by a substantial amount. Fair rent
How old is the kitchen/bathroom ?

I just found the below which I didnt know about.

https://www.landlordsguild.com/epc-minimum-energy-levels-explained/

What’s changing?
From 1 April 2018, any new tenancy, renewal or extension, in order to be rented, the building must have a minimum energy rating of “E”. The rating is found on the Energy performance Certificate for the building.

From 1 April 2020, the minimum level “E” applies to all tenancies – including existing.

Tenancy Types
The minimum energy requirements only apply to the following types of tenancy:

Assured or assured shorthold tenancy (Housing Act 1988)
Regulated tenancy (Rent Act 1977)
Domestic agricultural tenancy 1


Properties where no EPC required
Tenancies before 2008
Broadly speaking, since 2008, an EPC has been required to be given to a prospective tenant on let property. If the property was let before an EPC was a legal requirement, the minimum energy rating won’t apply from 2020.

… the Regulations only apply to those domestic properties which are legally required to have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) … [source: para 6]

Offical link

bottom of page 91 top of 92 seems to confirm

Davesnave

deannatrois wrote: »

I'm another one that would suggest looking at improving the insulation. My children couldn't sleep in their bedrooms in a private rental because it was so cold, put insulation in the roof (LL refused, I managed to get some from a utility company that was still offering it at £1 a roll). Instant improvement.

When we refurbished our bungalow, I stuck all 10 dumpy bags of insulation on Freecycle. To my amazement, I had 2 takers who were both renting, and between them they took the lot.

It would have cost me a minimum of £100 to dispose of the stuff at the council yard.

At the end of the refurb, I managed to secure free new insulation to 300mm through a scheme. Presumably, the people renting could have done that too, but they didn't do the research.

Worth looking into.