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Snowy_da_cat
Posts: 6 Forumite
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
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
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Comments
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The scary thing is EPC reports are often not very accurate. Assessors make lots of assumptions I bought a property that was said to have cavity wall insulation when it clearly had none, indeed I had it installed myself. The assumed cost of heating was also wide of the mark.
The ideas behind the regulations are solid but if you can't even produce accurate reports it doesn't give you great confidence that things will improve significantly enough to justify the disruption caused to homeowners, landlords and tenants.When using the housing forum please use the sticky threads for valuable information.0 -
Snowy_da_cat wrote: »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
I don't think the insistence in rental properties meeting a fairly low standard for energy efficiency was ever meant to provide personal benefit to anyone.
Overall, people in rented accommodation should benefit, but not as much as they might, because a huge % of properties would fail if the bar were placed higher than it currently is, giving rise to greater problems of supply.0 -
Agree, the assessors don't always get it right.
A 150 year old rental property in our village was graded a 'G', and there were recommendations for cavity wall insulation (it doesn't have cavities), gas central heating boiler (there is no gas supply in the village), solar panels (it's a listed building so a 'no-no')........there was more.
I think there is some appeal with older properties but not too sure where it's going......0 -
OTOH, I have had 4 EPC s and all have been broadly accurate.
I wouldn't expect them to be any better than roughly correct, given their low cost.0 -
The EPC was entirely accurate! There is problems with the property that need addressing, however, they were mostly there when we moved in. The point of my post was to warn other long term tenants that the new rulings affects them when previously there was exemption. You may find yourself being evicted due to government rules, just be prepared!0
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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.
This is definitely a case of unintended consequences. The other consequence is landlords may decide the cost of the upgrade work is too high and decide to stop letting it and sell it instead.
Will this finally see buyers taking note of the EPC rating, and poorer properties actually being worth less than the same house but with a good EPC? I would not be comfortable now owning a property with a very poor EPC
If I were buying a property now as a rental, I would not even consider anything with an EPC worse than C0 -
My previous landlord wasn't happy with his new EPC ratings so he got a mate in to do them again. I think he was fiddling them, I tried to explain to him how cold the house was in winter (seals blown on windows and the front door letting massive drafts in) but he didn't believe me! I'm looking forward to this winter in a properly insulated house with decent windows!0
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Details here, though I can't vouch for their accuracy: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.
https://blog.openrent.co.uk/epc-rules-2018-time-running-out-for-landlords/
OP appears to be right about time limit.0 -
Snowy_da_cat wrote: »The point of my post was to warn other long term tenants that the new rulings affects them when previously there was exemption. You may find yourself being evicted due to government rules, just be prepared!
Actually it is EU rules...EU Directive 2010/31/EU. The trouble is we implement these daft rules with bureaucratic fervour (along with all the others) whilst our friends on the continent have a much more relaxed attitude.0 -
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.0
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