From April 1, privately rented homes in England and Wales must have a minimum Energy Performance Certificate rating of E. Initially, this applies to new tenancies and renewals. It will be rolled out to all existing tenancies by 2020.
That means that landlords will not legally be able to rent out homes with an EPC rating of F or G. Landlords who fail to adhere to the regulations could face cumulative fines of up to £5,000 – although some exemptions may be in place for buildings of architectural significance.
The Association of Residential Letting Agents claims that the number of properties rated F or G has dropped significantly in the past few years, as landlords have responded to calls for better insulated homes. Nonetheless, Which? and ARLA estimate that around 300,000 homes with F or G ratings could be affected by the new rules.
Many landlords are not aware of the new regulations and with of up to £5,000 for non compliance it is a significant change and a law that landlords need to implement. It is also important that all landlords should know what their property’s EPC rating is.
If you are a landlord and have a property with EMPM and want any information on your property’s EPC rating then give our team a call.
EMPM has been working with its landlords to make sure that any properties within it’s portfolio have the correct ratings.