According to new research from Mortgage Advice Bureau, two-fifths of landlords believe that new EPC requirements are important for the environment and will help tackle climate change.
A further third believe that upgrading their properties’ EPC ratings will have a net benefit to the UK’s carbon emissions targets.
The research findings are published as residential landlords await confirmation of proposed reforms to the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard regulation.
Under the proposed changes, rental properties will need an EPC rating of at least C by 2028, with an earlier deadline of 2025 for new tenancies.
MAB says that for landlords, this is a race against time. Whilst 30 per cent are confident they’ll reach the deadline with ease, almost half admit it will only be by the skin of their teeth as they retrofit properties.
Alongside landlords’ own desire to reduce their properties’ impact on the environment, tenant demand is also a key factor. Some 31 per cent of landlords believe the upgrades will make their properties more attractive by lowering tenants’ bills.
One in six landlords have been asked if the property they are letting is energy efficient, and a similar number have been asked specifically about the EPC rating. In particular, 17 per cent have been asked whether they’ll be installing heating controls, 16 per cent about installing a smart meter, and 15 per cent on getting double or triple window glazing.
Ben Thompson, deputy chief executive at Mortgage Advice Bureau, says: “Landlords seem to be working with a lot of information in terms of regulations and deadlines that aren't quite set in stone, yet the 2025 countdown remains for EPC rating improvements. The good news is, many landlords are making progress, despite some challenges.
“There are some very clear and urgent motivations behind making this change. Tackling the ongoing climate crisis is at the forefront of many of our minds, and for landlords and the future of their portfolios, being able to help tenants navigate the economic climate of high energy bills is key.
“While many already have plans in place, concerns and an element of confusion remains. Exactly what landlords are working to, and by when, must be clarified as soon as possible, and this must be accompanied by support to help landlords improve EPC ratings.”
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The new MEES Bill is already speeding its way through Parliament. The Minimum Energy Performance of Buildings Bill 2022-23 had its first reading in March this year and the second reading is in November this year. According to my local MP the Bill met with complete cross party support a few weeks ago. The 8 million+ voters living in fuel poverty and the £29 billion Government subsidy paid directly to fossil fuel energy producers (which could have paid for the NHS or tax cuts) has focussed the politicians' minds. The Bill confirms the timetable that all energy wasteful EPC Grade D and Grade E rental houses and flats must be upgraded to Grade C by 2028, at the latest. So that gives domestic landlords a full 5 years to insulate the walls, loft or roof and install lower running cost heating systems into their rental units. It would seem a sensible hedge to invest in an All Electric heating systems (within the well insulated property) because CO2 pollution tax and price rises are clearly on the horizon as we decarbonise the UK Electricity Grid at pace and scale (25% of our nation's electricity demand already met by renewables after 23 years of ringing the British Isles in the world's largest wind farms).
Landlords need to get an up-to-date draft 'as is' EPC and then a draft 'predicated' EPC showing the best pathway to reach EPC Grade C. All very simple and easy to do when the unit is vacant and in-between tenancies. Landlords have 5 years to improve their assets and stop energy waste. I wonder how many will get on with this essential work and how many will be moaning and bleating in January 2028 when they realise that they've done nothing over the next 5 years. Of course, they will blame the Greta, Just Stop Oil, the Government, the Opposition, their customer tenants, their managing agent - in fact everyone except themselves.
Golly M. Gibbons - more garbage from you.... how do you do it?
If two fifths are in favour, that means three fifths are not.
It's a shame that only 60% of the landlords they asked were sensible, instead of 100% of them but that's normal for these things.
Also, of course, it doesn't mean the 40% who gave the wrong answer got it right!
Finally, they are giving us the results of a survey without telling us what questions they asked (questions can be accidentally or intentionally loaded with bias to "help" you answer) and nor do we know how these landllords were chosen or how many of them there were.... They might only have asked five landlords in total, all selected from members of Friends of The Earth who also just happened to be "green" landlords.... who are absolutely NOT representative of me or probably 85% of ALL landlords.....
Statistics eh? Don't be taken in by articles like that that smoothly and deviously suggest (without explanation of how) that they are reporting on findings based on a large and genuinely representative sample who were all asked honest, neutral questions with the opportunity to respond with a complete spectrum of views & opinions.
I've just project managed the refurbishment of a lettings property. Brand new windows and doors, new combi boiler, and it's a D. Over £15k spent to upgrade those, and its 1 grade higher than the one next door we have spent nothing on... EPC's are not indicative of how much it will cost to heat a property, and that is what the vast majority of people care about. Yes, reducing the carbon footprint etc is great, but so is being able to put the heating on at least once a day and not have to eat by candle-light!
Totally agree, Country Lass... its despicable & totally unfair that you'll probably be expected to spend ANOTHER £10,000 in just 3 years time to prove it doesn't make any difference and it's still only a D....
...unless of course they've rigged the SAP calcs in a different way by then that slightly favours your property next time (most people don't realise there's no real science behind them and it's all designed to support ideological dogma & political agendas).
Incidentally..... Being a Country Lass you might know about commercial growers of crops like greens, peas etc? If so you'd know that carbon dioxide DOESN'T make green houses hotter - it's all just lies and pseudo-science - but DOES make plants grow faster and bigger which is why commercial growers artificially fill their greenhouses (but usually more polytunnels and things than actual glass) with CO2?
They use bottled CO2 which is quite expensive for them but worth it at the right volume/%.
Basically, MORE carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is actually GOOD "for the planet" (or at least all plant life) not bad for it!
Plus there's no evidence (or proper science) to show that an increase in the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere actually causes the atmosphere, which is not enclosed in a "greenhouse" and is much more complex - to heat up.
Currently only about 0.04% of the atmosphere is CO2 which I think is *almost* the lowest it's been for over a million years... It was believed to be a tiny bit lower untill about 60 years ago and has demonstrably increase due to large scale industrial pollution - NOT tenants in rental properties using a bit more energy - and the result seems to be it's helping grasslands and forest grow a bit greener and faster (and all other plant life too including cereals and fruit trees and all the rest) without affecting the global climate!
So there we are.... but it will be a long time before the pendulum swings the other way and the next popular religion is to all do our bit to INCREASE carbon to help make the planet greener, haha... 😂
No doubt members of Extinction Rebellion etc will now be trying to hunt me down and make me, um, extinct for daring to post this!!!!
Barry X I've also recently taken over management of a property that had no heating (at all, they had the free-standing oil heaters) so the draft EPC was bad. So, we got electricians to wire them in some lovely new electric radiators! That made no difference to the EPC rating as they weren't high-heat retention ones... It's ridiculous, my own house isn't even a C rating and the Government aren't forcing me to make improvements!
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