Landlord Confusion Over EPC Plans Causes Concern

Following a consultation in 2021, the Government issued a deadline of 2025 for newly rented properties and 2028 for all other properties to get to a minimum EPC rating of C. However, reports recently suggest this deadline could be pushed back to 2028 for all rentals.

However, Mortgage Advice Bureau research found that while the majority of landlords (86%) know what their EPC rating is, nearly half (47%) said they believed that the plans around EPC rating were ‘guidance’ and not regulatory. What’s more, 18% weren’t aware of the plans at all.

Among the landlords who knew of the plans, over a third (34%) had heard about them via the government, while slightly fewer were informed through the media (32%) and family and friends (30%).

The main concerns of landlords around upgrading their properties by the 2028 deadline are the costs of making all the necessary upgrades (27%) and finding a trusted tradesperson (27%). A further 23% were worried about the disruption it may cause tenants when they make the upgrades, as well as the time it may take (also 23%).

Ben Thompson, deputy CEO of Mortgage Advice Bureau, says: “Landlords were facing a race against time to retrofit their properties and meet incoming EPC legislation.

“As well as cost of living pressures and higher interest rates working against landlords meeting the initial 2025 deadline, they were also clearly in the dark about the changes that they needed to make.”

Source: https://propertyindustryeye.com/landlord-confusion-over-epc-plans-causes-concern/