EPC Changes Landlords Should Make

We all know that energy efficiency is important, and this is the case for landlords too. When you offer a more energy efficient property, you make the rental property more appealing to tenants. In the short-term, you are likely to receive higher rental fees, and in the long-term, you are safeguarding the condition and value of your home.

At Castle Dwellings, we work closely with many landlords, and there are many ways you can change and improve your energy efficiency ratings. Your Energy Performance Certificate, EPC, is vital when letting property, and you can improve your rating, without spending a lot of money.

What is your rental property EPC?

The Rightmove study looked at 15 million homes across England and Wales, and found:

• 59% of properties hold a D, E, F or G rating
• The potential to reduce this percentage to 11% if recommended improvements are followed
• Up to 11 million homes in England and Wales don’t have an EPC rating

Rightmove have also provided a number of ways for landlords to boost their EPC rating, and some of these options are affordable.

• Install solar panels – While this is the most commonly recommended step, it is expensive, and will run into thousands of pounds
• Switching to low energy lighting – This is also a highly recommended option, but is far more affordable, the average cost is less than £40
• Insulating the hot water cylinder is a sensible option, and can be arranged at around £20
• Draught-proofing single glaze windows costs around £100
• Adding or improving loft insulation is sensible, and the average cost is £223
• Upgrading your heating control is sensible, but more expensive, with an average cost of £400

Do you need help when letting property?

Rightmove’s director of property data Tim Bannister says: “It’s encouraging to see that there are some energy efficiency improvements that can cost less than £100, so it’s definitely worth checking your EPC if your home has one to see if there are small changes you could make to try and improve your rating. The bigger challenge is for those homes with much lower ratings that will cost a substantial amount of money to improve. There are a number of homeowners who don’t feel an urgent need to make changes now unless it makes a big difference to the cost of their household bills or if it’s going to make their home more attractive to a potential buyer if they’re planning to sell.”

Tim concluded by saying; “It’s early days with some lenders now starting to introduce green mortgages as incentives, but homeowners need to be better informed that how green your home is will become increasingly important as we aim to move towards a net zero society, and they need more help to understand why making improvements are so important for the long term.”

If you plan on letting property, get in touch and we will arrange a property valuation for you. With offices in Castleford, Pontefract and Leeds, you will find Castle Dwellings is ideally placed to assist you, so get in touch today.