With all Residential Landlords being obliged to provide Energy Performance Certificates (EPC’s) with new tenancies from October 1st 2008, Whitney UK is offering tips on how to become a more professional and energy-conscious Landlord.

A new EU Directive will stipulate that an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) is required within each HIP provided to new residential buy to let or HMO tenants. Currently, EPC’s are already required when selling a property although the new initiative will extend to all UK landlords each time a property is let to new tenants and/or each time a SAT is up for renewal, at a cost of between £80-£100 per property, says Whitney, a provider of investment and property educational programmes.

Such a directive reinforces the 2004 Housing Act and the introduction of compulsory licensing for HMO properties (mandatory within England and Wales) which currently costs approximately £350 per property.

So why should landlords comply and how can the industry make our rental properties more energy efficient?

(In the first instance, landlords should comply because it is illegal not to and secondly, there is a sound business reason. Landlords or letting agents that don’t have a valid EPC, risk being reported to the Local Trading Standards and also the Office of Fair Trading. Penalties include fines of up to £5000 and loss of the right to operate.

If a tenant has a choice of two properties to rent, he or she would be well advised to opt for the more energy-efficient of the two residences, keeping outgoings down and consciously limiting their carbon footprint.

From the Landlord’s perspective, he or she is entitled to apply for Energy Efficiency Grants of up to 100 percent and may experience less void periods as a result of upgrades.

So what will Energy Performance Certificates (EPC’s) contain?

The EPC contains a mixture of information about the energy efficiency of a Landlord’s residential investment based on the following headings:

• Reference information
• Estimated energy use
• Energy Assessor details
• Complaints
• Energy advice
• Recommendation report

In terms of how Landlords can make properties more energy efficient to comply with regulations, consider upgrades or installation of the following:-

• Cavity wall insulation
• Low energy lighting
• Thermostatic valves on radiators
• Loft insulation
• Double glazing
• Condensing boilers

According to Whitney UK’s Managing Director, Iain Edwards: “While some homeowners may be dismayed at the current freeze in buy to let mortgages, perhaps we could consider this clamp down as a positive step for the property industry in the longer term.

“Amateur investors will fall by the wayside, particularly in light of the October 1st deadline and educated landlords will reign. I am regularly amazed at how few of our new students know about the 2004 Licensing Act and the legal requirement to become accredited and responsible property investors”.

“Some Councils such as Burnley Borough Council are already implementing ‘Good Landlord and Agent Schemes’. Last year, Hull City Council offered 50 percent grants to landlords towards the installation of central heating, on the condition that properties meet certain requirements and joins an accredited scheme.

And Salford City Council runs its own ‘Landlord Accreditation Scheme’.

“I would imagine such schemes will be UK-wide within a couple of years and, who knows, may even link in with the implementation of a nationwide ‘Green Tax.”