Landlords Face Higher Bills As New ‘Net Zero’ Rules Kick in
Landlords are bracing for pricier energy performance certificate (EPC) checks and stricter rules under Miliband’s ‘net zero’ drive, with fears that tougher standards could make thousands of homes impossible to rent
The Telegraph has the details:
Under reforms, energy assessors will be expected to use a new data collection system, raising the price of certificates to up to £250 each.
The more stringent criteria could also mean that properties could drop an EPC band, experts said, making them impossible to let under rules set out by Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary.
Under the new methodology, assessors will be required to inspect the size, frame type and glazing of every window in the house more thoroughly, as well as recording any extractor fans and blocked chimneys.
Chris Norris, of the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) property body, warned that the price of an EPC certificate, which typically costs between £50 and £120, could rise by £20 this summer as a result of the changes.
However, Sean Horton, of mortgage adviser Respect Mortgages, said the more intensive assessments could increase the price of certificates “to £150-£250 easily”.
He added: “The window measurements alone are crackers. Instead of just noting ‘typical double glazing’, assessors now need to measure each window individually, record orientations, frame types, glazing gaps, ages, draught proofing – the lot.
“That’s going to make each assessment much longer, with the cost passed on to the landlord.”
From 2030, all rental homes must have an EPC score of at least C, while landlords accepting new tenants will be expected to achieve the required standard by 2028. …
Labour is due to replace the beleaguered EPC system entirely with the much-anticipated Home Energy Model, following years of consultation.
Among other changes, the reforms are expected to favour homes with the “capacity to integrate with smart technology”, which some fear will penalise homeowners who refuse a smart meter.
Kundan Bhaduri, of the Kushman Group real estate firm, said:
“For portfolio landlords, this is death by a thousand clipboard checks. Costs will rise sharply, and worse still, homes that previously scraped a C rating could now drop to a D, dragging us into yet another regulatory penalty zone. And this is just the warm-up act before the even more chaotic Home Energy Model arrives.”
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VOWG
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Insane people in government are always a problem.
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Aaron
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Could it be that government is the problem, not those insane people we supposedly “elect”
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VOWG
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It would not happen without the insane people present.
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Aaron
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There is no political solution to the problem of government. Voting for a new ceremonial figurehead every four years has never, will never, and could never create any significant lasting positive change because governments cannot be improved or made moral from within. There are too many vested interests and no Statist system, be it Monarchy, Oligarchy, Communism, Democracy, Republic, or Dictatorship, none of them respect the right of the individual to opt-out of being governed.
When the mafia comes around to your business, they always befriend and promise to protect you, providing you pay and obey them. If you refuse to comply however, the mafia burns your business to the ground. Similarly all Statist governments promise to help and protect their populations as long as we pay and obey, but if we don’t then they seize our asses and our assets and throw us in prison. The whole problem is giving one privileged class the legal right and obligation to commit violence and coercion against the rest of the population. All governments around the world initiate the use of violence (in the form of police) and coercion (in the form of taxes) against their populations and this is absolutely immoral and unacceptable.
https://youtu.be/alecomQykaI
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Tom
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Proof once again that the dumbest humans work for government.
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Aaron
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and still people vote for these psychos
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