Hi have a house in a small close where houses are very similar properties. I have noticed the EPC rating varies between houses from D to C I’ve noticed houses with C were awarded by surveyors who live hundreds of miles away can this survey be done remotely??
No. They have to visit. For a whole 10 minutes in most cases.
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EPC results are very variable. Some of my flats are in private 3 storey purpose built blocks. All the flats are pretty much identical, but the EPCs vary from E to B.
We’ve just had an EPC done as the old one had expired, it was a C, we read what was needed to get the new EPC and put in all new led lights, another layer of extra loft insulation, the required amount had altered and crossed our fingers, we just made to a C again. We lost points apparently because we have not got a temperature gauge or some such on the outside of the cylinder tank, never mind that the water heat is governed by the gas boiler or the electric immersion heater if used when or if the boiler won’t work or the fact it is a highly insulated tank, 3 doors to the outside, all good doors too, but they lost us 3 points and we have a gas fire as extra alternative heating in the sitting room, again a no, no, we’d have been better to have taken it out and let the tenants freeze in a power cut! The neighbours with identical houses have different results but none are above a C, when you look at their property EPC details you can see what they have missed. There are assumptions made regarding cavity and ground floor insulation too, the regulations change, we’ve done as much as possible without spending telephone numbers to gain a possible extra 10 points or so and the tenants saving small sums in energy costs, as we possibly can. The whole thing is a complete farce, we want our tenants to live in a comfortable home, but we’re not a charity and next time I can see us having to put solar panels on the roof and heat pumps etc, we’d never get the money back in rent during our lifetimes, the net zero fanatics don’t live in the real world, nor do politicians who are legislating to make being a landlord a mugs game.
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To become an EPC assessor, you need to complete a training course and become accredited by an approved scheme, 3 day course on Zoom.
Because it is a point based system with D being 55 to 68 and C being 69 to 80, you could have a scenario of being on 68 so a D but changing a light bulb could give you a point and then your property would be then be a 69 and a C.
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These so called (3 day) professionals hold the power over our rental properties if the new EPC restrictions on letting property is legislated.
I have unreasonable discrepancies in EPC ratings in one of our flat blocks wherein a lower specification of the party walls, ceilings and floors achieves a ‘C’, but a higher spec. achieves only an ‘E’. I was never consulted to verify any of the construction specifications before this arbitrary assessment which ignored the construction details because they couldn’t physically see it and were too ignorant to ask and too lazy to check the approved plans and specifications with Building Control.
Different assessors for the 2 flats, and the assessor of the ‘E’ rated property does not even have the courtesy to reply to our query. Thankfully a prospective tenant who erred at the ‘E’ rating took our word by copy of the same email I sent to the assessor and subsequently signed on to rent it.
However, if the new EPC requirements are imposed under the RRB, landlords’ businesses will be severely disadvantaged and potentially terminated at the hands of these unprofessional assessors.
I yearn to see the tables turned on the government with the investigation and audit of their performances in the management of the public purse which I believe is possibly going to happen with a UK version of the US DOGE.
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Is there anything wrong with doing the 3 day course, becoming qualified and then carrying out your own EPC assessments?!
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#the info on epc improvements is poor, I had on recent came out a D, I spoke to the assessor who said just improve the loft insulation to get a C. When you look online it list very expensive other option but not the easiest and cheapest method, god knows whats coming next !!!
I was hinting at this, because becoming an EPC assessor is relatively easy, £900 and 3 days of your time allows you to do very accurate and comprehensive EPC assessments on your own property’s.
If you’ve got a C don’t worry about it. You meet the new regulations. Totally agree the regulations are farcical. I could give an excellent example of that but a bit complicated
Yes, but nothing stopping you getting a relative to do it!
Quite right but it’s the ‘E’ I’m worried about. I may organise a new inspection whilst I’m currently back in UK and hold their hand on it. 