If your EPC expires and there is no change of tenant do you need to get a new one? My understanding is that you just need a current EPC when marketing a property for sale or rent and not for the duration of the tenancy. Is that correct? I have a property that will never get to a C and I intend to sell when the tenants eventually leave.
Thanks
Yes you are correct. You need a valid (in date) EPC when you advertise for a new tenant but you don’t then need to renew it if it expires when the same tenant is still in occupation. You must provide a copy of the EPC when the tenancy agreement is signed.
Incidentally a lot of “big name” agents in my area are advertising with no EPC rating provided - the adverts say “EPC ask agent” which I am am fairly sure is not what the legislation intends. You can look up every property in England and find out of there is a valid EPC on “Find an energy certificate” on the www.gov.uk website.
In case this post creates an impression that I am in favour of EPCs nothing could be further from the truth. They are seriously unfit for purpose and the revised proposals expected to apply from 2029/2030!are even worse.
Thanks John. This will increase the exodus of landlords. I have pretty mid terrace Victorian cottages which are nice but small. If they think I am going to insulate the attractive solid red brick walls with some horrible external insulation they are joking. And if I insulated inside they would be even smaller. They already have double glazing, combi condensing boilers, lel, and loft insulation. I am not going to destroy the houses and would rather sell up as and when tenants give notice.
All my rental properties are also small late Victorian 2-bed terraces and I have done exactly all the actions you describe. They are all borderline D rated (nearly but not quite C) and one reason is that most EPC assessors make lots of (negative) assumptions about the building to speed up the process.
The revised EPC assessment scheme coming in 2029 (unless it is amended) will mean that any property with a gas combi boiler - however modern / efficient - will be banned from achieving a rating of C or better. But as we all now know only PRS properties have to achieve a C after 2030. Selling a house for an owner/occupier ? There are no limits. Renting in the social sector? The new rules don’t apply.
Like you I am not going to add wall insulation and I am not able or willing to install a heat pump. The puzzle is what will happen in 2030 if there are tenants in occupation and it overnight becomes “illegal” to allow them to stay. Nobody from the Government has yet answered that question. Currently I’m hanging on in there because I’m confident (cautiously hopeful?) that these rules will have to change (and right now isn’t a good time to sell).
Not yet but proposals in the consultation ended in march were to make renewals needed
Erm exemptions will apply. So wont be illegal at all
-all relevant works done
-10k cost limit
-freeholder refuses
-tenant refuses
-wall insulation only item left to do in epc or similar
And you can use current methodology up to sep 2029 to get a C (or as close as possible)
Read this
In terms of what will be able to replace gas combi boilers for the new methodology, hydrogen or hydrogen-mix tho the technology maybe at too early a stage or possibly direct electric heating on the right tariffs and enough insulation but realistically that will cost over 10k to install in most properties. Properties with gas combi boilers (which will continue now to be sold) will rely on exemptions I’d expect.
It may all get delayed or repealed by a new govt before 2030 anyway. AB already rolling back on net zero messages…
Best
Yes - I was aware of these “exemptions” but my question was rhetorical. Suppose I choose to do none of the physical works beyond the current ones I have already done (which I listed in my earlier post), and that none of the other exemptions apply either? This would mean in theory at least that I could no longer rent the house to the existing tenants who live there and who are now “protected” by all the arrangements in the RRA and so cannot be made to leave ? In practice I agree with you that when all this finally sinks in then changes will have to be made to deal with this. I mainly wanted to draw attention to the new EPC rules and the ridiculous situation where PRS properties will effectively be banned if they have a gas condensing boiler in spite of the fact that owner occupied and social sector properties are not subject to the same rules. (More than 80% of houses in the uk have a gas boiler).
That’s like saying suppose you choose not to get a GSR or choose not to renew an EICR. Or choose not to pay the fee if your property is in a selective licensing area. You then are renting illegally. It’s exactly the same
-It’s your choice whether to comply with the safety and other requirements that apply to PRS. If you dont you can exit the sector or face enforcement.
Well you can make them leave and end the tenancy by selling or moving back in or various other grounds. The idea they cannot be made to leave is total nonsense. If you choose to not comply with legal requirements as a LL meanwhile till the tenancy ends that’s entirely your choice, exactly as it was before RRA.
Would you choose not to pay your mortgage because higher rates now than 5 years ago feel unfair? No. Do extra regulations for PRS feel unfair. Of course.
There are worse situations- you can be a guarantor for a joint tenant, LL agrees to let one tenant (your relative) leave but continues the tenancy for the other who isnt your relative, and (unless you persuade your relative to give notice and end the tenancy) you have no means to stop being the guarantor till you die… happened to someone on these forums recently
Best
You’re right, and the mechanism matters. MEES only applies to a property that’s legally required to have a valid EPC, and that duty is triggered by marketing for sale or let, not by someone continuing to live there. It stops working the day you put it back on the market.
On the 2030 stuff further up the thread, exemptions aren’t automatic. You register them on the PRS Exemptions Register and they last five years. And two different cost caps are getting mixed up: £3,500 under the current E rules, £10,000 under the C proposals, which aren’t law yet. The amending regs are expected in 2027.
Are the costs to meet epc c deductible from income tax?
Yes, that’s broadly correct. If the same tenant remains in the property, there isn’t currently a requirement to renew the EPC simply because the existing one has expired. The requirement generally comes back into play when the property is being marketed for sale or a new letting.
If you’re planning to sell once the current tenants leave, I’d just check the requirements again at that point, as the rules around EPCs are currently being reviewed.
@Howard1 if they are capital improvements not against rental income (but against cgt when selling), but depends i guess - replacing lightbulbs with led or draught proofing might be routine maintenance/repairs i guess
Best
There use to be a special category of spend for EPC upgrades that allowed landlords to offset ghe costs against rental income. I’m not sure that it still exists, but it would be worth checking if it’s likely to return.