Originally published at: Important dates for landlords to be aware of in 2022 | OpenRent Landlord Hub
There are some key changes to the law expected for 2022 which will affect landlords. We’ve summarised them below so you can stay up to date. Remote Right to Rent Checks are to Continue until April 2022. Landlords renting properties in England are required to confirm that all adult tenants have the right to rent…
Concerns regarding the raising of EPC rating to C. Most of my properties are D rated and the recommendations made by EPC Assessors in their opinion are costly solar panels. Unfortunately apart from the high cost to install these, not all properties would actually benefit if they do not have south facing roofs and sufficient space. I have put brand new combi boilers which are A+ rated in my properties, and are far more energy efficient, and yet the EPC ratings are still low. Can we lobby the government on this either to help with funding if properties have south facing roofs or to allow D ratings where it is not possible?
They do allow lower ratings where it is uneconomical to meet the requirements, although cost of solar panels are likely to below this threshold.
Given current and future electricity prices solar panels are a good idea for a lot of properties and you can charge higher rents to cover your costs while tenant is still better off. They still work for non south facing properties, if your roof is east/west they will generate circa 75% of a south facing roof which is still financially viable.
I hope this may be helpful. I ‘inherited’ an EPC which had been done on the flat by the previous owners. The insulation of the walls is incorrect, therefore a rating of D. I have also been told when getting an EPC done for a friend (by the assessor) that putting LED lighting or LED light blubs everywhere helps the rating. I think that it is worth checking your previous EPC carefully (if you haven’t already done so) before thinking about solar panels. Currently, I am fighting with a Freeholder to get double glazing put in to replace wooden windows that are in a terrible state. The Freeholder won’t organise and won’t let me get the work carried out despite many other Leaseholders having done it on the same estate.