The Secret Landlord has written about the problems of reaching possible new EPC rules.

It can be seen here (subscription may be necessary) and says that ‘if you ask any landlord to spend up to £10,000 to make their property more energy efficient or risk a £30,000 fine they have two options: 

Do the work and pass the cost onto the tenant through higher rents (they will, after all, be the main beneficiaries of the cheaper energy bills).

Sell.

Looking at the housing market, and my own choices, I think a lot of landlords have already sold – and will continue to sell.’

It goes on to show the potential problem of spending money on energy matters when the expenditure might be wrong, stating ‘Last month I was informed an old storage heater (Economy 7) was broken. Having learned how Dimplex Quantum (a high heat retention heater) can improve your score, I relished the opportunity to move up a grade. But a nagging thought stopped me. Is this upgrade still going to be considered an upgrade five years from now?

I decided to fix the old heater instead. Why bother doing anything today that may not potentially improve an energy efficiency score by 2028? 

And this dear reader, is the frankly ridiculous situation landlords find themselves in. Why should I spend my valuable time, energy and money and then not get any reward for it?’

Finishing ‘The Government has made a farce of the private rental market and created proposals which will hurt more people than they will ever help. We urgently need a framework and timeline which is realistic, without further destroying the housing market. ‘