Landlord HIPS
Important legislation for Landlords
On 1 October 2008, new legislation will come into play stating that landlords will be required to have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) for each property they let.
The EPC shows how energy efficient a property is, rating A for the most energy efficient and G for the least. It will also recommend improvements that landlords can make to their properties to increase the energy rating. Changes such as, installing a self-condensing boiler, thermostats to control radiators, improving roof, wall and floor cavity insulation, and even simple changes like using energy efficient light bulbs, can all make a difference.
The EPC will be required when a property is marketed to new tenants, and provided with any written information about the property. Once completed, the EPC for that property is valid for 10 years.
Landlords who do not have the EPC face a fine of £200 from the Office of Fair Trading.
Get your (tenanted) houses in order before it’s too late …
It is advisable for landlords to get ahead of the game and take action now, rather than wait until the inevitable last minute rush and risk missing the deadline.
If you’re a landlord, we’d like to hear whether you feel this is a fair ‘tax’ on rented property.
Tenants, would an EPC influence your choice of property?
This entry was posted on Friday, June 20th, 2008 at 8:04 am and is filed under Buy-2-Let. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Why do the different suppliers of the EPC certificate vary so much for a survey?
Who would you recommend to carry out a survey in the PE28 area of Cambridgeshire?
As regard to being “fair” it is just another Government tax grab the domestic “HIP” market has collapsed l beleive the Goverment saw this coming and decided to attack the other easy target ,the landlord.l have a 2 year old property which ticks all the boxes and aquire a gas safety certificate every year.