Westminster City Council has opened the doors to a retrofitted show home, a one-bedroom terraced flat in Queen’s Park, to encourage residents to make their home more energy efficient. Improvements made to the show home include: Internal wall and underfloor insulation...
Green issues
Many commercial landlords are not aware of new EPC requirements
Most landlords are aware that there is a minimum EPC rating for residential properties – currently ‘E’ with the likelihood of going to a ‘D’ rating, or even a ‘C’ rating in the future. What is less well known is that this will also apply to commercial properties from...
Difficult time for Landlords ahead – warning
The weekend Financial Times has run a two-page spread entitled ‘Landlords face fresh dilemmas amid the economic storm’ It can be seen here (subscription might be required) and gives examples of ‘several landlords’ planning to sell some, or all their properties ‘in the...
Tenants and landlords called on to take part in energy efficiency discussions
Hastings based 1066 Citizens Advice is looking for landlords and tenants to take part in discussions to help inform government about what is needed to improve the uptake of energy efficiency measures in privately rented homes. It is involved in a pilot project, funded...
Overheating in buildings
Following the recent heatwave, which saw record high temperatures across the UK, the Committee on Climate Change has published a briefing on overheating in buildings. This summarises the impact of extreme temperatures and sets out the adaptation measures that can help...
Flawed eco rules push up landlords’ mortgages
The Telegraph is reporting on the problem associated with the ‘flawed rules’ with the EPC test. We have been lobbying Government for some time regarding the review into EPC’s, and also into the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES) which can be seen here, but to...
Are you willing to spend what is required for energy improvement?
Whilst we are still waiting for Government to announce the new MEES requirements (see here) a survey of landlords carried out on behalf of Paragon Bank has found that 77% of landlords are willing to spend up to £3,000 to upgrade each property they own to EPC C....
EPC changes: Greater clarity is needed to prevent housing inequality
What Mortgage are running an opinion piece calling for greater clarity concerning the probable changes to the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard. This follows our letter to the Business Secretary calling for the same – see here. Note that the proposed change to MEES...
EPC rule change causes shift in landlord property preference
Landlords are shunning older and less energy efficient properties in favour of more modern homes to make it easier to comply with new rules, a survey has discovered. A quarter of landlords said they were likely to avoid properties with low Energy Performance...
Less than one-third of landlords can fund EPC requirements
Landlords could lose up to £9,500 a year if they are unable to make changes to the energy efficiency of their property ahead of the proposed EPC regulation changes and 2025 deadline, according to research from Shawbrook. This figure refers to the average amount...
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Be aware of fake energy efficiency schemes
Propertymark is warning letting agents to inform their landlord clients and tenants about the dangers of fake energy...
Labour Green Spending Plans
Labour’s independent energy advisers have warned the party against watering down its £28bn green spending plans in...
Planning rules to be relaxed to allow heat pumps and solar panels on listed buildings
The Telegraph is running an article outlining proposed changes to the planning law to allow rules to be relaxed to...