Tougher requirements for energy performance certificates
How changes to EPCs could affect your property portfolio
If you’re a landlord or property owner, you will already be well familiar with Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs): the measure of how energy efficient your property is. First introduced in 2007 as a tool to promote energy performance improvements in buildings, they were designed to give purchasers and tenants the full picture of how energy efficient a building is, and also provide tips on how to improve its efficiency.
15 years on, the minimum standards for EPCs are tightening, and if you’re a landlord, it’s going to impact you in particular.
It’s all part of the government’s path to net zero, and is designed to strengthen measures to ensure that landlords continue to invest in the quality and energy efficiency of their buildings. Our housing stock contributes a significant proportion to our overall carbon emissions, and the private rented sector represents 20% of our housing stock, with the highest concentration of fuel poor tenants.
In short, it’s going to get a lot tougher to meet minimum EPC requirements.
So, if you have a property portfolio, here’s what you need to know.
What are the changes?
The government has consulted on a series of measures in which the minimum EPC requirements for properties gradually ratchet up.
Since 1 April 2020, all privately rented properties (even where there has been no change in tenancy) have had to meet EPC Band E. This legal requirement means that if there’s no valid EPC, your property can’t be let.
And it’s about to get tougher.
By 1 April 2025, the minimum EPC rating for new tenancies will be required to meet EPC Band C.
By 1 April 2028, that requirement will be extended to all tenancies.
When do they come into force and what are the penalties?
The changes are being brought in gradually to give landlords time to make the physical changes necessary to achieve higher ratings.
The new rules start to kick in on 1 April 2025, and by 1 April 2028 you must have achieved a minimum Band C rating which, let’s face it, is a pretty high benchmark.
And from 2025, the penalty for not meeting these new requirements will be hiked to £30,000.
How can you make your property more energy efficient?
Heating and powering buildings currently accounts for a whopping 40% of the UK’s total energy usage. And, against the backdrop of the worst cost of living and energy crisis in recent memory, it’s only right that we do what we can to make buildings more energy efficient.
The good news is that the costs for upgrading your properties will be capped (and this is likely to increase from the current rate of £3,500 to £4,700 per property).
So, here are some practical ways that you can improve the energy efficiency of your commercial property.
Lighting
There are creative ways to increase the amount of natural light into your building, particularly on dated buildings. There may be an opportunity to enlarge window openings on north elevations or even install roof lights.
Remember, though, to be careful with where you create large openings to avoid overheating in summer months. You can read our tips for how to avoid overheating along with other aspects of the latest building regulations here.
If you have to rely on electrical lighting, then switch to LED lighting systems. Depending on the scale of your property, commissioning a comprehensive lighting design for PRS properties can be an effective way to refresh a space whilst saving energy.
Glazing
All window openings should be upgraded to double or even triple glazing. Even this simple switch can help to improve your EPC score significantly.
Insulation
Minimise the amount of energy you need to heat a building by improving its insulation. The most common ways to do this to an existing building is to install cavity wall insulation or roof insulation.
Solar panels
Consider the benefits of installing solar panels to your property. When the right number are used in the right place, this approach can even become a money generator as well as a money saver.
How can we help
All of these interventions will, let’s face it, cause a bit of mess and disruption in your building. So, if you’ve got a long way to go to achieve the requisite EPC ratings, it may be worthwhile carrying out numerous interventions in one go, alongside other improvement works, rather than taking a piecemeal approach. And, if you have to make changes to your building to meet the new building regulations, it makes sense to cover off both regulatory requirements in one go.
We see the bigger picture and are abreast of all the latest regulatory changes that affect the construction sector. We’re well experienced at finding the right solutions for tricky sites.
Get in touch and we’ll help you pinpoint for where the most impactful opportunities lie, so that you can not only meet the tougher EPC ratings, but you can reduce your impact on the environment too.