Lettings Legislation Changes: Minimum requirements for Energy Performance Certificate There are several new pieces of letting legislation on their way in the coming months which will affect both landlords and tenants.

There are changes regarding the minimum energy level regulations, the extension of the Deregulation Act as well as an impending letting agent fee ban.

At Hudson Moody we want to encourage both landlords and tenants to be as prepared as possible for these changes and will explain each of the new pieces of legislation in a series of blogs over the coming months.

The most important change to be aware of at the moment is that every rental property with a lease starting after 1st of April 2018, must have a minimum energy performance certificate (EPC) rating of E.

Properties rated as an F or G will no longer be able to be rented.

If you’re a landlord, our advice is to look at making as many changes as you can to improve your property’s EPC rating.

Simple changes such as changing light bulbs to energy efficient versions can help and wall and roof insulation where possible will significantly improve the rating.

At the moment, this new legislation doesn’t affect current tenancies however it is expected to be extended out to existing tenancies from April 2020, so it is worth starting to think about the changes you may need to make in advance of this deadline.

An EPC lasts 10 years so it may well be that you have already made improvements to your property, but the EPC has not been updated accordingly.

These changes mean that tenants are becoming increasingly aware of the EPC and what it means.

A property with a good EPC rating will be lower maintenance and have lower running costs.

Greater awareness will enable tenants to make better decisions about the property they choose to rent, and a poor EPC will become increasingly detrimental to a property’s rentability.

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