ARLA members will be aware from a number of previous updates either in Agreement magazine or via global member emails that this piece of legislation is due to be implemented (for rented property) in the Autumn of 2008. We have known about this since early 2001 when the European Directive was adopted and we have since been involved in discussions and consultations with UK civil servants from the two or three government departments responsible for its implementation.

Some recent press coverage of this topic seems to suggest that the journalists had “discovered” (only 6 years late!) this legislation and this was a bombshell waiting to hit the private rented sector and that buy to let landlords would leave the market in droves because of it. The Daily Telegraph, 9th May, went as far as having it as their lead front page story with calls from certain people for the implementation date for rented property to be brought forward to 1st June 2007 and the requirement for the production of an EPC to be reduced (on rented property) from every ten years to every three years!

Alarmists also discuss the effects of the EPC on the letting of those properties that do remain on the market: *Tenants may look at the EPC and choose not to rent it because it has a ‘poor’ report. Landlords may be forced to spend thousands of pounds on improving the energy efficiency of a property only to find that the efforts are wasted because the tenant leaves lights, television, computers etc. on all the time.

• When selling a let property buyers will avoid it because it has not scored highly with its EPC. All these points have some validity but the actual piece of paper that is the EPC is merely a report on what, in most cases, is quite apparent anyway.
• The top floor period conversion flat with huge windows was always obviously less energy efficient than a brand new first floor apartment.
• Landlords should keep their properties up to date as much as possible anyway and has no control over the energy efficiency attitude of their tenants. Some will be very interested in energy and costs, others will be less so, whatever the Government says.
• Previously let property which is put up for sale would be in the same position as any other property under the HIP rules.

So why all the fuss?

A closer reading of some of these articles perhaps reveals a reason for the sudden interest and the motives of those calling for EPCs to be rushed through on rented property. As we know the HIP legislation is due (at least as we went to the printers!) to come into force on 1st June 2007 and will require an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) to be in the pack but will no longer require any sort of property survey/inspection to be carried out.

A great number of “Home Inspectors” had paid lots of money to be trained up in preparation for these HIPs and so were not happy when the government did a U turn last year and removed the “Property Inspection report” from the HIP. Unsurprisingly it seems to be the trade and training organisations for these people who are leading the calls and lobbying the government for early implementation of EPCs in the PRS – no vested interests there then!

ARLA has had no indication whatsoever that the government has any intention of changing its current position on the implementation of EPCs for rented property. We anticipate that we will have further discussions and consultation with them on this topic later in the year and will, as we have previously done, keep members informed of the implications and requirements as soon as it has been finalised.

If you want to see what one of these EPCs looks like (6 pages) then visit the members’ section of the www.arla.co.uk website where there is an example which you can view or download.