New research published today (Wednesday 14th June) from the BTL, specialist bridging and commercial lender, Mercantile Trust, highlights a lack of awareness among brokers and their property investor clients of the proposed changes to EPC requirements.
Mercantile Trust’s survey — which garnered over 150 broker responses — found that 48.5% of brokers said they were not confident that they fully understood the government’s proposed new rules regarding EPCs for rental properties.
Nearly half (49.2%) of brokers said their property investor clients had not asked them for any information on the proposed changes.
The adjustments to EPC requirements are due to come into force in 2025, when all properties covered by a new tenancy agreement will need an EPC rating of C or above.
All rental properties will need to meet this standard from 2028 and failure to comply risks a fine of £30,000 per property.
The research also revealed that 60% of brokers have not arranged a bridging loan to finance energy-efficiency related refurbishments over the past year, but that 66% predicted they would do more business in this area over the coming year.
To help brokers and their clients deal with the impending EPC changes, Mercantile Trust has partnered with Elmhurst Energy to create a free EPC Hints & Tips guide for landlords and property investors.
The guide is designed to help landlords create a plan of action, establishing what needs to be done to each property within their portfolio in order to secure an EPC rating of C or above, what the likely costs are to do so, and where the financing can come from.
The guide covers EPC basics, benefits and advantages, funding EPC improvements, opportunites, and help and assistance.
Maeve Ward, director at commercial operations at Mercantile Trust, commented: “The new EPC regime for landlords is fast approaching and our research has found that brokers are seeking education and clarification around this important issue.
“There is a belief that 2025 is someway off yet and there’s still ample time to get your head around what’s coming and what needs to be done.
“We have produced our EPC guide because everyone in the industry needs to play their part in meeting the demands of the changing regime surrounding energy efficiency.”
Maeve believes the better-informed brokers are the better they can “help consumers navigate what needs to be done, when it needs to be done by and the consequences of doing nothing — that’s not an option.”
If everyone was to approach it with the idea of having lots of time, Maeve said as the deadline gets nearer, costs of materials and labour might go up and what was thought of as a simple job, might put people “at risk of not meeting that deadline and incurring a fine”.
“It’s about pointing [landlords] in the right direction and understanding where their portfolio is currently at; our guide provides all the information they need to create a viable strategy, including how they can finance improvements to rental properties,” she continued.
