At the end of September, the UK government announced changes to the current EPC for England. It was the second set of announcements for this year. The Energy Performance Certificate has been subject to several reviews and suggested changes. In a bid to hit the net zero emissions target for 2050, current eyes focus on our homes: both homeownership and rental property. That includes student accommodation.
New “Green Housing MOT” Online Service
One of the first and biggest changes to the current EPC for England and Wales is a new online information checking and sharing service. Informally called the “Green MOT” or “Green Housing MOT” now simplifies information exchange. With it, homebuyers, landlords, letting agents and sales agent can go online and check certificate details.
If there is no existing certificate, the user may create one and upload the details. Using the successful online motor vehicle test MOT, each certificate exists as a single web page. This makes sharing much easier. Finally, users may email the webpage directly to the person requesting to see the details.
This cuts red tape and speeds up the process of acquiring vital details for a transaction.
Housing Must Comply to Band C by 2025
In other news, the government plants to lift all private rented properties to band C by 2025. It will apply to all tenancies by 2028. This includes student accommodation, HMOs, and flats. As student properties have regular changes of tenant, such landlords should proceed with compliance as soon as possible.
Landlords who fail to comply with the 2025 deadline face fines of up to £30,000. Further, it may be agents and other portals may be banned from advertising these properties. There are many reasons to improve the EPC rating now – it isn’t just about the law and reducing the carbon footprint. For the modern student, lower bills are an attractive selling point.
Naturally, this has not gone down well in all quarters. 2025 is just five years away.
Call for More Exemptions Details
But not everyone is happy with these changes. Many in the industry welcome the simplification, but don’t feel enough has been done to raise awareness. However, it’s been suggested from many quarters that the new system doesn’t account for variety and exceptions in the current housing stock. Some older buildings require severe upgrades, and such changes are not achievable in the timeframe.
With coronavirus and heavy costs to the industry through changes in taxation, the system changes are yet more cost. Critics now call for a simplified compliance system. Further, under the current circumstances, they’ve called for more funding to help certain areas of housing stock with compliance.