Your Business and Industry
Low cost measures to improve an EPC
It's not only solar panels and heat pumps that get you over the level C. These low cost measures may be all your landlord needs.
Many landlords may not be aware of what the EPC rating for their property is, but you can find each individual one online, and this not only covers estimated energy costs, energy efficiency and performance in preventing heat loss, but it also shows what can be done to improve the level and the cost.
These costs are vital, particularly within a remortgage discussion where the landlord might wish to release any capital value in order to potentially pay for any work required to make those improvements.
The four key areas to look out for in an EPC are:
- Points in bands – this is the points representation of the Government Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) range, a calculation based on different aspects of the property relating to energy creation, storage or use.
- Letter grade – a simple representation of which SAP band the property falls in.
- Current – the current SAP score that has been calculated on the above aspects.
- Potential – the property is also assessed on where changes could be made to improve energy efficiency. If all recommendations were put in place, this could be the ‘new’ score.
It will be useful for advisers to learn that the average current energy rating in England and Wales for each property is a D, with an SAP score of 60. 51.5% of all properties nationally are D or E rated, showing any new regulation designed to improve this to a C will impact more than half of all property owners, including landlords.
This is why the buy-to-let market has become vocal in this area, and why advisers are now increasingly able to access more ‘Green BTL’ products – such as we offer at Foundation – in order to support landlords not just in improving their properties, but also in purchasing those already at a C rating.
The main message is around securing the improvements required for all properties currently below a C rating. Now, for some properties, the score can be improved with some very simple and cheap solutions – such as installing energy-efficient lightbulbs or thermostatic radiator valves.
Estimates have suggested that 48% of homes could potentially benefit from a ‘low cost’ measure such as loft insulation, cavity wall insulation and hot water cylinder insulation. However, the rest would benefit from a ‘higher cost’ measure, such as ‘Solar Photovoltaic Cells’ which would add over 10 SAP points but could cost more than £3,500.
The English housing survey states that 97% of rental stock could be improved to Band C, with an average cost of £7,646.
At Foundation, accessing our Green product range and the information we have in this area, can help advisers and their clients to use their short-term financial needs and meet their long-term property responsibilities. The best time to have that conversation is right now.
FOR INTERMEDIARIES ONLY
