Rented Property
Energy Performance Certificates for Rented Properties
When buildings are to be rented out, the landlord is responsible for ensuring a valid certificate is made available to all prospective tenants. The certificate will be valid for 10 years from the day of issue If improvements are made to the property it would be an advantage to have the property re assessed to reflect the changes
Do you really need an Energy Performance Certificate?
To help determine if you need and Energy Performance Certificate the department of Communities and Local Government has issued booklet called “ A guide for Landlords” The full guide can be down loaded HERE
The area which causes the most confusion and is especially relevant in Canterbury with so many student lets are dwellings in multiple occupation. Below are three case studies taken from the guide to help you determine whether you need an Energy Performance Certificate.
Dwellings in multiple occupations
Where individual rooms in a building are rented out and there are shared facilities (e.g. kitchen and/or bathroom), an EPC is not required. This because an EPC is only required on the rental of a building or part of a building designed or altered to be used separately. Renting a room does not meet the ‘part of a building’ definition.
An EPC is only required for a habitable unit if it is self-contained. This is therefore different to the requirement for Decent Homes inspections, where units which are not self-contained must be individually assessed. Landlords should be aware of this when holding EPC and Decent Homes data in common asset management databases.
Case Study 1
A house or flat is rented by a number of tenants who have exclusive use of their bedrooms but share a kitchen and bathroom. In this case each tenant has a contract with the landlord for the parts they have access to, but not for a whole dwelling. An EPC is therefore not required each time a tenant moves, although one will be required for the whole house if it is sold, rented as a whole or constructed..
Case Study 2
A group of friends rent a property and there is a single contract between the landlord and the group as the contract is for the rental of a whole dwelling. An EPC is required for the whole dwelling
Case Study 3
Individual tenants rent rooms in a hall of residence. Each room does not constitute a building or part of a building designed to be used independently or separately. An EPC is not required, for each individual room. However, an EPC will be required on the whole building if it sold, rented or constructed. It will also be required on self-contained units within the hall, eg a self-contained caretaker’s flat, if this is sold, rented or constructed.
Located in Canterbury we are ideally placed to serve East Kent including the towns of Ramsgate, Margate, Broadstairs, Sandwich, Deal, Dover, Herne Bay, Whitstable, Faversham, Sittingbourne, Sheerness, Maidstone, Tenterden, Folkestone, Hythe and Ashford Kent..
From 30th June 2011.
An EPC will be required for a property rented out as a holiday let where the building is occupied as a result of a short term letting arrangement and is rented out for a combined total of 4 months or more in any 12 month period.
From 1st October 2008,
Energy Performance Certificates are required when homes are rented out to a new tenant.
© Canterbury Domestic Energy Assessors 2011