EPC rating - panic!!

[SunnyUpNorth]

We have just had an offer accepted today on a property. I am usually extremely thorough with things but have been doing alot of research on the property style itself and somehow missed that the EPC rating is F. This has only come to my attention as I forwarded the link to a family member who noticed it.

We are planning to use the property as a holiday let and for our own use initially, with a view to retiring there in the future.

Ive been reading up about EPC regulations etc and all the limitations of the current system today and now feel totally lost. When we found out we had been successful in our bid I actually felt really worried rather than excited.

I’ve read opinions where people think the incoming regulations of all properties having to be C rated can’t possibly be enforced due to the fact that approx 60% of current UK housing stock can never be rated above a D due to not having cavity walls/not having gas central heating/etc. That does make sense.

however I’ve also seen stuff about how mortgages might be denied unless properties are a certain rating, which also seems silly if the mortgage companies therefore had their business cut by the above 60%.

However I am slightly panicking. Some of the things we could do such as installing energy efficient lightbulbs etc. But the bottom line is are we going to be buying a house that we can’t rent out and that will massively fall in value as it may be un-mortgageable??

We have recently been through this panic. I am not really sure about it all. Our Epc is D though so may have more of a chance to improve it to acceptable level.

have you committed now? Are you in Scotland or England? I am joining this thread as I need more info myself. It seems very difficult to believe all these properties could end up in unmortgageable

I’m in England. Our offer was accepted today but I suppose we aren’t committed in any way yet as have literally just had the offer accepted. They still have viewings booked in until we provide a mortgage AIP which we weren’t prepared to pursue until an offer had been accepted.

I spent most of the week worrying about putting in an offer as I had joined a period property restoration Facebook group which filled me with fear after seeing all the things that could go wrong! Finally got over that and now this.

I’ve also looked at old posts on the above Facebook group and seen posts where people have pointed out how many of the proposed energy saving measures that would improve your EPC rating would actually be damaging to older properties. For example cavity wall insulation often causing damp issues. Plus the fact that apparently you can’t be rated above a D no matter how energy efficient and green you are if you fail to have certain things such as gas central heating.

Logic says there is no way they could enforce this as landlords and holiday let owners business would be decimated by the costs of trying to meet the sometimes impossible standards. The surveys themselves seem to be very ‘tick box’ and often aren’t thorough. If 60% of Uk housing stock was suddenly unmortgagable it would decimate the mortgage industry and probably the economy. But then the government never seems to follow logic so who knows.

I think they would have to fully reform the system if they are going to try and implement it, with certain allowances for older properties.

First of all, don't panic. Your ultimate plan is to retire to this place, not sell it, so whether someone can get a mortgage on it, may not matter. As regards renting out, it's entirely possible that the regulations will be softened or delayed, since so many properties won't meet the required standard.

You are correct in that some recommended measures can do more harm than good, so don't rush into drastic alterations, do your research.

I think the key question is whether you really love this place and can see it as your future home. If not, then maybe think again. You're not yet committed.

I dont think you will need to worry about it. The EPC ratings will need massive reform before anything can possibly be implemented, especially with the changes to the environment and temperatures. I suspect there will be an older house version that will consider ways to insulate them that are safe unlikely to cause damage.

No homes around here have a gas supply. We have oil central heating currently, which is actually very efficient and we spend less than we ever did before. When the boiler breaks down we are hoping to go down a more sustainable route.

Ultimately it's up to you whether you want it, but I wouldn't rule out a house I loved for the EPC rating alone.

Thanks all. I agree with you but the government make such stupid decisions sometimes and I don’t trust them not to implement stupid rules.

We plan to retire there but you never know what life will throw at you (I’ve lost 3 very close friends to cancer recently and we are only early 40s) so I don’t want to end up with a house that we can’t sell if we need to.

Good to hear the oil is efficient though as it has oil heating there!

There is no enforcement of the epc rating c. However your rating is low and it will be cold and inefficient. And I mean really cold. There are grants available though for landlords to improve epcs.

@Itsnotallaboutyoulikeyouthink i know there is no enforcement at the moment but it seems to (currently) be coming in from 2025 which isn’t that far away.

I’ve also read loads of accounts by people saying they moved to a house with a low rating but it was actually warmer and more efficient than their previous house with a higher rating. For example this house has a new aga and a new wood burning stove but on the EPC no secondary heat source is listed. It also doesn’t seem to have any energy saving lightbulbs, so I could replace those and possibly instantly bump up the EPC but this would have no effect on how cold/warm the house is and therefore the epc wouldn’t be reflective. So as the owner I’m not too concerned about the EPC but in terms of being able to commercially let it or sell it on if needed I am.

If enforced, it’ll cause a huge correction in the property market. Properties would need to be updated to stop wasting energy. The country would rapidly become less reliant on other countries for gas and electricity. People would live in homes that were cosy in winter, and cool in summer.

It’ll never happen.

What improvements are listed on the certificate as being necessary to improve the rating?

I'd also talk to the EPC surveyor who issued the certificate.

You cannot rent under an E to tenants.

You seem to be talking about a holiday let. No tenancy agreements have to be issued. The rules may not apply. Check.

The requirement for all rental properties to be higher than a C has recently been quietly dropped.

To enforce EPC regulations against rogue landlords, local authorities have to apply for funding. Typically they are given 55k (2 people) and a year. The number of grants for this are very limited.

I recently saw an EPC G rental which is illegal. Because the cost of works to upgrade the house from a G to an E or higher would have cost the homeowner more than £3,500, an exemption certificate was issued. This is the way things will continue to go, as the work of energy improvements continue to go through the roof.

Other regulations around house sales, mortgages and EPC C's being enforced for home sellers will go the way of the dodo when the government finally admit publicly that we simply don't have the workforce with the necessary skills to implement these changes and we have no hope of doing so by any of the deadlines they are proposing.

If there ever comes a day when mortgages won't be given on properties with an F EPC, it's likely that those with the least disposable income who could potentially be most affected by high energy costs are those whose mortgages are refused. Those who already have a lot of equity in the house they are selling and a high disposable income won't be refused mortgages. Old dilapidated homes will go from being owned by the poorest to the richest.

What type of construction is the house? Semi? Detached? Bungalow? Solid walls? Single or double glazing? Accessible loft space to put down insulation? There are methods of considerately insulating solid wall properties with breathable materials like sheep’s wool so I wouldn’t panic. A low EPC rating like that also means some of the necessary work could be grant funded under the ECO+ scheme with no need to be on means tested benefits.

You might have to check eligibility for ECO+ from the 2nd home/holiday let side of things however. I agree EPC’s will need wholesale reform before they can be used by mortgage lenders. Most are wildly inaccurate and make huge numbers of assumptions.

@KievLoverTwo do you a link to the requirement to be a C being dropped?

I’ve found on some holiday letting websites where it says it’s illegal to rent an F or G rated property. But then on other holiday websites it says holiday lets may be E exempt as the renter isn’t required to pay the utility bills. It’s all a bit ambiguous and conflicting. I’d rather a black and white rule!!

@DougMLancs its a stone cottage. I have no idea if there is insulation in the loft, the EPC has put that that have assumed there is none and therefore rated it poor. I don’t know how they can issue these things with assumptions! Yes I’ve been reading about sheep’s wool insulation. How would you put it on walls without massively decreasing the room size? Being a cottage the rooms are already on the small side.

Usually the report says not only what the current rating is but also what potential rating it could have and what kinds of things will get it there, do you have that info?

@OddBoots yes, it says currently an F and could be a D. So if all property has to be rated a C I’m not sure if it would ever achieve that.

The main suggestions are internal or external wall insulation, floor insulation and solar panels. Not sure how much use solar panel would be in the north of England!

You should be able to get it from an F to an E at an affordable cost if you are in any doubt. Here:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/28/delays-landlord-energy-efficiency-standards-england-renters-tenants

The key thing to note is they have done nothing but talk about it since 2020.

The loss of space inside can be tricky admittedly- it would only need to be on external walls and probably a minimum of 10cm thick? Are the walls too beautiful on the outside to insulate and lime render? You likely wouldn’t want to do the front anyway but the rear and/or sides? They are coming up with more effective, breathable insulation material all the time though. A thick DRY stone wall will also lose much more heat than a damp stone wall so making sure the walls are in good condition and can breathe is important. Another option is having a well-insulated structure like a porch/small extension built on one side which will reduce the heat loss from that side.

Oh I don’t know about that, I love my solar panels over in Lancaster- best investment in house we’ve ever made! Used nothing from the grid since May and the export payments are making a great nest egg of credit ready for wintertime. Normally a big boost on that EPC too.

Is this a period house? If so, it may be exempted.

Have a look at this YouTube channel.
Cafs are an organisation who help owners of traditional properties improve the building's energy efficiency and warmth and understand the retrofit issues of traditional construction houses such as stone cottages.
There are absolutely things you can do to improve the EPC and thermal comfort, you just need to know what you're doing.
Have a look at the video catalogue and watch the relevant ones, you'll come away in a far more informed position.
https://youtube.com/@CumbriaActionForSustainability

@DougMLancs really? My in laws are in kent and got solar panels back when you could get huge grants and they have a great return from them. But it’s so much more sunny down there. Do you need a huge roof and is it very invasive to have done? I’ve also read it can affect selling your house as the panels belong to the person who took the contract out on having them installed…is that the case? Did you install them this year? I’m intrigued!!

Our house can’t have an EPC rating because it’s 400 years old and Listed. My parents’ old house was rated E, despite having newly fitted double glazed windows and a brand new boiler. It was absolutely boiling even in the middle of winter.

Thanks @BIossomtoes , do you know how old a house has to be to be exempt?

We won’t know until the winter months how cold it will be, but I know the EPC doesn’t always reflect that anyway. It’s more the concern that it will never be able to be rated high enough to comply if they start enforcing these rules.

I don’t know whether ours is exempt by virtue of age or being Listed - possibly the latter because any work done would adversely affect its appearance. To be honest I think these rules will be quietly forgotten. If a house with new windows and the latest, most energy efficient boiler is only an E, what chance is there of most rental properties achieving C?

The house will always be mortgagable if it’s bought to live in by the owner.
There’s a reasonable chance it could end up unmortgagable if it’s a rental/holiday let.
At some point the government will be enforcing a C EPC on rentals, and maybe a D on everything else ( caveats apply ) as part of ‘net zero’ which will be implemented.
As for sheep’s wool as insulation, I’ve only ever seen it associated with moth infestations. Why use wool when rock wool is available?