EPC upgrades will cost less than feared

One landlord has claimed that upgrading from an EPC D to a C will cost less than many landlords fear. 

Recently there has been a good deal of media coverage on the cost to residential landlords of making that change. Some have placed the figure at £5,000 to £6,000. This amount is disputed by London based landlord, James Tanner.

Tanner claims it is only when landlords are trying to achieve a grade C from a grade E, F or G that they will incur such high costs. 

Average EPC score of 60

He argues that the current average EPC score is 60, which equates to a grade D. Achieving a grade C requires a nine-point improvement and Tanner believes much of this gain can be done relatively cheaply. 

It is important to remember that there are some cost effective ways of improving an EPC rating including adding LED eco light bulbs or thermostatic radiator valves, each of which would add 1 point to an EPC rating.

Existing EPC Certificate

Mr Tanner argues that one further issue that causes confusion is that many EPC certificates are several years old. It is therefore likely that some improvements have been made since the assessment and the current actual score of the property is higher.

The key point here is that much of the media coverage of the costs is working from the baseline assumption of existing EPC scores. The real world gap he concludes is likely to be smaller than assumed, since many landlords will have done work on their property since their last EPC inspection.

Property specific

While this could be positive for some it is important to note that this will vary hugely between properties, with older stock more likely to be more expensive that newer stock. Furthermore many landlords remain unconvinced about the current method for producing EPC certificates, which is variable at best.

With the proposed ‘deadline’ now pushed back to 2028 it is likely that many will continue to wait for the final details and an improved EPC system before committing to making changes.