Wednesday, 17 May 2023
EPC’s are still in the spotlight with many landlords concerned about the as yet unconfirmed minimum EPC requirement date that will be enforced. Both Scotland and England are due to require a minimum of C as an EPC in the future. The Scottish government intends to introduce a requirement for PRS (private rented sector) properties to have an EPC rating of C at change of tenancy from 2025.
All PRS properties will then be required to reach a minimum standard of C by 2028. Exemptions will be available for properties where it is not technically feasible or cost effective to reach that standard and further details on these criteria are to follow. The Westminster Government has just pushed their date to 2028 for EPC C compliance in recognition of the inflationary costs of property upgrades.
On the upside the Scottish Government has released funding for grants to improve insulation heating and overall EPC performance. Please do get in touch if you would like to know more about these grants and the work being carried out with them.
As a very general rule you can expect the following improvements to the EPC rating (there are roughly 10 points in each of the A-G EPC bands):
• More efficient/cheaper to run heating – up to 40 points
• Better heating controls – up to 5 points
• Install wall or loft insulation – up to 11 points
• Higher performance glazing – up to 4 points
• Low energy lighting – around 1 point
