The Green Deal Swansea
Making your Home cheaper to run.
EMAIL: info@thegreendealswansea.com
HOME | CAVITY WALL INSULATION | LOFT INSULATION | LANDLORDS | FLEXIBLE FUNDING
EXTERNAL WALL INSULATION | CONTACT US | EXTRACTION OF CAVITY WALL INSULATION
LANDLORDS IN SWANSEA, LLANELLI, NEATH
AND THROUGHOUT WEST WALES.
Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES), Home Insulation Assessments & Energy Performance Certificates (EPC)
ARE YOUR RENTALS MEES COMPLIANT FROM 1st APRIL 2018?
On 1/4/18 the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) for Privately Rented Domestic Properties came into force.
Are you concerned about the changes to energy efficiency regulations affecting your domestic rental properties?
We may be able to help you, and because of some major updates to the datasets used within the EPC software, went live in September/October 2017, the answer may be nothing more than just an updated EPC.
Also non-repayable Grants for improving the levels of home insulation are still available to tenants, where the property has an E rating or better.
What are the MEES and Regulations?
Under the Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property (England & Wales)) Regulations 2015, from 1st April 2018, it is unlawful to let out domestic properties which have an Energy Performance Certificate rating of F or G.
Why?
The regulations were put into place to improve energy efficiency of privately rented homes and help to meet UK targets of CO2 emissions reduction under the Energy Act 2011.
Who does it affect and when?
From 1st April 2018, the regulations apply to landlords/property owners upon granting a lease to a new tenant, or lease renewals to an existing tenant.
In order to comply, all properties must meet MEES by undertaking permissible, appropriate and cost-effective improvements, unless exempt. Properties which are let on tenancies of more than 99 years, or less than 6 months, and some regulated tenancies such as housing associations will be excluded.
The regulations will apply to all privately rented properties within the scope of the regulations from 1st April 2020.
What are the Penalties for non-compliance?
Fines of up to £5,000 can be enforced, depending on the type of infringement and the length of non-compliance. A tenant can raise a case with the First-Tier General Regulatory Chamber if they feel a landlord is non-compliant.
Are there any exemptions?
Landlords may be exempt when:
- The property is excluded from having an EPC
- Improvements are not cost-effective, either within a 7 years payback or under the Green Deal (it is on its way back)
- It has been independently verified that improvements may decrease the value of the property by 5% or more
- Required third party consent cannot be obtained.
What Government Grants are available to me?
From April 2017, the system has been simplified and an energy assessment is no longer required. Instead the Government have "deemed" an amount of Carbon Emission savings for each type of property - terraced, semi-detached, detached, 2 bed, 3 bed, 4 bed etc. We then sell these Carbon Emission savings to one of the Gas and Electricity companies - and that is how it is funded. We all pay an amount on our fuel bills towards this fund, so yes, we pay for it, as usual.
But the Government Home Insulation Grant Scheme has changed again (17/9/18).
In some ways it is an improvement over the old scheme, but other aspects have got a whole lot worse.
The Standard Home Insulation Grant that everyone qualified for (even Richard Branson) has been withdrawn.
The Enhanced Home Insulation Grant – which you have to qualify for, has been broadened. Many people who did not qualify for this grant in the past will now qualify.
However, OFGEM who administer the grant scheme have stated that they will not allow a grant for F or G rated properties.
Click here to see what qualifies for a Government Cavity Wall Insulation Grant.
We do of course undertake work where the customer simply pays for the job where no funding is available.
Energy Performance Certificates (EPC's)
In April 2008 it became law that every privately rented property has to have a current EPC. EPC's have a lifespan of 10 years. So, 1,000's of EPC's are expiring each month, and have to be renewed.
We are fully qualified Domestic Energy Assessors, and can produce Energy Performance Certificates for your properties. In September/October 2017 some very important updates were made to the datasets used within the EPC software. These updates could change the energy rating by as much as 5 points, without any changes to the property. Your EPCs may also be a few years old and do not reflect changes already made - such as a boiler upgrade, extra loft insulation, and so on.
We can access the data that was used to produce your existing EPC, make amendments to that data to reflect changes already made to the property, and input that into the updated EPC software.
We can then see exactly what the "real" rating is for that property. It could move a property from an F rating up to an E rating - job done! - just for the cost of a new EPC and good for another 10 years - although there is talk that the 10 year life of an EPC could reduce to 5 years, and that in England and Wales the minimum requirement of an E rating to let out a property could be increased to a minimum of a D rating. This would bring England & Wales in line with Scottish proposals, but this would seem to be at least 5 years away.
Our charges for EPC's are - Terraced house £40 - £45, semi-detached house £45 - £50 and a detached house £60 - £85. The exact price will be dependant upon the number of bedrooms and locality. We can also offer some discount when there are a number of EPC's to be produced in the same area.
If you wish to discuss any of the above, please give us a call on one of the numbers below, or email us on info@thegreendealswansea.com or complete the online enquiry form below.
Freephone: 0800 8 10 10 60 Mobile: 07960 799 681
2013 COPYRIGHT OF THE GREEN DEAL SWANSEA.COM Group Websites - The Green Deal Wales.com - The Green Deal Cardiff.co.uk - Green Deal Newport.co.uk