EPC KEY TO RAISING ENERGY AWARENESS
27th July, 2009 In fact, nearly a quarter (23%) of tenants surveyed asked their landlord to provide an EPC, and the same number requested their landlord make changes to the property as a result of reviewing one. With energy performance ratings gaining importance, it is unsurprisingly that nearly six in 10 (58%) landlords confirmed they are concerned about the energy efficiency of their rental properties, and nearly a quarter (22%) claimed to be very concerned. And, over half of all landlords are planning to make improvements based on their EPC. Looking ahead to future purchases nearly half (44%) of landlords stated that they would now consider energy efficiency before buying a property, further indicating that energy performance has become a major influencer for both tenants and landlords. EEPH Partnership Director, Mark Brown explains how energy efficiency has rocketed up the agenda for landlords and tenants: “If we look back to last years’ survey of tenants we saw energy efficiency beginning to register as a key consideration, and as our most recent report shows this trend looks set to continue with tenants increasingly looking for ways to reduce outgoings and save money.” “Encouragingly, since the introduction of EPCs we can see landlords considering whether to update their properties in line with more effective energy usage.” Caroline Pickering, Chair of the National Approved Letting Scheme (NALS), which is represented on the EEPH Private Rented Sector Group, is committed to helping tenants and landlords improve efficiency. “As a member organisation working closely with both landlords and tenants, we endeavour to support and advise on optimising energy efficiency within private rentals,” she says. “We have produced a free leaflet, detailing simple and effective tips on how to reduce energy consumption including information on logos to look out for on energy efficient appliances, and replacing boilers over 15 years old.” Research carried out and report prepared by Harris Interactive, for the Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes (Private Rented Sector Group) February 2009. A total of 251 respondents were interviewed between 10th December 2008 – 12th January 2009, the number per sample group recruited is below: • Commercial landlords (20-100 properties) - 49 |
About EEPH
The Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes is a network of over 500 organisations from the public, private and voluntary sectors. By working together we aim to reduce the energy consumed by UK households as well as the number of people who are unable to sufficiently heat their homes during winter. www.eeph.org.uk About NALS
NALS is backed by the Government and the professional bodies in the lettings sector. NALS offers a reliable benchmark for landlords and tenants to compare the standards of service they receive from residential letting agents. All accredited firms commit to providing clearly defined levels of customer service, have client money protection cover, maintain professional indemnity insurance and operate an Ombudsman customer complaints procedure. For more information visit www.nalscheme.co.uk The National Approved Letting Scheme board comprises:
Caroline Pickering (independent Chair), representatives from Communities and Local Government (CLG), British Property Federation, Sanctuary Group, the National Union of Students, the Guild of Letting and Management with a NALS accredited firm representative. NFOPP and RICS attend meetings as Observers For further press information please contact:
Please contact Lindsay McAloon or Caroline Hole-Jones at Splash Communications: 01225 318000. E: lmcaloon@splashcommunications.com E: cholejones@splashcommunications.com |
