Tenants! !
Attention! ! !
From April 1, 2018, whether it is a newly signed rental contract or an existing contract renewal, landlords must ensure that the EPC rating (energy saving score) of the rented house is not lower than "E".
If the EPC rating (energy saving score) of the property invested by landlords is lower than "E", not only the house will be banned from renting, but also the loan will not be available.
Therefore, landlords really have to be very careful!
In addition, for the lease that is still in the lease term (that is, the lease contract that is not newly signed or renewed), the British government also stipulates that the EPC rating of the rented house shall not be lower than "E" from April 1, 2020.
Landlords have to wait until the effective date of the new law.
Repair the rented house and improve the EPC rating (energy saving score) of the house.
Otherwise, once the new regulations are on the road, the government will directly punish landlords who do not comply with the regulations, and can impose a civil fine of up to 4,000 pounds.
What is EPC rating?
EPC Rating (Energy Performance Certificate) simply tells you: the "energy utilization degree" of this house directly reflects your "energy cost".
Eprating is divided into: the highest "A" to the lowest "G" level. The higher the grade (e.g. A), the higher the energy saving degree of the house, and the lower the energy cost.
Generally speaking, the new house will have a higher EPC rating than the old house, but this is not absolute.
For tenants, it is necessary to know the EPC rating of the house before deciding to rent it. Because this directly affects whether you need to bear more or less energy costs after living in it.
The energy cost mentioned here refers to gas and electricity. If you rent a house with a low EPC rating, the warm-keeping effect in winter will usually be poor (that is, it will be cold), so it will naturally take more heating to warm the house.
Looking back at the new government regulations, which prohibit landlords from renting houses with EPC rating lower than "E", it naturally means that the "F" and "G" behind it are unqualified.
However, even if the new regulations are not on the road yet, Xiao Bian also suggested that friends should naturally not rent a house with a low EPC rating. Generally speaking, it’s best to choose a house with an EPC rating of "C" or above (even if the government limits it to "E").
Another thing that needs to be reminded here:
As far as the landlord is concerned, whether you want to rent or sell your house later, you need to make an EPC evaluation of the property.
EPC not only points out the energy utilization degree and energy cost of the house, but also gives suggestions for improvement (how to save energy and energy cost more).
The effective date of an EPC evaluation is 10 years, which means that when your original EPC expires, you need to reapply for a valid EPC. And if landlords want to rent or even sell their own property, but do not apply for EPC, they will face a fine of 200 pounds (residential property) from the government.
How can landlords improve the "energy saving score" of rented houses?
Landlords can improve EPC rating by improving (installing) related equipment!
1. Thermostat boiler
2. Thermostat room heater
3. External wall insulation system.
4. Insulation duct (Duct insulation)
5. Roof insulation
6. Air source heat pump
6. Air source heat pump
7. Heating ventilation and air conditioning control (heating ventilation and air conditioning control)
8. Hot water taps-efficient
9. Install the Secondary glazing.
10. Gas condensed boiler (Gas fired condensing boiler)
11. Underground floor heating
12. windproof (Draught proofing)
13. Air cooling (Chiller)
14. Water source heat pump
It is particularly important to note that:
If landlords know that the EPC rating of their rented houses is lower than "E", they should take actions to improve it now, instead of waiting until the new regulations come into effect, or they may face fines.
Tenants should learn to protect their rights and interests!
In addition to the EPC rating mentioned above, Xiaobian here also reminds you that the rented house must meet HHSRS (Health and Safety Standards for Rented Homes). That is to say, landlords must ensure that the property they rent is "not harmful to the physical and mental health or safety of tenants". If it will cause harm, it is not up to standard.
And what is the standard of not causing harm? This can be divided into two categories of "harm" factors:
1. Affect the "health" of the tenant, such as the following:
1) Damp and moldy
2) excessive cold
3) Too crowded (too many people live)
4) Rat pests
2. Affect the "safety" of tenants, such as the following:
1) Faulty or problematic gas device
2) There is fire danger, and there is no fire prevention and fire alarm device.
3) Dangerous lines
4) The house is not safe against theft, like the door lock is broken.
5) structural problems of the house, or poor quality such as stairs and floors (for example, the collapse of stairs will make people inconvenient to walk or even easy to fall)
6) holes in the roof, water leakage, etc.
Suppose the house you rent is not up to standard, which may cause harm to you. What should you do?
First of all, you should inform your landlord immediately and ask them to fix the problem.
2. Then, the landlord should give a reply as soon as possible (the law requires the landlord to respond to the tenant within 14 days) and inform the tenant of his reasonable plan for the repair work (such as the time required and when someone will repair it …).
At this time, the landlord should not forget that it is necessary to inform the tenant in advance (at least 24 hours ago, but the earlier the better) when he or the relevant workers will come to the rented house for repair work.
Reasons for early notification
In addition to respecting the tenant, there is another point: according to the law, the tenant has the right to quietly enjoy the house he or she rents, so the landlord’s unauthorized entry into the rented house without the tenant’s consent can constitute "harassment".
Therefore, even if it is necessary to do repair work, the landlord can’t enter the rental house without notice. In addition, the landlord can only appear in a "reasonable" time. This means that it is totally unreasonable for the landlord to say that he will come to check the equipment of the house and make repairs in the middle of the night, and the tenant can refuse.
3. If the landlord has been informed about the repair of the rented house, but the landlord has refused to improve it, then the tenant can "notify the local government".
The local government will send people to the rental house for evaluation. If the evaluation finds that the house does not meet the standard and may cause harm to the health or safety of the tenants, it will take action against the landlord and ask him to improve it.
At this time, the landlord usually does not dare to cheat again, and should be obedient. Otherwise, the landlord may be fined or even prosecuted.
Another thing that needs to be reminded here:
These landlords mentioned above need to be responsible for repairs, and tenants do not need to pay for repairs. So if the landlord comes back to ask you for money, it is illegal.
Finally, if you have any other questions about housing in Britain, you are welcome to get in touch with Aston immigrants. Wish you a happy life!