Landlords face £420m renovation bill to meet new energy standards  

Buy-to-let investors risk fines of between £4,000 and £150,000 if homes rented out under new tenancies and renewals from April 1 are not rated Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) E or higher.

The rules are to be extended to all tenancies by 2020.

It’s estimated around 300,000 rental homes are rated F or G – below the new standards.

And the cost of raising a property to E is calculated to be around £1,400 by the UK Green Building Council, through the installation of new loft and cavity wall insulation, a modern boiler or double-glazed windows.

Portfolio landlords with multiple properties and limited liquidity should act sooner rather than later to secure the necessary finance to make energy improvements, according to Marc Goldberg, commercial chief executive at Together.

He said: “At a time when their profits are being seriously squeezed following a swathe of new tax and regulatory changes impacting the buy-to-let sector, landlords are feeling increasing pressure on their cashflow this year and can ill afford the potentially huge fines that could come their way if they miss the upcoming EPC improvements deadline.

“While the vast majority of landlords understand that enhancing the energy efficiency of their properties will boost rental yields over the long term, unfortunately many don’t have the available cash to hand to fund the urgent home improvements that are needed.”