Industry News
Private landlords urged to prepare for stricter energy laws
P
roperty owners and landlords need to start preparing now for the arrival of stricter energy performance laws in the coming
years or riskmajor disruption, cost increases and other business threats. The private rentedmarket is the second
biggest sector in country and it is estimated that upto 3 million properties would fail tomeet required standards for letting properties to tenants. Failing tomake improvements could force landlords to leave properties empty, while they try to find contractors andmaterials in what will be a very competitivemarket. Leeds-based building consultancy, C80 Solutions,
is urging landlords to get ahead of their rivals in the rental sector. With thousands of properties likely to need
significant energy performance upgrades, C80 Solutions believes thatmany landlords and building owners would benefit froman early assessment of their expected requirements to ensure theymanage the necessary investments andmeet the new standards in time. The Government’sMinimum Energy
Performance of Buildings Bill was introduced earlier thismonth and will be debated by MPs in the autumn, paving the way for legislation which will require all private rented sector homes to be Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) band C by 2028. The Government has also outlined targets which will havemajor implications for owner occupiers,mortgage lenders and commercial lettings. HarryHinchliffe, Energy Consultant and
BREEAM Assessor at C80 Solutions, said: “The bill is a key driver in the commitments set out in the EnergyWhite Paper and subsequent policy statements. It will have a widespread impact
“Recent studies have suggested that around 2.9mhomes
will need to improve tomeet the proposed change” Dan Chadwick, Energy & Sustainability Consultant at C80 Solutions
on the UK’s property sector, affecting a large percentage of people and businesses with a property investment. “Its objectives include non-domestic commercial
lettings to achieve EPC band B by 2030 and homes to be EPC band C by 2035 where practicable, cost effective and affordable. It will also affect financial services asmortgage lenders will be required to ensure an EPC band C average for their portfolios by 2030.” Dan Chadwick, Energy & Sustainability
Consultant at C80 Solutions, said: “Recent studies have suggested that around 2.9m homes will need to improve tomeet the proposed changes, with an estimated average cost of £9,872 per home and a total cost of £29 billion across the sector. Although the legislation needs to follow the usual process of parliamentary scrutiny, the bill is seen as an essential step in achieving carbon net zero – there is
a clear direction of travel towards amuch higher standard of energy efficiency and it’s unlikely to meetmuch resistance fromMPs, especially in the context of the latest alarming reports about the climate emergency. He added: “An increase in minimum EPC fromE
to C is a substantial rise.With that in mind,many individuals and organisations would be wise to start the process of examining their properties and estates. For some, early planning could be vital in phasing the work and the costs required to achieve 100 per cent compliance.” C80 Solutions provides expertise encompassing
all aspects of Building Regulations and environmental performance, including energy, air tightness, sound testing, environmental noise and thermalmodelling. Its services support construction across both the commercial and domestic sectors.
Materials supply crisis continues to curtail builders’ recovery
Building and propertymaintenance firms are facing enormous challenges as they attempt to recover fromthe pandemic with a long-lasting crisis in the price and availability of vital buildingmaterials now facing them. Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the Federation of Master Builders, said: “Builders throughout the UK,
particularly smaller firms, are struggling to recover fromthe pandemic as a result of the continuedmaterials crisis. For some time now, demand for buildingmaterials has been outstripping supply, with thismonth’s data representing the second-fastest rate for input cost inflation since recording began. He continued: “The FMB’s latestmembership
survey revealed the prevalence of this crisis within the sector, with 98 per cent of FMBmembers experiencing price increases for buildingmaterials. It’s vital that transparent allocation and pricing policies are implemented to help enable SMEs to have continued and stable access tomaterials. The Government should also re-evaluate their position with regard to issuing temporary visas for EUHGV drivers, to better enable the delivery ofmaterials.” The supply chain formost importedmaterials
14 | HMMOctober/November 2021 |
www.housingmmonline.co.uk
and goods had already been badly affected by unprecedented demand levels in North America, China and across Asianmarkets. The blockage of the Suez Canal earlier in the year added to problems and unusual weather patterns across the globe have seen forest fires, flooding and hundreds of thousands of homes damaged. Berry continued: “Notwithstanding the wider
economic impact risked by consumers choosing not to undertake building projects as a result of delays, there is also a real risk that the current environment is exploitable by cowboy builders. Builders are working hard to stick to agreed timelines, but consumersmust be cautious about promises to complete jobs quickly and cheaply. All too often these will be too good to be true, and could well leave households at themercy of unscrupulous cowboy builders.”
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