 |
|
| CURRENT SECTION :: Money News | UK's most visited IT Contractor Site - 250k unique visitors March 2008 |
|
 |
Buy-to-let investors have just a few days to meet their new ‘green’ obligations under the law or face penalties of up to £200 a time for non-compliance. From October 1, landlords offering property to let will be legally required to provide an Energy Performance Certificate, costing about £100, to prospective tenants. The EPC charts the impact the home has on the environment and how energy efficient it is, with both criterion rated on a scale of A to G, with A being the most efficient. Issued after a visit by a domestic energy assessor, the EPC also lists recommendations to improve the house’s energy efficiency, at what cost and the likely yield in savings. Landlords are not obliged to carry out any of the improvements, but those that do can obtain a revised EPC that shows the energy improvements they invested. The law also says a new EPC does not need to be obtained every time landlords re-let the property, and the certificate, which last 10 years, is not required when it is sold. Yet failure to provide an EPC, or obtain one when the tenant leaves, to a prospective tenant, could land landlords a £200 fine, which can be reissued until they buy an EPC. It is worrying, then, that the majority of landlords have reportedly failed to get an EPC for their properties, said John Heron, managing director of Paragon Mortgages. People who recently opted to rent parts of their properties, from a failure to sell them outright, who are new to being landlords, rather than hard-nosed investors, seem the most vulnerable. Despite the gloomy ‘buy-to-let’ headlines, and the part nationalisation of the UK’s top buy-to-let mortgage provider Bradford & Bingley, these new entrants appear to be on the increase. Paragon’s quarterly Trends Index, which tracks the activities of 200 landlords, found one-third of landlords are seeing tenant demand rise, as home-buyers delay purchasing decisions. Over the next 12 months, more than half (54%) of landlords said demand for rentals would rise even further, given the absence of any sign that the market for ownership would recover. James Less, a spokesman for the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, said that landlords were enjoying an “increasingly lucrative market” thanks to rental expectations remaining high. He added: “Fears that a change in Meanwhile, investors should note that while they cannot charge the cost of their EPC to tenants, they can take steps to recoup it. "The cost should be factored into the landlords's business plan," Paragon advised, "and the landlord should ensure that he offsets it against his rental income for tax purposes." Sep 29, 2008 Email this article Printer friendly page Previous Page
|
|
  
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| All content © Contractor UK Limited | [Register for News Letter] | [Privacy Statement] | [Terms of Use] | [Top of Page] |