Landlords urged to comply with EPC laws

Posted: 29 Sep 2008 13:58:12 GMT

Paragon Mortgages has advised landlords to comply with new Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) legislation.

From October 1st, all landlords will be required by law to show any prospective tenants an EPC when advertising a property for rent.

The buy-to-let mortgage specialist warned that failure to do so could result in a £200 fine and prevent the landlord from renting out their properties for a defined period of time, something that could lead to substantial loss of income.

Despite this threat to rental yields, research from Paragon indicated that 81 per cent of landlords still have not obtained an EPC for any of their rental properties with little over a week before the legislation comes into effect.

John Heron, managing director of the lender, stated: "Landlords cannot afford to ignore the regulations when it can increase the risk of void periods.

"We would advise landlords to get their EPCs sorted out as quickly as possible so that they are ahead of the game when it comes to re-letting a property."

According to moneysupermarket.com, it remains to be seen whether the certificates - which rate the energy efficiency of homes - will encourage real estate owners to improve the energy ratings of their properties.

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