Revamped EPC to be launched

estateagenttoday.co.uk - 20th April 2011

A revamped EPC is being worked by government advisers and is set to be implemented early next year.

The revamp will follow a raft of changes due to implemented in two stages, on July 1 and October 1.
If the October 1 proposed change goes through, it should mean agents not having ti print forests of extra pages as had been feared.

The October 1 proposal is that the full EPC - not just the ratings - will have to be printed and attached to all particular. However, all the associated recommendations will not have to be attached. This would mean that agents would have to add one more double sided A4 page to their particulars.
There is likely to be one crucial change. Denis purshouse, senior civil servant at CLG who advises on housing matters, said that for the purpose of EPCs attached to property particulars, the address of the property will not be included.

Green Makeovers improve appeal for tenants and cut costs

easier.com - 11th April 2011

According to a recent poll the buy to let market has reaches record highs with 41 per cent of landlords planning to increase rents during the next 12 months. This is concerning news for many tenants who, as a result of the increased cos of living due to escalating fuel prices and the recent VAT rise, are already struggling to make their payments on time, pushing them into debt and leaving their landlords to pay the mortgage.

The Government has stated that it may introduce new regulations to force landlords to improve the energy efficient features is one of the simplest ways for a landlord to make a property more cost effective to run. The Landlords Energy Saving Allowance currently offers financial support in the form of a tax allowance up to the value of £1,500 to help support landlords that choose to implement energy saving measures.