UK Landlord Forum / Life

Good afternoon,

I'm seeking a little guidance as to what I can do regarding an EPC and my landlord & their agent.

In short we viewed a property in May 2016 and on the same day gave a holding deposit, we were not shown a EPC (nor did we ask for one). On the 24/05/2016 we were asked to sign a tenancy agreement which we did digitally, the tenancy began on the 28/05/2016 – again at the signing no EPC was provided.

A few weeks after we moved in we received a pack from the Agent which included the inventory, a copy of the contract and an EPC. The EPC was dated 30th May 2016 which is after the viewing and the date on which our contract was signed.

The EPC graded the property as a C grade, with a rating of 69 for both 'current' and 'potential' as a 69. Other points to note is that the widows were given 5 stars and described as 'High performance glazing' and the main heating was 4 stars and described as 'Boiler and radiator, mains gas'. The main 5 front facing windows in the property where the wooden original sash windows, and very drafty, and singled glazed. The heating was electric heaters dotted around the flat, there was no gas in the property – the EPC was massively incorrect.

I didn't notice these errors until the winter came when it came to light that the property was hugely under-heated. I asked the Landlord to review the heating but they refused, I therefore dug out the EPC and noticed the errors.

I then arranged for an independent EPC to be undertaken. The 'current' rating was then reduced to an E grade with a rating of 46 and the potential remained as an C grade but was taken to a rating of 72. Most striking of all was that the current cost estimate was taken from £1,905 per annum to £3,093 per annum – an £1,188 increase.

I showed this to the agent and also provided my workings for the required BTU (British Thermal Unit) that would be required to heat the room, my calculation were massively above that BTU provided by the current heating units. The Landlord and Agent agreed to fit new heaters, which they did in December 2016. These heaters were electric heaters that are not energy efficient

Between July 2017 and April 2018 my electric bill was £1,700. I feel I should be able to claim some compensation from the Landlord/Agent. My reasons are:

•   The EPC was done provided until after the tenancy agreement was signed.
•   The eventually provided EPC was obviously inaccurate, I genuinely struggle to believe that anyone visited the property.
•   A new EPC was not undertook once the after the new heaters were installed (I'm leaving this property in 2 weeks and on right move the EPC I got before the new heaters were installed.

I'd be very interested in anyone's thoughts. My initial idea is to send a letter pointing out these errors they've made and hope for the best, if I get nowhere then I'd consider taking this to my Solicitor.

Thanks

From a compensation point of view I think the tricky bit may be demonstrating on the balance of probabilities that you wouldn't have taken the tenancy if you'd been given an accurate EPC at the outset. As you say, one wasn't supplied at the viewing stage so you'd be basing your decision on the evidence of your own eyes, and you could see that the windows were single-glazed and the heaters were electric. When one was supplied a few weeks later, you didn't spot that it bore little resemblance to the property you were renting, which might suggest that you didn't set very much store by it.

Having said that, there's no harm in asking. Try looking up the erroneous certificate here and see if the details match the number: https://www.epcregister.com/searchReport.html

To be honest, if it was a fake, I'd expect a bit more attention to detail but you never know. If it is dodgy then that gives you more leverage.

I believe there is a fixed penalty that can be given to Landlords who fail to provide an EPC - it's a mere £200. I don't know where that money goes if it is upheld. Maybe not the Tenant, so maybe that's why there's hardly any record of it becoming a real issue - unlike Deposit protection failures. The main impact to a Landlord is their inability to serve a Section 21 - which, as a Tenant becomes a bee in their bonnet (as your trajectory is taking you), is a very desirable thing. What I find interesting is that the Landlord has actually performed some remedial action when requested, it implies they're not a playing totally fast-and-loose. I was first thinking it's possible the EPC was really old - like 9 years or something - or pre-dated a major refurbishment - but your date of 2016 doesn't lend much credence to that.

Obviously the current band of E is fine for letting... so it's not like it's the worst transgression you could imagine in this space. Whether the heating is higher than what it should be is too subjective... you could like it hotter than most.

Sometimes it's not possible to go around replacing windows willy-nilly. Don't know enough about what's going on here, but original sash windows are often cherished and increased energy costs can be seen as a price worth paying for retaining the character... which is often what might bring a Tenant into the property.

I've let a lot of property over the years. I always provide an EPC. I've never yet had a Tenant show real interest. They're just not bothered. This is not my impression... they've told me they're not bothered. Colour ink is expensive and I'm handing these documents out to any idiot who shows-up to waste me time. I kid, of course... but I don't kid that no-one cares about the EPC.