As a landlord you should be aware by now that any properties you lease out have to have a valid Energy Performance Certificate that can be shown to your tenants. Ignorance can`t be used as an excuse anymore because from 1st October 2008 this practice must be adhered too. This is good news for tenants as they can peruse a property`s EPC before they commit to renting. By looking at the certificate they can work out what the property is likely going to cost them to run. Plus if landlords think about it, the Energy Performance Certificate should be good news for them as well, because they can persuade tenants to rent out their houses and flats if the energy rating is decent. It`s easy to obtain an Energy Performance Certificate, as home inspectors can conduct the assessment on their behalf. If a landlord has made their property as energy efficient as they possibly can be there`s no reason why it shouldn`t receive a good rating. Scaled from A to G, the current and potential energy efficiency of the dwelling is shown on the report. This can help sway tenants one way or another as the more energy efficient properties tend to get snapped up quickly.

Properties in London tend to sell for much greater prices than those in other areas around the country. Yet a property that doesn`t have an Epc London might struggle to sell at all. Home owners that are selling properties have to provide home information packs and inside these packs should be an energy performance certificate. This piece of paper will show potential buyers how energy efficient the house is at the moment and how efficient it could be if improvements were carried out. Inspectors can visit homes in the capital to provide them with an Epc London. If the sellers have actively made sure that there house is very efficient it stands a much better chance of being sold. Landlords in the city also have to provide an Epc London for their tenants to look at before they sign any type of rental agreement. This allows the tenants to check out how efficient the rental property is when compared to other properties in the area. Comprehensive certificates are graded from A – G, with ‘A` being highly efficient and ‘G` being a poor performer. It makes sense for renters to pick properties with good energy efficiency levels as they will save stacks of money in the long run on their utility payments.

Before you commit to signing a contract for a rented property have you checked out its Epc? Failure to do so could mean that you end up paying fortunes for your heating bills each year. The good news for tenants is an energy performance certificate can help them to save money in the long run. Weigh up different properties and the reports on their energy levels will help you to find a good rental home that will be highly efficient when it comes to heating bills. The Epc is required on all rental properties and it also shows up in home information packs too. People that are selling their homes can provide detailed packs to potential buyers and it shows how efficient the home is when it comes to energy. The current ability of the dwelling is clearly shown, as is the potential of the property if improvements are made. This will be music to the ears of many house buyers that want to save money on their energy bills in the future. Just think about it for minute before you sign on the dotted line for that rental property, and make sure that you check outs its Epc first. Fail to do this and you could be throwing money down the drain as all your hard-earned cash disappears on extortionate fuel bills.