Press release received this lunchtime:
PRESS RELEASE
26 September 2008
EPCS BRANDED A WASTE OF TIME
Nine out of ten of tenants aren’t interested in the energy performance certificate content, according to estate agent Marsh & Parsons. 91% of renters rated EPCs lowest on their list of renting criteria. Cost, location, property condition and size were all deemed more important than a property’s energy rating.
The introduction of EPCs on all rental properties on the 1st of October has been branded a waste of time by prospective tenants and the agent alike.
Emilie Dawes, lettings director at Marsh & Parsons said: “People choose a rental property based on rent, location and wow factor. An EPC won’t persuade a renter not to choose a place they love – it doesn’t carry that much weight.”
When asked to consider a property’s eco-efficiency, renters said their top priority would be double-glazing.
Emilie Dawes continued: “You don’t need an EPC to see whether a house has double glazing or not. The landlords we work with see little value in providing EPCs to their tenants – the information they contain is of limited use for marketing a property. Similarly, the tenants we spoke to thought the content irrelevant.”
While the information contained in the EPC is potentially of use for landlords wishing to improve their properties environmentally, the value for renters is limited - particularly in light of the certificates’ length of validity. Certificates on homes for sale are valid for one year, while EPCs on rented properties last for ten. Tenants do not recognise the value of an up-to-date EPC – a certificate eight years out of date is arbitrary.
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Related posts:
on Sep 26th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
I’m sure the millions of people who are at risk of slipping into fuel poverty this winter will be concentrating on the ‘wow’ factor.
on Sep 29th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
EPC data will be relevant when linked directly to economic drivers - when a good EPC looks like an ASDA price promise consumers will get it, want it and when oil hits £200 a barrel, demand it.
on Sep 30th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
I’m sure idiots up and down the country will be outraged at being compared to estate agents.
on Oct 2nd, 2008 at 2:01 pm
Interesting reading. Another example of time and money invested in research to discover what was obvious in the first place.
on Nov 17th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
Finally, someone talking sense about EPC’s. They are a total waste of time. Valid for 10 years, I don’t suppose there is a chance that any aspect of a property’s energy performance could possibly change inside a decade…??