Minimum EPC requirements
A SAL member recently alerted us that the BBC Radio 4 You And Yours presenter stated during her broadcast on 9th October that landlords in Scotland will have to comply with an EPC rating of C from next year. This is not correct.
There is currently no legislation in place to introduce a minimum energy efficiency standard in Scotland, but the government published it’s latest proposals in a consultation paper in November 2023. The latest proposals are that from 2028 private rented sector properties must:
EITHER have installed certain energy saving features (currently proposed to be loft insulation, cavity wall insulation, draught-proofing, heating controls, hot water cylinder insulation, suspended floor insulation – only measures relevant to the property would be needed e.g. if your property doesn’t have cavity walls you won’t have to install cavity wall insulation);
OR have a fabric EPC rating of C.
It is important to note that EPC reports don’t currently display a fabric EPC graph. This is a new graph that is planned to be added to EPCs in the future to show how well insulated the property is. So it is impossible to know currently whether your property will meet a rating of C by this measure.
For further information on the proposals click here.
We are expecting the government to publish draft legislation before the end of this year to start the process of legislating on these proposed duties.
SAL policy manager Caroline Elgar will be giving a presentation on this topic at Scottish Letting Day on 19 November. To book a place at the event click here.
