From October 1 it will be a legal requirement for landlords to show prospective tenants an EPC when marketing a property for rent. Failure to comply with the legislation could result in a £200 fine and prevent the landlord from offering the property for rent, causing unnecessary void periods.
However, Paragon's Trends research has revealed that the vast majority of landlords still haven't obtained an EPC for their property. With just one week to go, 81% of landlords haven't obtained an EPC for any of their rental properties, with only 5% stating that they have obtained the certificates for all of the properties in their portfolio.
Over a quarter of landlords (27%) surveyed said they were planning to obtain an EPC before the October 1 deadline, but the majority (54%) intend to wait until the existing tenant leaves and they have to market their property for rent again.
However, 8% of landlords are prepared to take the risk and wait until an enforcement officer contacts them before obtaining the EPC, while 11% of respondents said they had no intention of obtaining an EPC for any of their properties.
Paragon Mortgages managing director John Heron said: ‘Landlords cannot afford to ignore the regulations when it can increase the risk of void periods. We expect the percentage of landlords with EPCs for their properties to rise pretty quickly within the first few months of the new regulation's introduction as six-month Assured Shorthold Tenancies come to an end.
‘But we would advise landlords to get their EPCs sorted out as quickly as possible so that they are ahead of the game when it comes to re-letting a property. Every landlord hates void periods and needs to be in the position to react quickly when an existing tenancy ends.'
Paragon Mortgages has produced an interactive guide for landlords on EPCs, ‘The Landlords' Guide to EPCs', which can be downloaded from the www.paragon-epcs.co.uk website. Landlords can also order their EPCs from this website.
