Private landlords in Warwick district to face hefty fines if they fail to meet energy efficiency requirements

Private landlords across the Warwick district who fail to bring their rented homes up to a required level of energy efficiency will face hefty fines from next month.

They will have to pay a £2,000 penalty if their rental falls below the standard for up to three months and this will be doubled for longer rentals.

Other fines will cover the failure to comply with a compliance notice and if the landlord provides misleading information.

The measures were agreed at this week’s executive meeting of Warwick District Council although it was noted that there are a number of exemptions to the ruling.

A report to the meeting explained that regulations from the start of April meant private rental housing in England and Wales needed an energy performance certificate (EPC) rating of band E or above.

At the council’s overview and scrutiny committee, which called in the item, portfolio holder for housing and property Cllr Jan Matecki (Con, Budbrooke) admitted it would not be straightforward implementing the new policy.

He said: “There is a limitation of £3,500 that a private landlord needs to spend on the recommendations of the EPC rating and on top of that there are a lot of exemptions which will normally last for five years or six months if you are a new landlord.

“The actual policing of this is going to be difficult. It is a trading standards obligation and we are hoping to enforce it with these fines.

"You are going to have to have tenants coming to us or you are going to have to have someone checking every new rental property which comes on the market which is near impossible.

“We will do our bit to get this done as quickly as possible but I don’t want to raise any expectations.”

The report explained that the number of people housed in private rented accommodation now exceeds those living in socially rented properties and that those with an EPC rating of F or G contributed to avoidable greenhouse gas emissions.

It added that increasing the energy efficiency of a property can help reduce energy costs for tenants, reduce carbon emissions and lower demand for energy thereby smoothing seasonal peaks in energy demand.