Are you a landlord?

The new Sustainable Tenancies project has been set up to raise awareness of new domestic energy rights and responsibilities for tenants and landlords which, in combination with assessing tenants domestic energy use, will help to reduce fuel poverty and create more sustainable tenancies.

If you are a private landlord with a property in the South Hams (or know family or friends that rent out such a property), were you aware that:

• From April 2016 tenants have been able to request consent from their landlord to install energy efficiency improvements, and they cannot unreasonably refuse.
• From April 2018, landlords of privately rented domestic properties in England or Wales must ensure that they reach at least an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of E before granting a new tenancy to new or existing tenants. These requirements will then apply to all private rented properties in England and Wales from 1 April 2020.

If you would like to know more, why not discuss with project coordinator, Nick White by emailing nick@southhamscab.org.uk. (Nick works two days per week and his regular days are Wednesday and Thursdays). A detailed information pack will also be available soon covering these legislative changes.