At an event not so long ago a very senior individual from a top six UK mortgage lender addressed the assembled guests and simply stated that without further clarity, he thought his organisation had gone as far as it could in setting the groundwork for Energy Performance Certificates and their impact on property value. It wasn’t, in all truthfulness, very far.

Everyone concurred. But if lenders are struggling to make sense of the EPC (does it measure the right things, is it reliable?), it’s not hard to imagine how landlords and brokers feel. For our part, it means being clear and communicating promptly is incredibly important.

What we do know is that the EPC, for all its current inadequacies, is here to stay – even if it will likely look very different in a few months’ or years’ time.

Significant changes are already in the pipeline and due before the end of the decade. Now that sounds a long way off but when you consider how few landlords are ready for the changes already in play for 2025 and 2028 then you can quickly see how brokers may find themselves having to pick up the pieces of their clients’ misunderstanding. The first issue is to be clear what is expected by the due dates but from a broker’s point of view the remedial works and financial stress that incurs will be where they can really add value.

For a start, investors, developers, and landlords should, if they are not already doing so, be assessing, and planning for the cost of upgrading works. This may mean understanding if there is likely to be any loss of rental income if their property can no longer be rented out while work is being done or is awaiting work to complete before putting it back on the market. There is also the issue of any fines that may be received if works are not carried out in time. Exemptions may apply but these will require landlords to make relevant applications. All this activity will fundamentally alter the financing requirements and even viability of certain property for rental. And of course, ensuring that there are contractors to carry out these works in time is important. A surge in demand for labour may prove inflationary and costly too if not booked in early.

Ultimately, all this hard work and potential unforeseen expense will need thinking through, but it is essential as landlords will need to be able to demonstrate that there is an appropriate EPC rating in place; or that all the ‘relevant energy efficiency improvements’ that can be made have already been made, or that there are no such improvements to make; or that there is a valid exemption.

The uncertainty should not deter landlords from acting. EPCs are likely to remain the benchmark of measurement whatever the broader political or economic weather and acting now is likely to at least avoid the inevitable bottleneck in getting assessments when the due date comes around.

Landlords will need assistance in not only financing the changes they decide to make but in deciding what those changes should be and when to undertake them. From the brokers perspective, showing you not only have the financial answers but also a grasp of what is a complex set of changes will mean you can add real value to a landlord’s plight.