Lay My Hat

Mark Prisk I would imagine

Windy wrote:Mark Prisk I would imagine

Not according to my spell checker............

Sorry GB that should have been Marck

Windy wrote:Sorry GB that should have been Marck

Yup, thit wonks.

Have just received a newsletter from EASCO which refers to the latest guidance published by The Department for
Communities and Local Government regarding EPC's and holiday homes. Here's the link:

http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents ... 905871.pdf

Essentially, the “Frequently Asked Questions” document says that a property let for holiday purposes requires an Energy Performance Certificate except when:
· It is let for less than four months in a year
· It is let under a license to occupy – regardless of the amount of time it is occupied.

From EASCO: "The government’s new guidance puts to rest the doubt about whether a holiday cottage needs an EPC. Unless there is a tenancy – which would be unusual – it doesn’t. There has been no change in the law on this, an EPC has never been required, ever. Owners and agents, however, need to check their terms and conditions."

In a nutshell, it appears that you need to ensure your terms and conditions grant a licence to occupy, rather than a tenancy, in order to be exempt, or unless you only let on a part time basis. So you (the owner) have a right to know who occupies your property, to limit guests etc and retain the right to access the property.

Thanks Nemo - you beat me to it! I received the same this morning.

More power to EASCO, and boo hiss to the weaselly government department that snuck it in very quietly, and to any other organization that should have notified us and fought on our behalf but haven't (yet - no names here).

Although most stuff in T&Cs isn't worth the pixels it's written with, it does seem like it's worth including something that makes clear the form of the contract. Another job for the list.........

Yes, it’s this old chestnut once again, Energy Performance Certificates.
I received an email from Boshers today, it’s their regular electronic newsletter and I was disappointed to see they headline new regulations about EPCs and ask if your holiday home needs one. The article argues at some length that it will be a good thing, and probably is a requirement.
http://www.boshers.co.uk/blog/eco-holid ... icate-epc/

The new regulations dated December 2017 are here
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... llings.pdf

The guidance states at the bottom of page 6 the criteria for when FHL need an EPC

The critical point is how you define “who is responsible for meeting the energy costs of the property”. In my opinion, I pay the bills, therefore I am responsible, ergo I do not need an EPC.

Quote from the newsletter:
Thus an EPC can be used as a real tool in focusing the mind in creating an efficient cottage

No, I don’t think so.

From the new regulations:

The property must meet all the conditions of a furnished holiday let as defined by HMRC and the occupant must not be responsible for the energy costs in order for an EPC not to be necessary.

I pay the bills and the guest does not, therefore an EPC is not necessary. Closed case as far as I can see? Only those owners who ask for money specifically for energy costs would be caught by this.

A timely reminder that we also ought to ensure that our Terms of Use refer to Licenced Occupier/Occupation as opposed to Renter, Rental, Tenant, Tenancy, etc.