From October 2008 landlords offering property for rent will be
required by law to provide prospective tenants with an
Energy Performance Certificate for their property.

The certificates (‘EPCs’) will have to be provided free either
when (or before) any written information about the property
is provided to prospective tenants or a viewing is conducted.
They will not have to be provided if the landlord believes the
prospective tenant is unlikely to have sufficient funds to rent
the property or is not genuinely interested in renting, or the
landlord is unlikely to be prepared to rent the property to the
prospective tenant.

A new certificate will not be required on each let since, in the
case of rental property, EPCs will be valid for 10 years.

The requirement is being introduced to comply with the EU’s
Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) which
applies to all property, including rented property.
This became law in 2003 .

Landlords wishing to make energy saving improvements to
their properties either before or after obtaining an EPC are
offered some help from the Government.

The Landlord's Energy Saving Allowance, originally
introduced in April 2004, now covers loft insulation,
cavity wall insulation, solid wall insulation, draught proofing,
hot water system insulation, and floor insulation.
Expenditure on these items would otherwise be treated as
capital expenditure – which means it could not be deducted
from rental income to arrive at a taxable item. However, the
LESA allows up to £1,500 per property spend on such items
as a straight deduction from rental profits. Further details are
on the Inland Revenue website .

   www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2004/revbn31.htm
The allowance is to run until 2015. The ‘per property’ rule
(rather than the former ‘per building’ restriction means that
for a house converted into three flats an allowance of £4500
can be claimed. However, the allowance is not available for
holiday lets or resident landlords.