Residents of the beautiful seaside resort Port life, Cornwallsay that pressure for a Energy performance certificate (EPC) on old houses has a negative impact on their community.
According to reports, the pressure means that landlords They turn these houses into rental properties or sell the properties in their entirety.
Locals in Porthleven said the problem partly stemmed from government legislation requiring privately rented properties to have an EPC rating of E or above.
For holiday accommodation, on the other hand, this minimum assessment is not required Cornish townsSome houses only receive an F or G rating.
Speak with CornwallLivelocals have said that the EPC policy is having a detrimental effect on the community.
Chairman of the Port life Food Festival Alec Short said it was not the fault of “greedy landlords” but that it was government policy that caused the problem.
Mr Short explained: “Landlords have been forced to convert their homes into holiday lets rather than renting to locals due to Cornwall Council's EPC policy.”
Mr Short added that the policy was “actively causing the massive shortage of rental properties for people in desperate need of somewhere to live Cornwall”. These views were echoed by Porthleven Mayor Mike Toy, who plans to stand for Cornwall Council in 2025.
Mr Toy claimed: “EPC is not doing anyone any favours, it just seems to tick a box for climate and zero carbon. I think they took it too far. No costs have been incurred regarding the consequences for people. Our housing stock consists mainly of granite, corn cobs and very old buildings, so it is very difficult to bring it up to this EPC level. This is the problem.
“You get a row of terraced houses – old fishermen's or miners' houses – built in the 19th century and you can't do anything about it. You can insulate the roofs and install double glazing, but that's about it.
“It is very difficult for locals in Porthleven to find any form of accommodation, especially as Coastline is our main supplier of houses to rent in the village. Once they sell it on the open market, it's gone. It's not just Porthleven, it's all the coastal towns and villages in Cornwall – they're all being eroded, and this EPC rating doesn't help that.”
The problems in Porthleven come after the government announced that all rented properties must have an EPC level C by 2030.
However, CEO of charity Coastline Housing Allister Young warned: “Some of the properties we sell are physically unable to meet the required EPC level by 2030 without significant upgrades, but this is only around one in twenty of homes that we sell. , because our preference is to invest in homes and preserve them.”
In response, a spokesperson said Cornwall Council said: “Regulation is our responsibility and we are proactive in ensuring landlords meet their energy efficiency obligations, rather than leaving tenants to bear the burden. As a result, we have contacted more than 350 landlords and letting agents in the last 12 months and continue to raise awareness of the minimum standards.
“Where homes do not meet the standard, we offer support to landlords through our partnership with Community Energy Plus (CEP). They provide tailored advice on the most appropriate and cost-effective improvements, as well as explaining the different funding streams available to help fund improvements.”
They added: “Across our social housing stock we have a plan to invest £200 million over the next eight years to improve our social housing. The funding will be spent on improvements including new windows, doors, boilers, bathrooms and kitchens.
“In addition, we will also spend £83 million over the next eight years on ongoing maintenance, including issues such as damp and mould.”