My team and I, and many landlords, have been waiting with bated breath for the 12th May when the changes to the healthy homes standards took effect, and I am pleased to report that it was worth waiting for, but, like a lot of legislation there is certainly some fine print which is frustrating, and makes no sense!
Let’s start with the positive. We have had a couple of brand new properties where heating reports were previously failed due to the heating capacity, and when re-calculated they are not only sneaking in, but now complying by on average 2-3 KW, which is an enormous change. There is however a timeframe around this as the report can only be updated to reflect the new heating requirement if it is recalculated within 90 days of the commencement of the tenancy.
The Government did this to stop any landlords holding off from increasing the heating in their rentals until the new calculation came into effect on 12th May, so essentially if you are a day out – you will not comply!
Now, if your brain works logically, you will no doubt feel just as I do about this bureaucracy, and so try to think outside the box a little, but unfortunately the law is the law, and failure to comply could result in a hefty fine if you don’t. I have spoken to both of our healthy homes inspectors and they both agree with me that it makes no sense, and will not in any way adversely affect the tenants, which after all is what the healthy homes standards are all about, but as I said the law is the law.
There will of course be a lot of landlords out there who are angry that the heating tool was not accurate in the first place and they have spent a large amount of money replacing heat pumps or installing larger than necessary units, and that is understandable, however always one to look on the bright side, I am at least thankful that sense has prevailed and the heating calculation for modern homes now makes sense!
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