Nick Bedson has a rental property in West Sussex with longstanding tenants that he does not want to evict. But he believes he has no choice because it will never meet the new minimum energy efficiency standards.
The listed cottage will never achieve higher than an EPC (energy performance certificate) rating of D, one band below C — the minimum all properties must meet to be legally rented out by a private landlord by 2030, under plans announced by the energy security and net zero secretary, Ed Miliband. Heritage protections do not allow Bedson to replace the cottage’s single-glazed windows with double glazing or install insulation in the flint brickwork walls.
Nick Bedson owns ten rental properties but is planning to sell two of them as it’s so difficult to make eco upgrades
Bedson, 36, has a portfolio of ten properties in the southeast of England, but