A STUDY OF PROPERTY LISTINGS IN GREATER MANCHESTER

March 2014

The heat and power used by the nation’s homes is a significant part of the UK’s energy consumption. Our homes currently make up 27% of the UK’s carbon emissions1, which means that energy savings here will play a large role in meeting the country’s emissions reduction targets. The rise in energy bills in recent years has also become an increasingly important factor in public debate – currently political disagreements about how to tackle rising household bills dominate the media most days and are a top concern of the public. The Big Six energy companies have increased their domestic dual-fuel energy bills by an average of 37%2 over the last three years, according to recent figures from Citizens Advice. Over the same period, average wages have only increased by 4.4%. Both Friends of the Earth and 10:10 are clear that it is the UK’s addiction to fossil fuels that have been responsible for these rising bills and that getting off these polluting sources of energy alongside dramatically improving the energy efficiency of the housing stock is essential. The energy efficiency of a property is measured by its Energy Performance Certificate(EPC) on a scale from A (the best) to G (the worst). This rating has a dramatic impact on a householder's annual expenditure on heating and lighting. A recent survey3 by the British Property Federation gave an example of an F-rated detached property that would have an annual fuel bill of £2,200, whereas if the same property was upgraded to a B rating the fuel bill would be reduced to only £318 – a saving of £1,882. The same improvement from F rating to B rating for a Victorian end terrace would reduce energy bills from £1,777 to £380 – a saving of £1,397. It follows that the EPC rating of a property is a vital factor to take into consideration when choosing a new home to buy or rent. New owners need information so they can see what might be improved. Tenants are dependent on the landlord to carry out improvements so it is vital for them to be able to find out the energy rating of a property before taking out a lease on it. Fuel poverty is especially high in the rented sector which has the highest proportion4 of the very worst insulated homes. For prospective tenants to act on energy efficiency information of homes either to shift the market so that landlords realise that better insulated properties are more desirable or to avoid the worst insulated properties, they need to have the energy rating clearly signposted early in their search for a new home. Most househunters in the UK find out information about prospective properties via the marketleading website Rightmove, which has a market share of 81%5 according to the most recent available figures. In December 2012, the Department for Communities and Local Government issued guidance6 on Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) stating that “all advertisements in the commercial media 2

must clearly show the property’s EPC rating, where this is available” and “where there is adequate space, the advertisement should show the A-G graph.” Given the statutory requirement for property advertisements to show EPC data, searching on Rightmove would appear to be the easiest way to find out a property’s energy rating. In May and June of 2013 Manchester Friends of the Earth reviewed property advertisements on the Rightmove website in the Greater Manchester area, on estate agents' websites and in estate agents' windows, to assess the extent to which this guidance is being followed and prospective owners and tenants are being made aware of information which could have a dramatic impact on their energy bills. In January 2014 – a year after the new rules on advertising were introduced - a further review of a sample of rented property ads on Rightmove was conducted to see if the situation had changed.

Main findings 

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In May/June 2013, just 40% of rented property adverts in the Greater Manchester area on Rightmove included EPC information. In a sample taken seven months later in January 2014, this had increased very slightly to 44% – still less than half. In May/June 2013 only 7 estate agents out of 241 had EPC data for all their properties and nearly half of all estate agents we reviewed had EPC data for less than 20% of their properties. Estate agents’ own websites reviewed gave more information than their shop windows. More than half of the 30 estate agents visited had no EPC ratings on any of the adverts in their windows.

Rented property listings on Rightmove During May and June 2013, the listings of 10,432 rental properties in the Greater Manchester area on the Rightmove website were checked to see if they included Energy Performance Certificate ratings7, either in the form of the rating letter (A to G) or a link to an EPC graph. For each property, we recorded the estate agent associated with the property listing and whether the listing had an EPC rating. Of the listings checked, only 40.4% included EPC ratings. In January 2014 a sample of 1,000 rented property ads on Rightmove across Greater Manchester showed that 43.9% of ads included EPC information, an increase of just 3.5 percentage points and still less than half of the rented properties listed.

Performance of estate agents In May/June 1013 we also assessed the performance of individual estate & letting agents. For each agent with 10 or more properties listed on Rightmove, we calculated the percentage of listings which included EPC information, and then gave each agent a rating according to that percentage (A = 92100%, B = 81-91%, C = 69-80%, D = 55-68%, E = 39-54%, F = 21-38%, G = 0-20%).

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Overall, of the 241 agents we assessed, only 7 had EPC ratings on all of their listings (3%), and 64 had EPC ratings on none of their listings (27%). Almost half (46%) of agents had EPC ratings on 1 in 5 or fewer of their property listings (which earned them a G rating):

. We looked in more detail at the results of the 20 estate & letting agents with the most listings in Greater Manchester on the Rightmove website:

The following chart represents these results in a style similar to an EPC graph, showing which estate agents scored ratings A to G:

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Property listings on estate agents' websites As well as looking at rented property listings on the Rightmove website, in July 2013 we also reviewed a sample of listings of properties for sale or rent on the websites of 30 estate agents that we found operating in central and south Manchester during July 2013 to see if they included information on energy performance. Each estate agent website was rated on (in order of importance):   

The proportion of property listings in our sample with energy performance information What kind of information is provided (e.g. a visible graph as recommended by the Government scores more highly than a letter or a link to a graph) How the information is referred to (e.g. “Energy rating” scores more highly than the acronym “EPC”).

The three best-rated websites (Julie Twist, South Manchester Flat Agency and Edward Mellor) had full-sized EPC graphs visible on the majority of the property listings in our sample. Next best were Shepherd Gilmour & Thornley Groves, who had reduced size graphs on most of their listings. The websites awarded two stars had EPC graphs on some of the listings in our sample, or either an EPC rating letter or a link to an EPC graph on the majority of their listings, while those awarded one star only had EPC rating letters or links to EPC graphs on a few of the listings we saw. And we didn't see any EPC details on the listings we reviewed on the six worst-rated websites (Brooklands, Ian Tonge, Emma Hatton, Ryan & Baker, Key Properties, Craven Properties). Julie Twist, South Manchester Flat Agency, Edward Mellor Shepherd Gilmour, Thornley Groves Curtis & Bains, Gascoigne Halman, Jets, JP & Brimelow, Martin & Co, Philip James, Rooftops, Whitegates, Woodhall Properties, Wren Properties Jordan Fishwick, Bridgfords, Andrew Snape, Jones Lang LaSalle, Northwood, Reeds Rains, Suttons City Living, Trading Places, Vital Space Brooklands, Craven Properties, Emma Hatton, Ian Tonge, Key Properties, Ryan & Baker

Adverts in estate agents' windows We used similar criteria to rate the advertisements (for sale or rent) in the windows of 30 local estate agents (visited during July 2013, each estate agent was visited once). Julie Twist scored highest as the only estate agent to include EPC graphs in their shop window adverts, and two estate agents were awarded three stars: South Manchester Flat Agency for including the energy efficiency and environmental impact rating letters, and Jones Lang LaSalle for including both the energy efficiency rating letter and number. 5

Only three of the remaining estate agents managed to get two stars, with EPC letters on most of the adverts in their windows, while six more got one star for having EPC letters on only a few of their adverts. Most surprisingly, more than half of the 30 estate agents we visited had no EPC ratings on any of the adverts in their windows.

Julie Twist Jones Lang LaSalle, South Manchester Flat Agency Philip James, Curtis & Bains, Wren Properties Jordan Fishwick, Gascoigne Halman, Ian Tonge, Reeds Rains, Thornley Groves, Whitegates Andrew Snape, Bridgfords, Brooklands, Craven Properties, Edward Mellor, Emma Hatton, Jets, JP & Brimelow, Key Properties, Martin & Co, Northwood, Rooftops, Ryan & Baker, Shepherd Gilmour, Suttons City Living, Trading Places, Vital Space, Woodhall Properties

Adverts in local newspapers Finally, we reviewed advertisements placed by estate agents on three dates during January 2014 (9th, 16th and 30th) in a local newspaper, the South Manchester Reporter, and rated them against the same criteria used to rank the adverts on estate agents' own websites and shop windows above. Of the 12 estate agents with newspaper adverts, none included EPC graphs in their adverts. Bridgefords, JP & Brimelow and Reeds Rains scored best of the twelve with two stars for including EPC rating letters for most of the properties they advertised, while eight of the other nine estate agents scored no stars because they didn't including EPC ratings on any of their adverts. Bridgefords, JP & Brimelow, Reeds Rains Jordan Fishwick ABC Estates, Gascoigne Halman, Julian Wadden, Kaye Mackenzie, Philip James Kennedy, Sanderson James, Trading Places, Vital Space

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What do the regulations say? UK law on Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) is based on the requirements of the European Union Energy Performance of Buildings Directive8. This states in Article 7 that: “Member States shall require that, when buildings or building units are constructed, sold or rented out, the energy performance certificate or a copy thereof is shown to the prospective new tenant or buyer and handed over to the buyer or new tenant.” And that when properties with an EPC “are offered for sale or for rent, the energy performance indicator of the energy performance certificate of the building or the building unit, as applicable, is stated in the advertisements in commercial media.” The Energy Performance of Buildings Regulations (England and Wales) 2012 (which came into force on 9th January 2013) state that for any building with a valid Energy Performance Certificate “the asset rating of the building must be stated in any advertisement of the sale or rental in commercial media.” For the purpose of clarity it is worth noting that it is not the responsibility of the publication or media to ensure that adverts carry an EPC rating. Guidance issued by the Department of Communities and Local Government9 (DCLG) states that “From 9 January 2013 all sales or lettings advertisements in the commercial media should show the EPC rating of the property being advertised.” It states that commercial media includes: “newspapers and magazines, written material produced by the seller/landlord/estate agent that describes the building being offered for sale or rent, the internet”. It recommends that the advert should show the A-G graph but where this is not possible the simple EPC rating can be used e.g. C. However a valid EPC is not required to start marketing a property but it must have been commissioned (i.e. an energy assessor contacted to conduct an EPC inspection). The Energy Performance of Buildings Regulations state that a property can be marketed for 7 days without an EPC as long as it has been commissioned (and for a further 21 days if despite all reasonable efforts one has not been secured) and therefore the energy rating doesn’t have to be shown on the ads until the EPC arrives. This loophole in the UK regulations means that without examining how long each of the properties examined in this study had been on the market it is impossible to conclude whether they may be in breach of the regulations (there are also other exemptions allowed from the regulations to have an EPC, for example if a property has Listed Status). It is unlikely that every property lacking an EPC in their ads had been marketed for less than 7 days (or fell within one of the other exemptions in the Regulations). However only an investigation by a Trading Standards Officer would reveal if a specific instance was a breach of the Regulations. A Freedom of Information (FOI) request made by 10:10 showed that the government estimates that while 95% of domestic property sales comply with the requirement to have an EPC, just 26% of

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domestic rentals are estimated to do so. However it should be noted that having an EPC when the sale or rental is completed is not the same as displaying it properly when marketing the property. Despite this, a further FOI request from 10:10 has recently shown that the Department for Communities and Local Government holds no data on the number of actual prosecutions for failing to have an Energy Performance Certificate when a property is made available for sale or rent. The duty to enforce the Energy Performance of Buildings Regulations is given to local Trading Standards. However the Energy Performance of Buildings (2012) Regulations do not give Trading Standards a duty to enforce the specific requirement to show the energy rating in adverts.

Conclusions and recommendations While some of the estate agents we assessed are providing the public with clear, high quality information about the energy performance of the properties that they are selling and letting, the majority are failing to follow the spirit of DCLG's guidance. The lack of energy performance information on adverts in estate agents' windows and local newspapers is particularly apparent, but it is also notable that on the Rightmove website, 6 out of 10 property listings have no EPC details and almost half of estate agents don't supply EPC details on their listings. With ever-increasing energy prices and the urgent need to slash carbon emissions, it is more important than ever that consumers are able to make informed choices about the energy efficiency of the homes they are buying or renting. The difference between a well and poorly insulated home can be many hundreds of pounds a year. Beyond the financial gains of living in a well-insulated home, living in a cold home is strongly associated with challenges to mental and physical wellbeing. Insulation can literally be a matter of life and death.

Recommendation 1 All estate and lettings agents should ensure that all properties are marketed and advertised with Energy Performance Certificates in place from day one and with prominent energy rating graphs and ratings displayed, as the best in our survey have shown is possible.

Recommendation 2 The government must tighten the Energy Performance of Buildings regulations to eliminate the loophole allowing 7 days of marketing without an EPC and to ensure the law is enforced by Trading Standards so that all property adverts and marketing materials contain energy efficiency ratings and all properties offered for sale or let have an Energy Performance Certificate.

Recommendation 3 Local Trading Standards offices must be pro-active in enforcing the regulations.

Contact Ali Abbas, Manchester Friends of the Earth, [email protected], 07786 090520. Dave Timms, 10:10, [email protected], 020 7388 6688

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1

Home Truths: a low carbon strategy to reduce UK housing emissions by 80%. University of Oxford Environmental Change Institute, 2007. 2

Energy Bills rise by 37% in three years. Jamie Dorward / The Observer, 2013.

3

A British Property Federation guide to energy efficiency and the private rented sector. British Property Federation, 2013. 4

English Housing Survey headline report 2011-12. Department for Communities & Local Government, 2013.

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Rightmove profits from stronger housing market. Herald Scotland, 2013.

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Energy Performance Certificates for the construction, sale and let of dwellings. Department for Communities and Local Government, 2012. 7

For the purpose of clarity it is worth noting that it is not the responsibility of the publication or media to ensure that adverts carry an EPC rating. 8

DIRECTIVE 2010/31/EU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 19 May 2010 on the energy performance of buildings (recast). Official Journal of the European Union. 9

Energy Performance Certificates for the construction, sale and let of dwellings. Department for Communities and Local Government, 2012

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