# Energy Rating



## dodo (22 Oct 2009)

I have a house that I rent out and the lease is up start of December.I heard something about doing a energy rating.If  the same tenants are staying and start new lease December 1 do I still have to do this.
Also can you recommend a guy to do the energy rating and how much would it cost and can you deduct cost when doing tax return.


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## barry251 (22 Oct 2009)

Why bother there must be thousands of landlords out there who are not prepared to fork out for this now legal requirement.They like collecting the rent but mention paying out for anything and you dont see them for dust.


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## Maggs065 (22 Oct 2009)

barry251 said:


> Why bother there must be thousands of landlords out there who are not prepared to fork out for this now legal requirement.They like collecting the rent but mention paying out for anything and you dont see them for dust.


 
"..but mention paying out for anything..." - how about for starters the PRTB fee, property tax, tax on rental income, maintenance costs, the shortfall on mortgage payments every month because the rental income received isn't enough.

Get real Barry!


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## barry251 (22 Oct 2009)

I take you are a landlord.Have your properties been rated or are you not prepared to let an incoming tennant know how cold drafty and dismal the property really is.Regarding the above mentioned tax etc you were not pushed into being a landlord was you or was you thinking about the excessive profits you were going to make in the long run.I am being real.


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## Maggs065 (22 Oct 2009)

barry251 said:


> I take you are a landlord.Have your properties been rated or are you not prepared to let an incoming tennant know how cold drafty and dismal the property really is.Regarding the above mentioned tax etc you were not pushed into being a landlord was you or was you thinking about the excessive profits you were going to make in the long run.I am being real.


 
No you're not being real Barry, you're being very presumptious! I will reluctantly have to let out my PPR as I got married recently and we're living in my husband's house. I bought the house originally for myself and did not envisage my circumstances changing! But such is life. Having researched all the requirements for letting out a house, it is not worth it financially, but I have no other choice. 

And I forgot to mention, I have to give up my TRS  and take out an investment mortgage.


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## dodo (22 Oct 2009)

So can anyone recommend someone to do this energy rating at a fair price,thanks


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## barry251 (22 Oct 2009)

So really you are jumping in on a thread that does not apply to you you must be bored. Back to original posting.Dodo obviously you are playing at the rented game if you are not aware of the BER I think it has only been out 8 months or so.


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## kingtayto (22 Oct 2009)

Dodo,
Check out the SEI website. Here you will see a list of registered assessors in your area. I would advise to get 3 prices to get a good average.


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## murphaph (22 Oct 2009)

barry251 said:


> I take you are a landlord.Have your properties been rated or are you not prepared to let an incoming tennant know how cold drafty and dismal the property really is.Regarding the above mentioned tax etc you were not pushed into being a landlord was you or was you thinking about the excessive profits you were going to make in the long run.I am being real.


Lol. Personally my one and only residential property has not been rated yet because the current tenants have been there since before the BER system became a requirement for new tenancies. HOWEVER, my tenants complained to me that their gas bills were a bit high and they thought there was a strong draught coming in the front door.

I agreed with them and fitted draught exclusion all around the original solid wood door and fitted a new porch door at a cost of €650. Better than any silly piece of paper and it's lovely and snug now-tenants are delighted. All other windows and doors already had uPVC double glazing and this was the weak spot.

But we're all just money hungry pigs who expect our tenants to live in victorian conditions, isn't that right Barry? Truth be told, I look after these tenants because they look after me and my property but also because I wouldn't have it on my conscience to have someone living in a sub standard house (especially with kids) that I owned.

Your notion of a landlord is not the norm. Landlords get the rough end of the legal stick-I can assure you of that.


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## barry251 (22 Oct 2009)

Not all money hungry pigs only 90%. If all landlords lived in their properties for a couple of weeks to see what improvements could be made there would not be any tennants living in sub standard conditions as I'm sure there is.


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## Hans (23 Oct 2009)

Isn't it lucky so that they dont have to live like this anymore as there is an abundance of properties to rent now if they are not happy with where they are living!!!!!


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## murphaph (23 Oct 2009)

Hans said:


> Isn't it lucky so that they dont have to live like this anymore as there is an abundance of properties to rent now if they are not happy with where they are living!!!!!


Exactly. Truth be told most buy to let landlords who entered the market recently bought modern properties in new developments. Only a small proportion of total rental housing stock is sub standard I believe, and most of it would be the bedsit type junk.


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## Buddyg (23 Oct 2009)

murphaph said:


> Exactly. Truth be told most buy to let landlords who entered the market recently bought modern properties in new developments. Only a small proportion of total rental housing stock is sub standard I believe, and most of it would be the bedsit type junk.


 
Do a search on Daft and have a good luck at most of the pictures. Anybody who has viewed rental properties a bit in the last few years knows the amount of hovels there are out there.


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## murphaph (23 Oct 2009)

I would believe a lot of the city centre stuff is hovel-like. I've seen it too. Suburban stuff built in the last decade should be fine, and there's no premium for living in a modern house, so tenants who remain in hovels have to ask themselves, why???


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## dodo (23 Oct 2009)

murphaph said:


> Lol. Personally my one and only residential property has not been rated yet because the current tenants have been there since before the BER system became a requirement for new tenancies.
> 
> Is it not so that only if your tenants have a lease for say 2 or more years then you don't need to get BER, if they renew lease every 12 months then I thought the BER had to be done. It is done on the lease and not the tenants ready to be corrected.


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## murphaph (23 Oct 2009)

My reading of it was that the BER only had to be done when offering a property for sale or for a new tenancy.


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## kingtayto (23 Oct 2009)

Murphaph is correct in that if your tenents sign a new lease since jan 09, then it is their legal right to ask the landlord for a cert. People shouldnt see the BER Cert as a "silly piece of paper". Its there to show tenants or buyers that one house is more energy efficient the its neighbour. I Understand that there are alot of hovel like accomodation, but the BER Cert helps to encourage landlords to improve substandard accomodation and make it more attractive to rent.


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## Pickle (24 Oct 2009)

murphaph said:


> My reading of it was that the BER only had to be done when offering a property for sale or for a new tenancy.


So if a tenant's 1 year's lease is up November 1 2009 and they decide to stay for another year then no rating is needed.
So if they renewed the lease every year for the next 5 years then that house would not need a BER,unless new people rented the house.


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## murphaph (24 Oct 2009)

Pickle said:


> So if a tenant's 1 year's lease is up November 1 2009 and they decide to stay for another year then no rating is needed.
> So if they renewed the lease every year for the next 5 years then that house would not need a BER,unless new people rented the house.


That's my reading of it. Only upon commencement of a new tenancy (read: not just a new lease) is a BER required.


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## delgirl (24 Oct 2009)

barry251 said:


> Not all money hungry pigs only 90%. If all landlords lived in their properties for a couple of weeks to see what improvements could be made there would not be any tennants living in sub standard conditions as I'm sure there is.


Care to back up this assertion that 90% of all landlords are money hungry pigs with statistics, links or any other information which may substantiate your claim?


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## Arazu (26 Oct 2009)

I am in the process of having my 3 bed semi BER rated. I originally bought it as my PPR but as I now live abroad with my husband, I need to rent the house. My property is immaculately kept & is redecorated after every tenancy ends. If the BER rating is a goverment requirement, as a landlord I feel obliged to conform to all legalities.
Dodo, I found the best rate for a 3 bed semi to be BER rated is €145.
If you are interested, please contact me privately for the contact details of the BER man I am using.


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