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Last month, lettings legislation was updated to allow landlords and letting agents to perform right to rent checks digitally, through the introduction of the Home Office’s Identity Validation Technology (IDVT) framework. These changes bring right to rent checks for British and Irish citizens in line with the home office online service solution for EEA and non-EEA citizens, which landlords and letting agents have been asking for since the temporary remote measures were put in place due to covid. The launch of IDVT will hopefully streamline the right to rent process, reduce the need for physical documentation, and offers a remote solution for those that may struggle getting to an in-person check.
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In October, the government published its Heat and Buildings Strategy outlining the plan to cut emissions to net-zero by 2050. Part of this strategy includes a target for all new heating systems in residential properties to be low carbon by 2035 and introducing stricter EPC rules for commercial buildings and new-build properties. The end goal is to reduce the UK’s dependence on fossil fuels and avoid the reliance on fluctuating global gas prices, hopefully preventing another energy crisis such as the one we are currently experiencing.
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The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations have been in place since 2015, but at the end of November 2021 the Government announced that they were planning on extending the legislation in domestic rented accommodation subject to parliamentary approval. We have no date yet as to when these changes will become official, but the government has said the update will be passed as soon as legislative time allows.
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Introduced in 2007, an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating is used in England and Wales to measure the energy efficiency of a property on a scale from A - G, with A being the most efficient, and G the least. Currently, to legally rent out a property, it must have an EPC rating of an E or above (excluding exempt properties). However, the government are said to have plans to change the minimum energy-efficiency standards (MEES) to meet their net-carbon zero ambitions. Consultation documents released back in November 2021 suggest the government are planning to prohibit landlords from letting out properties below an EPC band C. Newly rented properties must achieve a rating of C or above by 2025, and any existing tenancies will need to meet this standard by 2028. In 2030, the MEES will then be raised again to a B rating.
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[Pronounced. Fuhng-shwey]
Feng shui is not a set of strict rules that need to be followed to the letter, it can be incorporated into any existing decorative style to complement your personal aesthetic taste. As we know, one of the main aims of feng shui is to encourage a healthy flow of energy, therefore if you don’t like the way something looks, you will find it impossible to create a positive energy towards it. Unfortunately, feng shui is not as simple as buying a load of Yin-Yang symbols and randomly placing them around your home. It’s about understanding how things in our environment relate to one another and ourselves, and arranging them in our space to create balance, and a positive flow of qi. There are a lot of differing practises in feng sui, and not every lesson from the vast schools of knowledge will work for you, so here is a room-by-room guide of some (relatively) easy ideas to implement feng shui, your way.
