Landlords flouting law on energy rating

SINCE January 1, 2009 existing buildings for sale or letting are required to have a building energy rating (BER) certificate. A trawl through DAFT.ie and MyHome.ie shows almost no rental properties have BER certificates.

Landlords, agents and property websites should not be permitted openly to flout the law.

The very few new rentals that do show building energy ratings are in the G category — the least efficient, lowest, worst and coldest category requiring a lot of extra heating. It seems the building boom created not only a bust, but an iceberg of inefficiently insulated dwellings for which exorbitant rents are nevertheless being sought.