LANDLORDS will have to cough up �200 if they can not provide an energy certificate for their properties in a new crackdown to punish those flouting the law.

Landlords without an official energy efficiency rating are being targeted in a pilot project by Slough Borough Council's trading standards team.

Anyone who rents out or markets a property for sale should have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) issued by an authorised energy assessor.

Landlords will be asked to provide a valid EPC by officers or face a �200 fixed penalty notice. Officers believe the checks will help tackle rogue landlords making a quick buck from renting outbuildings illegally - known as beds in sheds.

Cllr James Walsh, commissioner for health and wellbeing, said: \\\"EPCs are a legal requirement and I'm delighted to hear our trading standards officers are clamping down on this issue, particularly as we will be checking EPCs as part of our crackdown on people living illegally in outbuildings.

\\\"Faced with a potential fine of �200, I imagine most landlords without an EPC will be getting one sorted pretty quickly.\\\"

As part of the project, which began this month and runs until the end of July, trading standards officers will be visiting estate and letting agents and contacting private landlords to ensure all premises are compliant with the legislation.

Dean Cooke, senior trading standards officer, said: \\\"With rising fuel costs, it is imperative that new tenants have a clear idea of what they will be paying for utility bills while living there. It is basically another selling point of a property and therefore must be accurate and genuine.\\\" An EPC gives a property an energy efficiency rating from A (good) to G (poor) and is aimed at providing important information for potential tenants or buyers on how much the home will cost to run.

Landlords will have seven days to provide a valid EPC if they don't already have one.

EPCs must be registered at www.epcregister.com and landlords need to show the documentation to anyone who moves in.

For more information visit www.slough.gov.uk/tradingstandards