With landlords expected to be letting properties at EPC grade C or better by 2030, the current 52.2% of properties missing the target should be cause for concern – however, while there are developments with grants for energy efficiency improvements, there is yet to be a reversal on rules classing them as improvements.
Over the last week, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, has spoken to numerous publishers and television programs stating that there was more to be done to help landlords and owners to meet targets, including that he was in the process of speaking to Chancellor Rishi Sunak about a possible replacement for the Green Homes Grant programme.
The Business Secretary believes that heat pumps – like those set to feature in Wirral regeneration efforts – could reduce in price while Chief Executive of the NRLA, Ben Beadle, has stated:
The Chancellor needs to develop a financial support package that works for landlords and tenants. This should especially be targeted at the hardest to treat properties where the cost of work will be prohibitive for landlords. In this way, he will also be doing the most to help the fuel poor.
Given that the government’s own research states the following, the concerns expressed by everyone from landlords up to and including the Business Secretary seem to be well founded:
The average cost to bring a privately rented dwelling to EPC C is more than for a social rented dwelling, but less than the average for owner occupied homes.
The average cost to bring a privately rented dwelling up to EPC C is £7,646. This is compared to £5,979 for a social rented dwelling, or £8,579 for owner occupiers
With many already upset by a raft of legislative changes during the last decade, the appearance of shifting the cost of the government’s emissions targets onto private landlords has caused understandable outrage.
In addition to issues with the previous Green Homes Grant, which folded with little warning in March, there are also concerns that replacing existing reliance on gas central heating could be a non-starter. Despite heat pumps providing a reliable and low energy alternative, there is a huge skill shortage where installation is concerned.
However, Managing Director of heat pump maker Stiebel Eltron UK, Mark McManus, is quoted by The Guardian as stating:
“If there’s any problem in the industry, it’s probably the skills gap […] There are a small number of well-trained installers in the UK. But once this skills gap closes there is likely to be better service and greater competition, which could cause costs to fall further.”
With landlords and tenants, in line with UK opinion, in favour of action to tackle climate change, there is plenty of willingness to affect change within the private rental sector – what is needed now is action by central government to offer the right kind of incentives to make changes affordable for landlords.
What this means for Wirral Landlords
While landlords wanting to start making enquiries about possible grants can start with Wirral Council, it looks likely that, with sustained pressure, there could be another government U-turn on the options offered to landlords to assist bringing properties up to the C rating. The next few years are likely to be vital to even approaching the targets set by the Paris Climate Accord, so there are plenty of reasons to believe that rumoured grant programmes and legislative changes will arrive in the next 12 to 18 months that will at least soften the blow of bringing properties up to the standard expected for 2030.
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