Demands for ever-more energy efficient properties could drive landlords out of the sector, the government has been warned.
In a response to a government consultation on the subject, the National Residential Landlords Association backs plans to reduce carbon in homes and improve energy efficiency in the sector, but insists landlords will need support to achieve official targets.
The NRLA is now asking for a financial package for those landlords facing the biggest challenges.
The government wants to introduce a minimum EPC of a C by 2025; the association worries that this could cost well above government estimates of £3,500 to £10,000 depending on circumstances.
John Stewart, deputy director for policy and research for the NRLA, says: “While we broadly support plans to improve energy efficiency in the nation’s housing stock we believe the government needs to give more thought to the unique challenges faced by landlords.
“Landlords in areas where property values are low and homes are older could decide to leave the sector altogether rather than fund expensive improvements.
“As lower property values correlate with lower rents this could have a disproportionate impact on more vulnerable tenants with fewer options when it comes to finding somewhere to live.
“With this in mind, we believe that grant funding should be made available to help tackle these properties, keep tenants in their homes and maintain communities.”
The NRLA also asks for for more detail on the methodology used to come to the price cap of £10,000 and clarity on what the government’s long-term aims are, to allow landlords to plan appropriately.
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The real focus should be on providing more homes, especially for those whom landlords will avoid once more anti tenant legislation is in place. What is the EPC rating of a cardboard box? That's the real alternative unless Government focus on the real issues, which isn't the EPC rating of current properties in demand from tenants.
No one has ever asked about the EPC rating of any of my properties. Yet again the greens are missing the point and will no doubt soon push for demolition of quality Victorian properties to be replaced by thermally efficient shanty towns which won't last 50 years.
thousands of ok properties destroyed by govt edict post ww2 and by prescott-edict in 80s--
Georgian houses in east london also destroyed
and look at the crap replacements
and buildings need ventilation--over heating is also harmful
I have one old property that just managed an F , I had a MEES report done and it was decided that it would cost £14k to bring it up to an E, I now have an exsemption on it, I paid £13.5 k for it over 25 yrs ago and have had that money back many times over, what will happen in 2025 ? if I can nolonger rent it will simply go into auction and take what ever it makes.
"We believe that grant funding should be made available" is the quote in the article. What, at a time when the economy is being trashed by the virus, huge numbers are losing their jobs, and more people are going to food banks and soup kitchens? I really don't think any political party could support this at this time. As Robert states (above), any available money should go to providing more homes.
I agree David, we won't get any grant money, the money will come from tenants by means of increased rent, ''the end user always pays''.
David
I also think the Green lobby should back off from loading existing tenants with yet more costs until more pressing issues are dealt with.
When I was young we only had a coal fire on in the living room, wore sensible clothes and used hot water bottles or electric blankets in bed, even wearing gloves to read in bed!
Instead of unaffordable insulation measures in older properties, they need to focus on affordable insulation measures on younger bodies!
Buy woollen jumpers and save the planet!
I don't care as long as they pay......
Very responsible of you, David. Spirit of Xmas and all that ........
In London the EPC money or anything else can't come from the Tenants as the are not able to pay their rent at present. Thousands have left London because of high costs and ridiculous rules whether it be Congestion daily charge, ULEZ, parking charges, Flower Boxes (money boxes) in middle of road traffic creation Schemes, high rent, high C/tax, property too expensive by comparison to other parts of UK. Say you could buy a one bed Flat in Bradford for £70k & rent it for £450. pm, in Harrow west London one bed Flat £270k. rent it for £900. pm, need I say more but you probably know all this unless you are in one of those bubbles. Then hammered by the Authorities in L'don for extra taxes, Licensing, endless hidden charges.
@Robert Brown.
Electric blanket! Wow, you must have had a very rich family to be able to afford one of those. The extra layer of clothes I can go with provided you had a second change of clothes to use in bed of course.
We had just 1 electric blank but we went to bed in a shift...Youngest kids first and when warm, pass it on to the elder siblings and then later the parents.....
By that time the coal fire had run out, and then a short while longer, the ice would harden on the INSIDE of the windows.
Let's see these feckless, scrounging, non rent paying, DHSS thieves do that!
Mum and Dad had an electric blanket, given by grandparents as a Christmas present.
I presume David C's comment is just a satire of uncaring landlords, purely intended to provoke. (Reminds me of a certain Monty Python sketch .....)
I tried London around 50 years ago as a pretty well paid high flyer graduate trainee but decided to get back to a more modest but more balanced lifestyle in Scotland.
with scottish nazis in charge--sensible scots should leave
Given the 'success' of the Green Homes Grant - firstly overwhelming tradespeople with demand and then taking forever to issue the vouchers - it is difficult to see how we can get this done even with Govt help. Personally I think the Govt should concentrate on getting ALL homes to EPC E before trying to get rentals to C. We also need realistic improvements - heat pumps in Victorian Terraces is not ever going to be the answer!
I still say that if the younger generation wore sensible clothes and kept the doors closed in heated rooms, switching off heating in empty rooms and bedroom s, that would be much greener than any EPC rating nonsense.
heat pumps are a con
In the 70s, my wife used to work for the Greater London Coucil Housing Dept.
She often had to field complaints from council tenants about mould on the walls and ice on the windows. With great satisfaction she used to say she had mould on the walls and ice on the windows of our tiny Victorian terrace in Tottenham. And it was true!
But we could afford an electric blanket and a two bar electric fire downstairs.
It's sad that it's all about one side only for tenants and hammered by all rules and regulation, extra taxes etc. private's Landlords who have also created jobs and earning by providing services like other business.
How they are going to resolve the issues for listed buildings and warehouse converted as there are so many properties like that in London.
No help for that for landlords and for the owners are are working hard and paying mortgages etc.
Government green grant does not mention about any old properties in a conservation area.
Another scam to destroy the middle class and working class by stealth
Corona crap now climate change - which is a natural phenomena and if it wasn't the biggest polluter on the planet by a light year is China !!!
My properties are impossible to upgrade to epc a or b , might as well sell them if they keep moving the goalposts
This tory government strikes me as more left wing than labour !!!
One of my properties is currently an 'E'. It is a mid terraced two-up two-down built in the late 1800s and is a single skin brick wall. EPC report says to get cavity wall insulation (how???), floor insulation, replace the boiler (which is only two years old) and use solar panels. Although they tell me to get cavity wall insulation that's just impossible but I suppose I could go for internal/external wall insulation.
All of my EPCs say the average household produces an average of 6 tonnes of CO2/year. All my properties are well below this level so why are they deemed 'poor'.
All of these alterations would not give me much change from £25-30k - this would take me twenty+ years to recoup. And I'm guessing that as these are 'improvements' rather than 'replacements' there'll be no way you can offset the cost on your tax bills.
There is no way I can afford these changes to get it to a 'C', I'd be lucky to get a 'D'! So I'm guessing come 2025 I'll be selling up and another family will need to find somewhere else to live.
There will be very few Victorian houses that will get up to a 'c' we might be able to get an exemption as I have on a 'F' , If not they will all be going into property auctions, that we will just have to wait and see.
its another con
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