While many sections of the property industry welcome the change of tone in Rishi Sunak’s approach to green issues, one group of activists is less impressed.
Dan Wilson Craw, deputy chief executive of Generation Rent, says: “Cancelling higher standards for rented homes is a colossal error by the government. Leaving the impact on the climate to one side, it makes the cost of living crisis worse and damages renters' health.
"One in four private renters lives in fuel poverty and, without targets for landlords to improve their properties, they face many more years of unaffordable bills.”
Sunak last evening confirmed that, amongst other things, landlords will no longer have improved EPC ratings to meet, while the Boiler Upgrade Grant scheme by give larger grants of £7,500 to help households who want to replace their gas boilers with a low-carbon alternative like a heat pump.
Wilson Craw goes on: “Energy efficiency is also an essential part of a home's quality. Backtracking leaves the government's levelling up mission to halve the number of non-decent rented homes in shreds. It also undermines ministers' promises to tackle the scourge of mould-ridden homes that killed Awaab Ishak.
"Both tenants and landlords need support to upgrade private rented homes, and the Prime Minister recognised that 'big government grants' help make it affordable.
“But without higher standards, landlords have no reason to accept tenants' requests for improvements.
"The government's dithering over these standards in recent years has led to the housing sector being unprepared for the original 2025 deadline. Ditching it completely is both cruel and out of proportion to what the Prime Minister wants to achieve.”
Under revised plans, the Government will:
- Scrap policies to force landlords to upgrade the energy efficiency of their properties, but instead continue to encourage households to do so where they can;
- Raise the Boiler Upgrade Grant by 50% to £7,500 to help households who want to replace their gas boilers with a low-carbon alternative like a heat pump;
- Delay the ban on installing oil and LPG boilers, and new coal heating, for off-gas-grid homes to 2035, instead of phasing them out from 2026. Many of these homes are not suitable for heat pumps, so this ensures homeowners are not having to spend around £10-15,000 on upgrading their homes in just three years’ time.
- Set an exemption to the phase out of fossil fuel boilers, including gas, in 2035, so that households who will most struggle to make the switch to heat pumps or other low-carbon alternatives won’t have to do so. This is expected to cover about a fifth of homes, including off-gas-grid homes - those that will need expensive retrofitting or a very large electricity connection.
- Rule out policy ideas that would require people to share cars, eat less meat and dairy, be taxed to discourage their flying, or have seven bins to hit recycling targets – removing worrying proposals that would interfere in the way people live their lives.
- Move back the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by five years, so all sales of new cars from 2035 will be zero emission. This will enable families to wait to take advantage of falling prices over the coming decade if they wish to.
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Epcs are just another layer of pointless red tape that mean nothing in the real world
No surprise generation rant support them , utterly clueless
Generation Rant are upset.
Oh Dear, How Sad, Never Mind.....😀
Proof this charity (business) is not fit for purpose. It supports the policy that would have seen so many of those it proclaims to support on the streets. These so called charities that take donations for there fat salaries from people that give with good intentions should be investigated and banned.
Generation Rent should be a banned organisation because they are doing so much harm to the interests of tenants due to their complete lack of judgment over every issue.
Big Auction live today London in the room or you can watch on-line,
Yesterday’s announcement should help a few sales.
Suck it up Gen Rant 😂😂🎉🎉
Don't they realise they are cutting of their noses to spite their face. Forcing EPC upgrades will reflect in increased rents they end up paying. I appreciate millennials/zoomers with their 6th former utopian idealism who don't leave home until 30 are understandably mollycoddled but sadly this is the real world.
They can have their EPC C and maybe save a pound or 2 on their energy bills but with the extra cost of large rent increases to cover the landlords costs, are you sure that is what you want generation rant?
Wilson Craw goes on: “Energy efficiency is also an essential part of a home's quality. Backtracking leaves the government's levelling up mission to halve the number of non-decent rented homes in shreds. It also undermines ministers' promises to tackle the scourge of mould-ridden homes that killed Awaab Ishak.
First thing, the poor little chap Awaab was in Social Housing which is not us good people.
Second, fuel poverty is not really helped is it when the average saving is less than 200 quid a year. It means most homes are already efficient.
Third, does it stick in the Craw Dan?
I will add to that that the sad death of Awaab could have been prevented had his parents bothered to wipe down the condensation and mould with a little hot water and bleach, child neglect, pure and simple
What with climate change we live in a period where it’s warmer than ever for us. Combined with advances in clothing technology tenants should be warmer than ever and therefore need less heating.
‘ One in four private tenants are in fuel poverty’ I doubt it, where is the justification for this figure. Another unqualified statement of doubtful validity.
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