Government promises ‘clamp down’ on landlords who are lagging on energy efficiency
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) announces landlord engagement campaign as it unveils plan for £10m green home innovation competition
The government has this week unveiled a series of initiatives designed to bring the UK’s large and growing private rental sector in line with the country’s climate goals.
The plans, which include a new £10m competition designed to boost innovation of green home technologies and financial products and a council-led energy efficiency engagement campaign targeted at landlords, are designed to encourage landlords to boost the energy efficiency of their properties.
Since April last year, privately rented homes must meet a minimum energy performance rating of EPC Band E, with landlords caught failing to comply liable for a £5,000 fine.
The government said that the “clamp down” on errant landlords could boost the fortunes of 40,000 families living in cold and draughty homes across 59 local authorities in England and Wales.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) also announced yesterday it had unlocked £4.3m in funding for councils to lobby landlords on the need to reduce the climate impact of their homes. Funds are set to be allocated to a wide range of initiatives, it said, from local radio ads, roadshows and workshops, to mail campaigns and free property surveys – with one council unveiling plans to buy a drone with thermal imaging capacity to help with on the ground inspections.
The government said the funding was part of a broader campaign to protect consumers from gas price hikes, with energy efficiency improvements and low carbon heating systems set to reduce households’ reliance on fossil fuels. The push is also designed to help move the UK closer to its climate goals, with the private rental sector responsible for a significant chunk of the building sector’s emissions.
“Heating our homes and buildings makes up almost a third of all carbon emissions, meaning raising the energy efficiency of our properties is something we all have to contribute to help us build back greener and reach our world leading climate ambitions,” said Business and Energy Minister Lord Callanan. “This funding will help councils to support landlords with these important energy efficiency changes, but also enforce these standards, helping tackle fuel poverty and ensuring everyone can live in a warm home with fair energy bills”.
The government announced the landlord engagement campaign on the same day it unveiled plans for a new Green Home Finance Accelerator designed to spur innovation in green technologies and financial services that can help private landlords decarbonise the properties they own.
The £10m grant programme will support high-street lenders, financial technology businesses, and energy suppliers to build new products to make it easier and more affordable for homeowners to switch to low carbon heating systems, BEIS said. It said it plans to launch the programme, which draws its funding from the £1bn Net Zero Innovation Fund, next Spring.
Greg Hands, Minister for Energy and Clean Growth, stressed the competition would not only bring the country closer to its aim of reaching net zero emissions by mid-century, but it would also help grow the economy.
“Ensuring our buildings and homes are powered by clean energy is an essential step we need to take in order to meet our target of reaching net zero emissions by 2050,” he said. “The UK government is stepping up to the challenge with a new Green Home Finance programme to help drive forward the development of cutting-edge green finance products and services for homeowners that will not only transform the nation’s green property landscape, but also help create more green jobs, as we build back greener.”
