£5,000 'Green Tax' Bill To Hit Buy-To-Let Landlords

Hundreds of thousands of buy-to-let homeowners will have to pay  a “green tax” of up to £5,000 to make their properties more energy efficient. Landlords will have to pay upfront for measures such as insulation, cavity wall filling and new boilers from 2018. Until recently they could apply for loans from the Green Deal scheme for improvements, which are then repaid by tenants who benefit from lower bills. But the new Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is proposing owners provide the money. The move will affect 330,000 buy-to-let landlords who own homes that are less energy efficient, often from the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Read more on the Daily Telegraph website.

Green Deal Energy Loans Had 'Abysmal' Take-Up

The government's energy efficiency loan scheme had an "abysmal" take-up rate because it had not been tested with consumers, MPs have said. The "Green Deal" ended last year after providing just £50m in 14,000 loans to households to boost energy efficiency. That was far less than the £1.1bn predicted by the government, with each loan costing taxpayers £17,000. In a highly critical report, the Public Accounts Committee said projections for the scheme were "wildly optimistic". The MPs said the Department of Energy and Climate Change's figures gave a completely misleading picture of the scheme's prospects to Parliament. Read more on the BBC website.

Green Deal Scheme Did Not Deliver Energy Savings

An abandoned government programme to insulate UK homes cost taxpayers nearly £400m and did not deliver energy or carbon savings, a report by official auditors has found. The green deal scheme was launched in January 2013 with the intention of handing out loans to improve domestic energy efficiency. It folded in July 2015 despite claims by David Cameron that his would be “the greenest government ever”. The National Audit Office has examined the scheme for the first time and found that the Department for Energy and Climate Change spent £240m on the scheme. Another £154m has been spent on the green deal home improvement fund which was set up to provide subsidies for efficiency measures, auditors found. Read more on the Guardian website.

Green Deal Funding To End, Government Announces

The government has announced it is to cease funding for the Green Deal, spelling the end for its flagship energy household efficiency programme. The scheme offers cashbacks and incentives on such things as double-glazing, insulation and boilers. The Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) said it took the decision to protect taxpayers, citing low take-up and concerns about industry standards. Labour said ministers' approach to energy efficiency had been a "failure". DECC said it would work with the building industry and consumer groups to agree a new "value-for-money approach". Future schemes needed to provide better value for money, and support the goal of insulating one million more homes and the government's commitment to tackle fuel poverty, it said. Read more on the BBC website.

Green Deal Gamble: The £120 'Bet' That Could Win £1,850

Cash giveaways on energy-efficient home improvements, funded by the Green Deal, could be scrapped after the general election – but £5m remains ready to be claimed. The pot of money, up to £1,850 per household, is available on energy-efficient improvements such as cavity wall and loft insulation, a new boiler and double glazing. The £540m fund set aside to fund Green Deal home improvements has an uncertain future under the next government.  This £70m pot runs out in 10 days and it will be up to the new energy secretary to decide when – if – to dip into the remaining money. But DECC said there was still £5m available for eligible home improvements. Read more on the Daily Telegraph website.

One in Ten Green Deal Companies 'Struck Off' For Breaking the Rules

More than a tenth of companies implementing the Government’s flagship energy efficiency scheme have been banned after breaking its code of practice, ministers have admitted, raising fears thousands of homeowners may be being ripped off by dodgy tradesmen.  New figures reveal that more than 350 of the companies registered to carry out Green Deal assessments or installation work for the scheme have had to be stripped of their certification after breaking its code of practice, which is designed to ensure they are properly qualified and deal with complaints correctly. Read more on the Daily Telegraph website.

Green Deal - £70 Million Available 16th March

The budget for the third release of Green Deal funding is £70 million and will open to new applications from midday, Monday, March 16, to allow households in England and Wales to claim up to £5,600 to help with the cost of installing certain energy saving measures such as solid wall insulation, double glazing, boilers, cavity wall and floor insulation.  Energy Ministers have launched the latest phase of the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund but funds are limited and DECC say it can vary the terms of the scheme (including the incentive rates) or suspend or close the scheme, with immediate effect, without notice and at any time. Read more on the Residential Landlords Association website.

Government to Re-Open £100m Green Deal Fund

The government has re-launched its £100m Green Deal incentive scheme after an earlier version was forced to close. Only £30m of new £100m cash back fund will be available in the first wave. This will be split into two pots £24m for solid wall insulation and £6m for other measures. Households can claim up to £1,000 for installing two of the measures from an approved list recommended by their Green Deal assessor and up to £4,000 for installing solid wall insulation. A second pot of £30m will be released in February. Applications for the first pot are being taken from 10 December. Read more on the Building website.

Extra £100m Green Deal Funding Announced

The government has announced a further £100m for green deal improvements after the scheme closed suddenly in July. Ed Davey, the energy and climate change secretary, announced the additional cash which will be available to fund energy efficiency improvements for homes. Details of how to bid for the funding, and what measures it will cover, will be unveiled in November. Read more on Inside Housing.

Empty Properties Warning After Green Deal Shambles

The National Landlords Association (NLA) has warned the Government to tread cautiously in introducing minimum energy efficiency requirements in the private rented sector (PRS). The NLA has also called for an extension to the deadline for rented properties to reach minimum energy efficiency standards after the difficulties in introducing Green Deal finance into the sector. The warning was outlined in the NLA’s response to the consultation on the implementation of the provisions in the Energy Act 2011 to set minimum standards in the PRS. Read more on the NLA website.

Energy Department Misled Consumers over Green Deal Savings,

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has been ordered to drop an advertising campaign which misled viewers over the savings they could expect to make from the Government’s Green Deal scheme and failed to make clear the costs involved. In a further blow to the much criticised green initiative, DECC was criticised by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) following complaints that it misled consumers.  Viewers complained about a television campaign which implied that savings under the scheme were guaranteed.  But the ASA found that “DECC could not guarantee that Green Deal repayments would exceed savings. Read more on the Independent website.

Bad News for Landlords As Green Deal Fund Is Slashed

The National Landlords Association has slammed the government for reducing the Green Deal Home Improvement Funds (GDHIF) for solid wall insulation from £6,000 to £4,000. Richard Lambert, NLA chief executive officer, said: "Just as the Green Deal looks like it will finally succeed, the government seems determined to sabotage its own policy. The NLA made a strong case to the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) for the incentive payment for solid wall insulation projects to be set at a level that makes financial sense for the landlord to proceed with energy efficiency improvements to a property." Lambert insisted the NLA had got its sums correct. Read more on the NLA website.

Households Clear Out New £7,600 Per Home Green Deal Cashback

Households have claimed £25m from the Government to install insulation and double glazing in the first month of a new cashback scheme. The Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) said 4,405 households in England and Wales have received vouchers to carry out home improvements under the second phase of the Green Deal. The first phase, a loan scheme, was criticised for being too complicated. Ed Davey, the Energy Secretary, said the initial figures exceeded expectations. “The early evidence suggests we have got it right,” he told The Telegraph.  Households can claim up to £7,600 each to install energy saving measures, with the most generous cashback rates on insulation for solid walls. The work has to be financed upfront and then money can be claimed back. There is a pot of £120m available to households this year on a “first come, first served” basis. Read more on the Daily Telegraph website.

Troubled Green Deal Re-Launches with £1,500 Sweetener

Homebuyers who install energy-saving measures within the first 12 months of moving into their new home will be able to claim new grants – typically up to £1,500 – after a government revamp of the green deal. Following a raft of complaints about the original scheme – set up to encourage householders to insulate and improve their homes – and a very low take-up, ministers have responded with a series of financial sweeteners.  From 9 June a £500 payment will be offered to anyone who installs energy-efficiency measures within 12 months of moving into their property.  They will also be able to apply for a further £1,000 cashback, which will be available to all, irrespective of when they moved in, if they fit any combination of two improvements from a list of 12. Read more on the Guardian website.

Guide to the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund

The new Green Deal Home Energy Efficiency Improvement Fund (GDHIF) scheme launched in June 2014 and is open for one year with guaranteed rates for the first £50m. People in England and Wales can get up to £7600 back through a new Green Deal Home Improvement Fund (GDHIF) so they can take control of their bills and have warmer, greener homes. The scheme helps householders to install a range of energy efficiency measures such as solid wall insulation and new heating systems by providing them with money back on the contributions they make towards improvements. Find full details on the GovUK website.

Green Deal Finance Company 'Misled' Consumers

The taxpayer-backed finance company for the government’s Green Deal energy efficiency scheme breached advertising rules by making misleading claims about the savings on offer, in the latest setback for the scheme. The Advertising Standards Authority ruled there had been breaches by the Green Deal Finance Company (GDFC), which provides finance for loans for households to install measures such as insulation or a new boiler, under the Green Deal. The ASA found that GDFC misled consumers by failing to make clear that they may be able to finance the measures much more cheaply using a credit card or personal loan, and that they were not guaranteed to save any money by signing up for a Green Deal. Read more on the Daily Telegraph website.

Green Deal Change Unlikely To Boost Take Up, Says FMB

The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) says changes to the Green Deal loan system the company providing funds for the programme are little more than tinkering at the edges and are unlikely to boost take-up.  The Green Deal Finance Company (GDFC) said last week that it would stop including early repayment charges in Green Deal plans immediately, and called on providers to “look favourably” on waiving any such charges that may have been included in plans that have already been purchased. The GDFC says it has listened to feedback and believes removing the charges will simplify the system. Read more on the Housing Excellence website.

'Government Must Retrofit One Million Homes A Year'

The government must act to retrofit one million homes a year over the next 25 years if it is to end spiralling energy bills and curb carbon emissions, the UK Green Building Council has warned. With Chancellor George Osborne preparing to deliver his budget next week, the UK-GBC is urging him to make energy efficiency a top infrastructure priority, and in doing so "rescue the ailing Green Deal". The UK has over 25 million homes, most of which, the UK-GBC says, are hugely energy inefficient. Homes account for around a quarter of the UK’s total carbon emissions. Read more on 24dash.

Energy Green Deal 'Not Delivering'

Just 626 homes have completed the installation of energy efficiency measures under the Government's flagship Green Deal programme since it started a year ago. 1,612 households had Green Deal plans in progress up to the end of December, with 626 of those having completed the installation of measures such as new, more efficient boilers, solar electricity panels or insulation. Almost 130,000 homes had been assessed since last January with a view to signing up to the scheme, in which providers meet the upfront costs of installing efficiency measures and householders pay the money back from savings they make on their energy bills. The figures have prompted warnings that the scheme is not delivering in its current form. Read more on the Evening Standard website.

'Green Deal' Energy Efficiency Scheme Too ‘Complex’

An ambitious Government scheme to improve the energy efficiency of millions of homes is so “complex” it is likely to be discouraging the public from signing up, the head of the company funding the project has admitted.  Mark Bayley, the chief executive of the Green Deal Finance Company, admitted that the complexity of financing the Green Deal could be putting off a lot of homeowners from taking part. This can involve a number of “home visits”, multiple forms to fill in as well as delays in credit checking. “There are still too many complexities facing the consumer,” he said. Read more on the Independent website.