Government Plan To Improve Energy Efficiency Will Increase Rents

The Government’s decision to remove all financial support for landlords hoping to make homes more energy efficient will inevitably raise rents. New laws mean that from 2018 it will be illegal to rent out property with an energy efficiency ratings of F and G and now the RLA is warning that forcing landlords to carry out costly works without support will have a knock on effect for tenants. Nearly a third of private rented housing was constructed before 1919 making homes to let some of the hardest to treat properties for energy efficiency improvements. With fuel poverty a bigger challenge in the private rented sector as a result, the RLA argues it is remiss that the Government’s consultation on the future of the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) makes no reference to the private rented sector. Read more on the RLA website.

Energy Efficiency Progress on Social Homes Stalls

Progress in making social homes more energy efficient has stalled after radical cutbacks in the amount energy companies contribute to works, a new report has found. Consultancy Sustainable Homes has reviewed the environmental performance of 66 social landlords to reveal the average energy efficiency rating is the same now as it was in 2012. It attributed this ‘in large part’ to changes made to the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme under which the target for insulation work funded by energy companies was cut back by a third – with many landlords axing schemes as a result. The Sustainable Homes review reveals the average SAP rating of around one million social homes has dipped from 70.9 to 70.3. Read more on Inside Housing.

DECC Demands Evidence of Green Deal's Impact on UK Housing

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has asked for evidence of the actual in-situ performance of energy efficiency measures available to UK housing under the Green Deal and Energy Companies Obligation (ECO).  Organisations procuring and delivering Green Deal and ECO measures are being asked to share their research findings and reports. Property stock holders, the wider housing industry, trade bodies, manufacturers, academic and research organisations are all being asked to contribute to the call for evidence. Read more on 24dash.

Abandoned British Gas Scheme Restarted

A £20m home insulation scheme which was controversially cancelled in Nottingham has restarted. Changes to the Energy Companies Obligation led to British Gas pulling funding towards a scheme which would have insulated hundreds of houses. Nottingham South MP Lilian Greenwood said she was delighted it was going ahead after months of campaigning. British Gas said the decision followed extensive talks with the housing association Nottingham City Homes. About 2,000 people living in council-owned and privately-owned homes in Clifton signed up to the scheme only to be disappointed in January when British Gas announced it could no longer afford to provide funding. Read more on the BBC website.

Tenants to Save After £11m Eco Scheme

Social housing tenants in the West Midlands are set to save "hundreds of pounds" on their household bills after the completion of a £11 million eco improvement programme. Social landlord Whitefriars Housing has spent three years making its homes more energy efficient - and has claimed that some tenants could see savings of up to £300 a year. Contractor Wates Living Space, which carried out the works in partnership with British Gas, has made adaptations to more than 1,000 homes in Willenhall over the course of the programme. Read more on 24dash.

Registered Providers Pivotal To Green Deal Success

The HCA and Sustainable Homes have published Dealing Green: Options for Registered Providers, designed to help the sector realise the benefits of the Green Deal for their business and their residents. The guide sets out options for how Registered Providers and local authorities can get involved in the government’s Green Deal initiative to make 14m homes more energy efficient by 2020.  As part of its enabling role the HCA has supported the guide so that it can inform Registered Providers and help them best take advantage of the Green Deal. Both the Green Deal and the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) are described in the guide, as are the implications for providers of social housing.  The guide also outlines the key decisions that they need to make, and suggests the risks and advantages attached.  Download a copy of the report from the HCA website.

Extra 800,000 Social Homes to Benefit from ECO Fund

The National Housing Federation (NHF) has welcomed the Government's move to make the new Energy Company Obligation (ECO) available for more types of energy efficiency works than planned, adding that 800,000 additional social households could now benefit.  Under the existing plans part of the £1.3 billion ECO fund - which is intended to 'top up' Green Deal finance for hard to treat homes where the cost of the energy measures exceeds repayments - was to be restricted to private homes because social homes had already benefitted from the Decent Homes programme.  However, the Deputy Prime Minister has announced that support will be opened up for more types of energy efficiency works - including those on hard to treat cavity walls which are well represented in social housing - and that more targeted support is also being considered for those on a low income, including those in social housing. Read more on the NHF website.  Read more on the NHF website.