Home Buyers Paying Premium Of Up To £40k On Energy Efficient Houses

Home buyers wanting to settle down in the top energy efficient homes face prices of up to £40,000 more than less sustainable options. Environmentally aware home buyers are willing to pay a ‘green premium’ as homes in all parts of England and Wales sell for a higher price depending on the quality of their energy performance. Houses on the market in England and Wales must have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), which ranges from ratings A-G and is valid for ten years. A represents the ‘greenest’ grade and G is the least. Read more on the City AM website.

https://www.cityam.com/home-buyers-green-premium-40000-energy-efficient-homes/ 

Higher Energy Efficiency Has Only ‘Modest’ Influence On House Prices

The house price premium for a property with a higher energy rating – A or B – is just 1.7% compared to a D-rated home, new research from Nationwide shows. At the other end of the scale, houses rated F or G run with a 3.5% discount over a D-rated property, the lender’s report adds. These values are likely to change over time, however, especially if the government takes measures to incentivise greater energy efficiency in future to help ensure the UK meets its climate change obligations.  Regulation means that socially rented houses have the highest energy efficiency ratings, followed by privately rented stock. Read more on the Mortgage Strategy website.

https://www.mortgagestrategy.co.uk/news/higher-energy-efficiency-has-only-modest-influence-on-house-prices/ 

Energy Efficiency Changes 'Could Cost Landlords Billions'

A review of the proposed increases to energy efficiency standards in homes has concluded the overall bill for the private rental sector could reach £29 billion. Geospatial technology company Kamma has released their analysis which estimates that 2.9 million privately rented homes (65% of those on the EPC register) are below the Government target energy efficiency grade C. With 2.9 million homes needing to improve, and an estimated average cost of £9,872 per home, the total bill facing the sector could hit £29 billion. While an enormous cost, this could cut emissions by 2.8 million tonnes a year. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/energy-efficiency-changes-could-cost-landlords-billions.html 

Data Shows Green Homes Grant Scheme Inefficiencies

Data released by the DBEIS shows that, despite receiving over 100,000 applications, only a small amount of pay-outs were actually made during its lifetime. The Scheme was designed to help homeowners and landlords improve the energy efficiency of their property, but after the announcement earlier in April that applications are now closed, there is a real need for an alternative plan from Government to help support the drive to cut UK carbon emissions. Since its launch last September 2020, the Scheme attracted a total of 113,700 applications, with 10,300 measures installed but only 6,700 homes receiving the money from the Scheme so far, way off the original target of 600,000 homes. Read more on the Arla website.

https://www.arla.co.uk/news/april-2021/uk-government-data-shows-green-homes-grant-scheme-inefficiencies/

Social Landlords Are Eligible For The New Green Homes Grant Scheme

More detail on the £2bn Green Home Grants scheme has been published, confirming that social landlords are eligible to bid for funding. The scheme provides funding to support home energy efficiency improvements. As a minimum, improvements must include measures that improve insulation and/or deliver low carbon heating, such as the installation of heat pumps or solar thermal. Homeowners, including private and social landlords, can apply for two thirds of the cost of improvements with grants capped at £5,000. Low income households qualify for grants worth up to £10,000 to support energy efficiency upgrades. Some funding has been set aside for local authorities. Read more on the NHF website.

https://www.housing.org.uk/news-and-blogs/news/social-landlords-eligible-for-green-homes-grant-scheme/ 

Home Insulation Scheme Must Guarantee High-Quality Work

The government must ensure homeowners receive high quality improvements under its new energy efficiency scheme, campaigners and MPs have said. Under the plan, the government will pay at least two-thirds of the cost of home improvements that save energy in homes. The Green Homes Grant will be launched in England in September. But the chair of Parliament's business select committee, Darren Jones MP, has expressed concern about how people will be protected from poor quality work. Read more on the BBC website.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53492536

Countryside Faces ‘Fuel Poverty’ Crisis

People living in rural areas have been left behind by government drives to make homes more energy efficient, charities have warned. This leaves them vulnerable to rising energy prices. Research by National Energy Action and the Campaign to Protect Rural England shows that rural areas are five years behind urban areas in the energy efficiency of homes – and are paying nearly 55% more for their fuel as a result. The charities have called on ministers to establish new energy-efficiency initiatives to help people reduce their energy consumption, particularly those in fuel poverty, who cannot afford to heat their homes. Read more on the Observer website.

All Landlords Need To Know About The Conservative Manifesto.

There are hints that incentives might be used to encourage landlords to offer longer term contracts, including;

• Fair Debt - A fair debt policy – creating a “Breathing Space” for those in serious problem debt, protection from further interest, charges and enforcement action for up to six weeks. This would be beneficial for vulnerable households who are caught in a spiral of debt.
• Equality - Equalities law will be strengthened so that private landlords who discriminate are properly investigated and prosecuted. This comes as the Government are facing possible legal action over Right to Rent.
• Energy Efficiency - A commitment to upgrading all fuel poor homes to EPC band C by 2030.

In conclusion - Tenants are now clearly seen as consumers by the Conservatives with landlords being seen as providing a service.

Read more on the NLA website.

Fear Keeps Private Sector Tenants Shivering In Cold Homes

Tenants living in the private rented sector are enduring cold homes because they are worried about high heating bills and fear eviction if they complain to their landlords, according to research by Sheffield Hallam University (SHU). The research was carried out to provide a better understanding of the “lived reality” of energy efficiency in private rented sector housing. It was funded by the Eaga Charitable Trust, an independent grant-giving trust dedicated to combating fuel poverty. The private rented sector is the fastest growing tenure in England. It houses a higher proportion of poor and vulnerable households than any other tenure and contains a higher proportion of the least energy-efficient properties. Read more on the SHU website.

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 Policy A ‘Tax On Tenants’

Tenants may face higher rents due to the impact of energy efficiency. New laws mean that from 2018 it will be illegal to rent out property with the worst energy efficiency levels. The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) is warning that having removed all support for landlords to fund this, the impact will be to raise rents for tenants. Nearly a third of private rented housing was constructed before 1919, making them some of the hardest to treat properties for energy efficiency improvements. Read more on the RLA website.

£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.

A Small Win For Energy Efficiency: Tenants Can Now Request Improvements

The 1st of April was a small step forward for energy efficiency: tenants in private rented accommodation now have the right to request energy efficiency improvements. There are numerous caveats, even loopholes. Nevertheless, where a tenant requests their landlord’s consent to making energy efficiency improvements to the landlord’s property, subject to certain requirements and exemptions, the landlord ‘may not unreasonably refuse consent’. This precedes a more significant change from 2018 when it will become illegal for very poor quality (EPC band ‘F’ and ‘G’) properties to be let – albeit with more conditions and exemptions attached. Read more on the Sustainable Homes website.

MPs And Peers To Consider Energy Efficiency Of Rented Housing

The All Party Parliamentary Group for the private rented sector has launched an inquiry into the energy efficiency of private rented housing. From 1st April 2018, all privately rented properties will be required to have a minimum energy performance rating of E on an energy performance certificate. This is likely to pose significant challenges given that privately rented homes are generally older and harder to treat than properties in other tenures. The group’s inquiry follows the government’s decision not to renew the landlord energy savings allowance in the March budget. This had originally been introduced to encourage landlords to improve the energy efficiency of the properties they let but was dropped because of low take up. Read more on 24dash.

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.

Energy Efficiency in Social Housing ‘Stalled’, Says New Report

Social landlords are struggling to make inroads into the energy efficiency of homes, a new analysis of the sector has found. The report, which collected data from landlords accredited with the SHIFT sustainability standard, looked at the progress made since 2012 on a host of measures, from the residents receiving energy saving advice to preparedness for flooding. The standard measure for measuring energy efficiency, ‘SAP’, was static between 2012 and 2014, indicating that landlords are facing severe challenges in an unstable funding environment. But SHIFT-accredited landlords were still performing better, on average, than the rest of the social housing sector on this measure. Read more on the Housingnet 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.

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.

Can We Afford Not To Build Sustainable Homes?

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has published new research into the cost of building more sustainable housing. It asked if sustainable homes could be built more cheaply, and compared a range of approaches. The research found that building more energy efficient homes costs between 2.5% and 12.9% more per dwelling. The key question is not can we afford to build sustainable homes, but can we afford not to? The long term consequences of allowing our existing stock to remain energy inefficient outweigh the costs of addressing them now.  Download a copy of the report from the JRF website.