Renters facing steeper energy bills

Toward the end of last year, the government announced that plans to compel landlords to enhance the energy efficiency of their rental properties have been put on hold. This could result in renters facing steeper energy bills.

LANDLORDS’ SAVINGS, TENANTS’ LOSS?

In addition to this, buy-to-let property owners can breathe a sigh of relief as the government has abandoned plans to enforce energy efficiency upgrades on some rental properties. While this decision may alleviate financial stress for landlords, it could lead to higher energy costs for tenants.

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THE GOVERNMENT’S ANNOUNCEMENT

The government has made several notable announcements:

• The Boiler Upgrade Grant will see a 50% increase to £7,500, benefiting landlords looking to replace their gas boilers with low carbon alternatives.
• Landlords are no longer compelled to invest in making their properties more energy efficient to achieve an EPC rating of C by 2025.
• The deadline for banning the installation of oil and LPG boilers and new coal heating for off-gas-grid homes has been pushed back to 2035 from 2026.
• An exemption has been announced for the 2035 phaseout of gas boilers, which will assist an estimated fifth of households struggling with the transition to heat pumps or other low-carbon alternatives.

PATH TO NET ZERO OR A DETOUR?

The government maintains that these measures provide a ‘proportionate and realistic path to reach net zero by 2050’. However, critics argue that these changes may hinder progress towards this target.

Many landlords had been preparing to invest in enhancing the energy performance of their rental properties. The government’s previous proposal under the Minimum Energy Performance of Buildings Bill would have increased the current minimum EPC rating from E to C for new tenancies from 2025 and for all rental properties by 2028.

However, this announcement indicates that landlords will not be forced to upgrade the energy efficiency of their properties and will instead be encouraged to do so where possible. This removes the impending EPC targets for landlords.

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