Government move raises hope of cash help for energy improvements

One of the UK governments has backed a call for private landlords to get cash help to meet new Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards.

The Welsh Government says it accepts all 29 recommendations of the Welsh Parliament’s Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee report on decarbonisation of the private rented sector, either in full or in principle. 

This includes the call for them to provide more detail about how regulatory standards will be used to guide retrofit activity across the Welsh private rented sector.

In its response toe  Welsh Government also concedes that the ageing private rented housing stock in Wales means many landlords may be forced to take drastic action to meet energy efficiency targets. 

As a result, many will be forced to sell their rental properties, commission cheaper retrofits which may not be as effective over the long term, or pass the costs of work on to tenants.

Most notably, the Welsh Government accepts that the introduction of revised Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards by the UK Government may necessitate some form of financial assistance for Welsh landlords. 

Specifically, the Welsh Government says that “if the UK Government introduces a requirement to meet EPC C and does not provide financial support, there could be a need to look at funding grants and/or loans to support improvements”.