The Government is being urged to allow more time and provide more funding clarity on its energy efficiency ambitions.
Plans were announced last month to introduce a new requirement for rental homes to have a minimum Energy Performance rating of C, with an ultimate deadline of 2030 for compliance. To achieve this, landlords will be expected to pay up to £15,000 per property for improvements.
But the National Residential Landlords Association told energy minister Miatta Fahnbulleh in an industry meeting last week that more time and more clarity over funding is needed.
An update from the NRLA said the meeting focused on barriers to the plans as they stand, “allowing us to raise what we believe to be major issues with the proposals; with support from other leading organisations from both within, and outside, the private rented sector. “
Issues included timescales, with the 2030 deadline described as “unreasonable” or “unrealistic” by some attendees.
Lack of certainty over methodology, funding and enforcement, as well as a lack of skilled tradespeople, were also highlighted as issues.
The NRLA alsoasked for incentives such as greater tax efficiency for landlords carrying out works, suggesting certain improvements could be treated as revenue expenses/allowable expenses for tax purposes – something the minister agreed to discuss with the Treasury.
NRLA policy director Chris Norris, who attended the meeting, said: “This was a positive opportunity for us to engage directly with the minister, who, for her part was keen to encourage an open dialogue, not least on what the timetable for change could and should like.
“Deadlines are only effective if they are reasonably achievable and, with around 2.5 million rental homes currently graded as D-G on their EPC it is clear that what is currently on the table at present is not. Even if the improvements were fully funded and upgrades started tomorrow we still don’t have the tradespeople to carry out the work.
“Pulling thousands, if not tens of thousands of homes from the rental market if they failed to hit the 2030 deadline would have a devastating impact on supply and affordability for tenants – the very people this legislation wants to support, so it is clear more work is needed on these timelines.”
