Agents have pleaded with government to make the Boiler Upgrade Scheme practical and affordable for landlords.
In its response to proposals from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Propertymark has stressed the concerns of property agents that landlords are struggling to afford energy efficiency improving measures.
Propertymark estimates that 48% of homes in England are lower than EPC C, with an even higher percentage in Wales.
A large percentage of these properties are located within the private rented sector and in England there are an estimated 2.53m homes in the PRS that fall below an EPC C that will require retrofitting, with an additional 109,000 homes in Wales.
Therefore, the industry body is warning government that if many of the landlords who own these properties cannot afford to retrofit them, then they will likely be sold and not likely to return to the back to the private rented sector.
Some 33% of landlords have said they are looking to reduce the number of rental properties that they own over the next five years.
So Propertymark insists that without sufficient financial support, this risks further reducing the supply of homes within the sector, which is already seeing a lack of supply contend with increasing demand from tenants and will ultimately raise rents and reduce choice for renters.
The industry body also calls for the expansion of what can be covered by the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, stating that there are very few grant schemes, especially in England, for people to improve the energy efficiency of their homes, as well as an increase in the amount of funding provided by the UK Government grant.
When surveyed in 2022, Propertymark agents reported that a considerable number of landlords did not access the Scheme because the grant did not cover a sufficient portion of installation costs.
The industry body said that increasing the amount of funding that the Scheme provides will lead to a rise in the number of landlords installing greener heating systems.
Other calls include allowing landlords who access the Boiler Upgrade Scheme to be exempt from investing further in improving EPC ratings, stating that by including “accessed the Boiler Upgrade Scheme” as an exemption for meeting MEES, more landlords will seek to access the scheme.
While Propertymark’s response largely focuses on landlords, it also insists that it is important that homeowners have the opportunity to improve the energy efficiency of their homes as well and referred to both landlords and homeowners where appropriate.
Henry Griffith, Policy Officer at Propertymark, comments: “Propertymark acknowledges the need to retrofit our existing housing stock, which contributes a significant amount to the UK’s annual carbon emissions.
“However, given the existing pressures on landlords and the private rented sector, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero needs to ensure that they provide the incentives and reassurances landlords need to remain in the market.
“When faced with a potential bill of thousands of pounds, we may see many landlords selling some of their portfolio, which will disrupt tenants at best and could remove properties from the private rented sector at worst.
“That is why we are calling for an increase to the size of the grant and for the creation of additional grant schemes so landlords can access funding for a wider range of energy efficiency measures beyond installing heat pumps.”
