The topic of energy efficiency continues to be on the agenda, after it emerged that London landlords are most likely to find their homes unlettable when new EPC rules come into force.
Even if the rules get delayed, I think investors should take the opportunity to upgrade their homes when they can, ideally in between tenancies so they don’t have to worry about taking their tenants’ schedules into account.
In an environment where energy prices are sky high, it’s never made more sense to upgrade properties, as you’ll slowly make money back via savings on the heating bill.
What’s more, the clamour to hire tradespeople could intensify ahead of the April 2025 deadline, as landlords look to bring residential properties up to an EPC rating of C, so it’s best to get upgrades sorted ahead of time.
Home improvements don’t have to cost the earth.
Wall insulation only costs around £370-500 and upgrading to energy efficiency lightbulbs is relatively cheap.
Other measures you can take include replacing the boiler or investing in double or triple glazing.
We shouldn’t be surprised that London is so badly affected, given the historic nature of the stock in the city.
The hope is the government comes up with more incentives to persuade homeowners to act on improving their properties after it reduced VAT for home energy improvements from 20% to 0%.
The Green Homes Grant scheme was a total flop, and it remains to be seen whether a new scheme will replace it.
Aside from the EPC changes the topic of heat pumps is an interesting one, given that the government does offer grants towards their installation.
The £5,000 grants towards installing air source heat pumps and £6,000 for ground source are a step in the right direction when it comes to decarbonising UK rental stock, however heat pumps aren’t favoured by EPC ratings – a strange phenomenon that surely needs to be changed.
You wonder Rishi Sunak will talk up the importance of improving the quality of the UK’s housing stock ahead of his election campaign later next year.
We talk a lot about delivering numbers when it comes to Britain’s homes, but making sure those that already exist are up to scratch is arguably just as important when it comes to lowering bills, as well as the UK’s carbon footprint.
