A proposed 2030 deadline won’t give landlords enough time to get their properties to EPC C and could cause them to exit the sector, reducing the stock of rental homes, according to Paragon Bank.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is currently consulting on proposed implementation dates of 2028 for new tenancies and 2030 for all tenancies. Paragon argues it should abandon its target in favour of a phased approach to limit disruption to a rental sector already suffering an acute imbalance between supply and demand. It believes 2030 for new tenancies, 2033 for extended tenancies, and 2035 for all tenancies would be more reasonable.
Paragon also says there is insufficient capacity in the retrofit supply chain and labour force to achieve the proposed targets, particularly with the government’s plan to build 1.5 million new homes over the parliament.
It explains that approximately 60% of properties in the private rental sector across England and Wales are currently at EPC D or below, and that 1.6 million properties would need to be upgraded annually to meet the 2030 target. This equates to retrofitting about 2,000 properties in the PRS each day to meet the 2030 deadline, or 4,000 to hit the 2028 deadline.
Louisa Sedgwick, managing director of mortgages, says: “Increasing the delivery timeline and maintaining flexible exemptions allows for a smoother transition to EPC A-C in the PRS, without exacerbating the demand and supply imbalance, which is already expected to grow due to forecast population growth and demographic changes.”
Paragon also wants the government to revert to the original proposal for a maximum investment cap of £10,000 and a seven-year exemption, and to consider the regional discrepancies in energy-efficient properties, with the North and Midlands having a larger proportion of properties below EPC C compared to the South. It says this could lead to increased costs and disruption in these regions.
Tags:
Comments