The UK’s largest landlord association has called out the Government’s plans to make rental properties reach a minimum EPC ‘C’ band by 2028 as ‘unachievable’.
Ben Beadle, the Chief Executive of the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) says giving private landlords less than two-and-a-half years to complete the huge task – after the plans are confirmed next year – of getting some 2.5 million homes with EPCs under a ‘C’ to that minimum level for all new tenancies by 2028, and for all properties by 2030, is ‘hopelessly unrealistic’.
Reasons for the target being difficult to achieve include a lack of confirmed upgrade funding for landlords, and the plan to raise the ‘minimum spend’ to £15,000 before properties can be exempted, along with a severe lack of skilled tradespeople to do the work.
According to Kingfisher group, the owner of Screwfix, B&Q and Tradepoint, the shortfall in the number of skilled tradespeople in the UK is set to rise to 250,000 by 2030.
Beadle adds: “We want all private rented properties to be as energy efficient as possible. “However, tenants are being sold a pup with timelines that are hopelessly unrealistic.
“The idea that millions of homes can be retrofitted in less than two years is detached from all reality, not least given the chronic shortage of tradespeople the sector needs to get the work done.
“Noble ambitions mean little without practical and realistic policy to match.”
The NRLA also has concerns that Ministers are yet to explain how these extensive works are to be funded and have so far failed to heed advice from the Committee on Fuel Poverty, which has called for the introduction of a bespoke package to support investment in energy efficiency works across the market.
On top of the EPC deadlines, by 2030 landlords are to meet standards related to the fabric of a building, such as installing insulation where possible and required and by 2036, all landlords should then meet further secondary standards related to the installation of smart meters and efficient heating systems.
Some help may be in the pipeline. Last month it was announced that the Government is planning to put more money into the existing Boiler Upgrade Scheme with proposed changes including the ability to access air-to-air heat pumps and electric heating technologies such as heat batteries, which aren’t currently eligible for grants under the scheme.
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