Landlords may sell up without more support from Boiler Upgrade Scheme warns industry body

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme must provide more financial incentives to landlords or they will simply sell up, claims an industry body.

Propertymark has responded to the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero consultation Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which offers grants to landlords and homeowners to replace gas boilers with heat pumps.

The consultation has new proposals which want to add air-to-air heat pumps to the scheme.

However, Propertymark warns that many landlords are struggling with the cost of retrofitting their properties to meet higher energy efficiency standards—and may decide to sell up if they don’t receive enough financial support.

Landlords will sell up

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has proposed all private rented properties need to meet EPC C targets by 2030 and 2028 for new tenancies.

However, Propertymark warns more than two million properties in the private rented sector in England fall below an EPC C target and will require retrofit to meet energy-efficiency standards.

The industry body claims if these landlords can not afford to retrofit their properties, they will simply sell up.

Henry Griffith, policy officer at Propertymark, said: “We acknowledge 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.”

Exempt landlords from further investment to improve EPC rating

Propertymark has proposed that landlords who have accessed the Boiler Upgrade Scheme should be exempt from further investment to improve their EPC ratings.

The industry body argues that including “accessed the Boiler Upgrade Scheme” as a valid exemption under the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) would encourage more landlords to take up the grant.

Propertymark also says many landlords have not used the scheme because the current grant does not cover a large enough share of installation costs. The industry suggests that increasing the funding available would lead to more landlords upgrading to greener heating systems.