New funding for EPC improvements – but it’s not enough for landlords

New funding for EPC improvements – but it’s not enough for landlords

9:58 AM, 1st October 2024, About 2 weeks ago 19

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A new funding pot has been announced by the government to support energy efficiency improvements in England, but many landlords may still be left out in the cold, the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) warns.

The ‘Warm Homes: Local Grant’ scheme will provide grants of up to £30,000 for landlords to improve their first rental property and up to £15,000 for additional properties.

However, the funding is capped at a maximum of £15,000 per home for energy performance upgrades and £15,000 for low carbon heating.

Only landlords with properties in eligible postcodes, whose tenants are benefit claimants or low-income households, will be eligible for the grants.

The NRLA has welcomed the move but would like to see support available for those landlords who do not fall within the remit of the scheme.

Scheme excludes many landlords

The NRLA has welcomed the move but criticised the scheme for excluding many landlords.

Meera Chindooroy, the NRLA’s deputy director for campaigns, said: “The nature of the scheme means that huge swathes of landlords across the country will be, quite literally, left out in the cold.

“It’s also unclear if there will be enough to pay for improvements across the areas already selected to benefit.

“The PRS has some of the oldest, and hardest to improve, properties within the UK housing stock and what we would like to see is a comprehensive package of financial support available to landlords across the board.”

Money distributed by local authorities

To qualify for government grants, properties must have an EPC rating between D and G and the grants will be distributed by eligible local authorities.

Energy Security Minister Ed Miliband has announced plans to increase the minimum energy efficiency standard for rental properties to a C rating by 2030.

To be eligible for the grants, households must meet one of the following criteria:

  • Eligible postcodes: Based on deprivation factors.
  • Benefit claimants: Tenants receiving benefits such as Universal Credit or housing benefit
  • Low-income households: Gross income below £36,000 per year.

Councils will verify that grant applicants meet these requirements.

Landlords seeking Warm Home grants

For landlords seeking Warm Homes: Local Grants, the NRLA says they must:

  • Share their details: Provide permission for their information to be stored on a central database
  • Participate in surveys: Agree to support evaluations of the grant programme
  • Adhere to funding limits: Ensure that total grant funding received does not exceed £315,000.

Eligible local authorities can apply for funding starting in October.

There is no limit on the number of properties a landlord can claim for, but the maximum grant amount per Landlord remains £315,000, including any previous grants received.

More information is available from the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero which has published guidance and a list of eligible postcodes.


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Neil Patterson

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14:01 PM, 1st October 2024, About 2 weeks ago

Reply to the comment left by Keith Wellburn at 01/10/2024 - 12:00
Correct that should be £315,000 per individual Landlord not per property and now corrected thank you 🙂

Reluctant Landlord

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15:12 PM, 1st October 2024, About 2 weeks ago

Had a good read through this document.

Most salient point to me is after working out that some of my properties would be eligible is that at the point of the company coming out to initially assess, it states they take into consideration of the occupiers actual expenditure on current heating costs because the PRIORITY of this scheme is cost saving to the occupier, with the carbon saving being of secondary importance.

They look at the cost that it should take to heat it to the correct temp to work out if and what measures would be best to be taken to reduce this occupier cost.

In other words if the occupier does not spend what they are expected to be spending to heat the property now then no cost savings could be made - no work will be advised.

So essentially tenants that are eligible because they are in a deprived area/have low income and cannot afford to put the heating on, will not benefit in any way from the scheme !

BONKERS!

Martin Richardson

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15:29 PM, 1st October 2024, About 2 weeks ago

Reply to the comment left by K Anon at 01/10/2024 - 11:16
Hi, thanks for the 50mm cavity information.I have a 1910 Victorian house with narrow cavities and possibly corroded wall ties. Do you have any references or reports to this being a problem that I can refer to please.
Many thanks,
Martin in Paignton.

K Anon

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16:01 PM, 1st October 2024, About 2 weeks ago

Reply to the comment left by Martin Richardson at 01/10/2024 - 15:29
Hi,
Your best bet is to get independent check, iirc the nub of it is there needs to be sufficient gap or you risk rising damp issues.
The cavity is to protect the inner wall

GlanACC

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16:08 PM, 1st October 2024, About 2 weeks ago

I do have some sympathy here, cos whatever the government introduce it will never be enough for some people. I had 2 properties upgraded with ECO4 grants. You can't expect the government to pay for everything (they still have to find money for Grenfell, tainted blood scandal, post office scandal etc). However they COULD give tax relief on the upgrades which at the moment I believe are not allowable against profits but are classed as capital improvements - this would help if they could be immediately tax deductible.

AnthonyJames

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22:08 PM, 1st October 2024, About 2 weeks ago

I looked into this: my area not included in the postcode lottery, my tenants aren't on benefits, and it's totally unclear is income per HMO tenant is under £36K each, or their total income is under £36K
But the kicker is that your LA needs to apply to join the scheme. If it doesn't, it appears you are stuffed automatically. Why you wouldn't apply, I don't know, but my LA hasn't.

I tried to apply for ECO4 but the energy assessor I tried to hire to specify what should be upgraded took one look at the house and address and said there was no point: people in the South never get anything close to what the websites promise. The full grants only goes to the North of England in his experience.

Southern Boyuk

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23:04 PM, 1st October 2024, About A week ago

So grants are available but many of us landlords gad to pay out of our own pockets

Sian Astley

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7:49 AM, 5th October 2024, About A week ago

Reply to the comment left by Martin Richardson at 01/10/2024 - 15:29
You can have a replacement wall tie system installed, this was quite the thing in the late 90s when a company I ran used to do it, all surveyors asked for it due to the high risk of the external skin of brickwork peeling away from the inner due to corroded ties. Not seen one example of that happening since, go figure. A cavity wall insulation system shouldn’t affect the new steel wall tie system.

Mick Roberts

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11:18 AM, 5th October 2024, About 7 days ago

Ed needs to watch the news where it's now out there that often this insulating homes externally & internally, that weren't built for it, are now causing mould & condensation. I've been trying to tell em this for 16 years.
Giving Grant money to start up contractors that pack up business next year leaving house & tenant in the crap.
I'm all for this, had I think 48 boilers fitted free 2013 & 46 fitted free 2022, but my first free internal wall insulation fitted free 2023 is now showing internal damp condensation-Not sussed it yet.

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