Propertymark calls for greater access to energy-efficiency funding for landlords

Linking energy-efficiency support for private rented homes to tenants’ income risks leaving Northern Ireland’s least efficient properties behind.

That’s the view of Propertymark, which responded to the Northern Ireland Government’s Department for Communities consultation on the proposed £150 million Warm Healthy Homes Fund.

The fund is set to replace the Affordable Warmth Scheme, targeting lower-income and vulnerable households in owner-occupied and private rented properties through a whole-house, fabric-first approach.

Based on tenants’ income

In England, the government has proposed that all privately rented properties must meet EPC C targets by 2030.

Northern Ireland’s privately rented homes currently have an average EPC rating of 61, compared with 67 in England and 65 in Wales.

Under the proposed Warm Healthy Homes Fund, landlords’ access to funding for private rented properties would depend on whether their tenants meet the scheme’s income and benefits criteria, rather than the energy efficiency of the property.

Propertymark argues funding should instead be directed towards the homes most in need of improvement. Under the proposed model, an energy-inefficient property could miss out on support simply because its tenant does not meet the eligibility criteria.

Funding should be flexible

Henry Griffith, senior policy officer at Propertymark, said: “The success of the Warm Healthy Homes Fund should ultimately be measured by how many inefficient homes it helps to improve. Making access to funding for landlords dependent on the income of their tenant risks missing some of the properties that need investment most.

“The cost of improving a property sits with the landlord, so the energy efficiency of the property should be a key consideration when deciding where financial support is directed. If a property is particularly inefficient, that should be a stronger reason for support, not a reason for it to be excluded because of who happens to live there.”

He added: “There are some very positive elements to the proposed Fund. Fully funded measures give landlords a genuine opportunity to improve their properties, while the substantial grants available for whole-house and hard-to-treat properties recognise that some homes will need much more significant investment.

“These are the principles we would encourage the government to consider when developing its own grant schemes. Funding should be flexible, accessible to landlords and targeted towards the homes that are most difficult and expensive to improve.

“If the government wants to improve the energy efficiency of the housing stock, it needs to make sure financial support reaches the properties that need it most.”

Propertymark is calling for landlords to be able to reapply where funding was previously rejected, becomes available later, or installed measures prove ineffective or unsafe.

The industry body also supports the use of approved contractors to provide quality control and protect consumers and landlords from poor-quality or ineffective work.