Energy Bill 'provides certainty' for landlords
Owners of buy-to-let properties may to some extent welcome the government’s new Energy Bill, it has been claimed.
Last week, energy and climate change secretary Chris Huhne announced details of the bill which included the setting of minimum green standards for rental homes.
From April 2016, landlords may not refuse "reasonable" requests from tenants to improve the energy efficiency of their properties.
Furthermore, from April 2018, it will be illegal to rent out a property which has a rating of less than an E for energy efficiency.
While these measures may be seen as placing extra burdens and expenses on landlords, John Alker, director of policy and communications at UK Green Building Council, believes many will welcome the degree of certainty it brings to green regulations.
"It places stronger emphasis on the need for landlords to upgrade their properties. Where as previously there was the capacity for the secretary [Chris Huhne] to review that, this now has to be done," he commented.
"Although it's slightly counter intuitive it actually provides a bit of additional certainty for landlords, because they know they have to do this, they have five or six years to do it, [and] they can plan ahead and start getting their house in order."
The government estimates that at least 682,000 buy-to-let properties will have to be improved to meet the bill's requirements.
These improvements can be carried out under the Green Deal, a government scheme which allows property owners to carry out energy efficiency upgrades and pay for the cost out of the savings such upgrades provide.
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