Most people will be aware that the Government has made tackling climate change a primary goal over the next few years.  The UK’s overall climate change target is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 34% by the year 2020, which many feel is an ambitious one.

A key component of the Government’s strategy to fulfil the challenge is the Energy Bill, which contains measures to increase the use of renewable technologies and improve the energy efficiency of all types of housing tenures, under the Green Deal.

The Government’s aim is for every UK property that has an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of F or G to be improved beyond that grading, which may be a significant challenge for older properties.

The Green Deal will encourage private sector landlords to take advantage of up-front financing to make their properties more energy efficient.  For those landlords who don’t comply, the Government may introduce regulations to force landlords to improve their properties in 2015 should a tenant request work to be carried out.

ARLA believes that landlords should take a proactive approach towards energy efficiency, as it will not only save money and help the environment, but it may also prevent landlords from having to pay a large sum at once in order to comply with the regulations.  Landlords can already take advantage of a tax allowance of up to £1,500 for a variety of energy efficiency improvements through the Landlord’s Energy Saving Allowance (LESA).

There are many funding choices out there making the installation of simple green measures a much more affordable option for landlords under certain circumstances.

Tenants in rental homes are also likely to become more aware of the importance of energy efficiency as bills continue to rise.  It is in landlords’ best interest to attract people seeking properties to rent by improving the energy efficiency of their stock.

Ian Potter,

Operations Manager, The Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA)