LATEST: Heat pump grants will disadvantage landlords in Midlands and North – claim

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Landlords and letting agents have joined calls to address a stark geographical divide that threatens to penalise landlords in the North and Midlands when installing heat pumps.

The government’s newHeating and Building Strategy aims to help homeowners swap gas boilers for low carbon heating with heat pump grants but fails to factor in huge regional variations in property costs, the think-tank Localis claims.

Its new report – Lagging Behind: energy efficiency in low-viability properties – says that in some areas of the North and Midlands, the estimated costs of improving home energy can be about 25% of property values, while in affluent parts of London and the South East retrofitting with heat pumps represents less than 2% of overall property value.

It wants councils to collaborate in creating ‘one stop shops’ as joint ventures which would engage with residential landlords to retrofit at pace, and to devise bespoke solutions that meet local need and personal circumstances.

Targets

It is also calling on the government to provide details of a localised funding mechanism for retrofit to help authorities in areas with low-viability housing achieve targets. 

Localis chief executive Jonathan Werran says a one size fits all approach to funding retrofitting threatens to deepen regional inequality and counter efforts to level up in ‘red wall’ areas.

“If the challenge of how to effectively support retrofit properties in low value areas is not met, we risk creating a dangerous divide between different parts of the country,” he says.

Ben Beadle (pictured), National Residential Landlords Association chief executive, agrees that extra help should be given to owners of low value properties to make it viable for them to invest in energy efficiency measures.

Propertymark policy and campaigns manager, Timothy Douglas, adds: “When we look at property value against the estimated cost of retrofit improvements for energy efficiency, we see a stark geographical divide making the feasibility of carrying out works required unequal across the country. This means that those living in lower value areas will be penalised when they are unable to afford the measures needed to bring their homes in line with UK government targets.”

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POLL: Minority of landlords back pet renting changes OR use new Model Tenancy

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Just 17% of London landlords have welcomed pets since changes to the Model Tenancy Agreement were introduced earlier this year.

Research by estate agency Bective reveals that the chance of finding a pet-friendly rented home in the capital remains incredibly low and that only 3% of rental homes currently on the market describe themselves as pet-friendly. 

Its survey of 1,678 London landlords found that only 37% backed further measures to allow tenants the right to rent with a pet.

The best chance of renting with a four-legged friend is in Barking and Dagenham where pet-friendly homes account for 18.5% of all those currently on the market, while at the bottom of the list is Enfield where only 0.8% of properties welcome pets, according to Bective. Islington has the highest level of pet-friendly tenant demand at 55%, followed by Kingston upon Thames (44.4%), Havering (40%), Wandsworth (35.1%), and Sutton (33.3%).

Bective head of lettings and property management, Tom Dainty, says it’s imperative that landlords are considered within any decision-making process and allowed the flexibility to decide who, or what, has the right to live in their home.

Adds Dainty (pictured): “Failing to develop a two-way conversation is only likely to cause many landlords to exit the sector or resort to a more selective approach to tenant sourcing – both of which will be detrimental to the capital’s tenants in the long run.”

The AdvoCATS lobbying group is spearheading the latest push to change the law, by calling for the Tenant Fees Act to be amended to allow landlords to either take additional deposits off tenants seeking to rent with pets or require tenants to take out extra insurance.

It already has the backing of 41 MPs and hopes that – unlike the Model Tenancy Agreement – any new legislation will not be voluntary.

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Overseas Lettings – Tax Implications Following Brexit?

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For several years we have let our house in Mijas, Spain, as a holiday let. On preparing my quarterly tax return for Spain, I find that expenses are no longer allowed, due to Brexit, as we are no longer in Europe as UK residents.

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Will Landlords be able to apply for heat pump grants in April 2022?

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A piecemeal approach risks undermining efforts to improve the energy efficiency of the private rented sector, the NRLA is warning.

The Heat and Buildings Strategy published today announced that grants of £5,000 will be made available to households to replace gas boilers with systems such as heat pumps.

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LATEST: Heat source pump grants to be introduced in April next year for landlords

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Landlords are included in the government’s heat pump grant system announced yesterday, the Natoinal Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) has been confirmed.

The new grants will offer up to £5,000 to property owners to transfer from gas boiler to low-carbon systems such as air and ground source heat pumps.

Although this sounds generous it will only be a contribution to the substantial cost of these systems.

The Energy Saving Trust estimates that a typical air source heat pump installation will cost between £6000 and £8000 while a ground source system will cost between £10,000 and £18,000 depending on the amount of heat required.

Following discussions between the government and the NRLA, officials have indicated that these grants will be available from April next year onwards.

Critical

But the NRLA remains critical of the government’s plans, saying it has ‘again failed to provide the clarity needed by private landlords to plan for the future of their businesses’ and that the detail needed by the sector is unlikely to be revealed until the end of the year.

“Eighty per cent of private rented households have gas central heating and replacing such systems will be both costly and vital to achieving net zero,” says NRLA Chief Executive Ben Beadle (pictured).

“Providing grants to assist householders and landlords to install heat pumps is a welcome step, but much more is needed to make the Government’s targets achievable.

“Once again private landlords have been left waiting for the Government to publish details of the standards they will be required to comply with, the deadlines they must meet, and how such work should be funded.”

Scepticism of the plans is understandable – the government’s much lauded Green Homes Grant scheme fell well short of expectations.

Problems administrating its voucher system both for landlords and the suppliers tasked with providing the green upgrades eventually led to its cancellation in March this year.

Watch a video explaining all the different types of heat pump (water, air, ground, etc) available for houses.

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