Heat Pumps could deliver London Mayor’s environmental ambitions

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The new report from the Carbon Trust and commissioned by the Mayor of London concludes that a heat pump retrofit programme for residential and commercial buildings in London will have a critical role to play in meeting the capital’s net zero carbon emissions targets by 2030.

“The Mayor of London has set ambitious aims for London to be a net zero carbon city by 2030 and to have the best air quality of any major city. In addition, 28 London Boroughs have declared climate emergencies with over half of these committed to achieving net zero by 2030. The political will to deliver net zero carbon emissions in London has never been stronger,” says the report

Reducing emissions cause by heating buildings will be one of London’s biggest decarbonisation challenges. Natural gas, says the report, is currently used for most space and water heating and accounts for 37% of London’s greenhouse gas emissions and 22% of Nox emissions, whilst conventional electric heating also contributes significantly to CO2 emissions and increases the peak demand on local energy networks.

The report is intended to provide help and guidance for local authorities, social housing providers, private owners and landlords and also for builders and installers when considering a change of energy source, a heat pump retrofit often being a viable alternative.

Heat pumps are an efficient form of heating and have the potential to deliver CO2 savings of 60-70% compared to conventional electric heating and 55-65% compared to an A-rated gas

boiler. These savings are expected to increase further, as the grid decarbonises over the coming decades, towards 90-100% CO2 emissions reduction by 2050.

How does it work?

In simple terms, its a bit like domestic refrigerator in reverse: a compressor creates a small amount of higher temperature energy from the large amount of energy collected at a lower temperature. The actual process is a lot more complicated, using the ‘vapour compression cycle’ to harness energy available when vapour returns to liquid.

Heat pumps for central heating systems use the technology to extract energy from the outside air (air source) or from under the ground (ground source). These are low temperatures (below 10°C in winter) but there’s lots of energy when compared to absolute zero (-273°C).

Ground source or air source?

A heat pump has maximum efficiency when the temperature gap between the heat source and the heat demanded is minimised. A ground source heat pump is more efficient than air source because around two metres down the ground stays constant at around 10°C all year round, protected from temperature extremes. This heat there is mainly from the solar energy absorbed by the ground through the summer. Air source heat pumps are not as efficient, but they don’t need available ground and are cheaper to install.

There are a number of factors that can make heat pump retrofits challenging in urban settings and they will only work effectively where the buildings are highly energy efficient, i.e., very well insulated. High rise blocks pose problems as does noise pollution from the pump systems, especially with air source, however, there is a diverse range of solutions that exist to overcome a number of these challenges and new technology is becoming available all the time.

Undertaking energy efficiency upgrades combined with installing heat pump technology will likely require considerable initial investment in most cases but this will be offset by long-term reductions in energy bills.

Most buildings in London will likely require considerable initial investment and perhaps government support to move from oil, gas boilers or electric heating. However, this sort of transition can be phased in as buildings are refurbished over time.

Tom Delay, Chief Executive, the Carbon Trust, says:

“Buildings and heat have been identified by the Committee on Climate Change as key challenge areas for decarbonisation in the coming decades, and so the analysis and recommendations detailed in the report to promote low carbon solutions that are available now is very timely.

“As always, heat pumps are not a silver bullet solution, which is why we have provided a suite of policy recommendations, including investment in energy efficiency in buildings and flexibility in the energy system.”

Shirley Rodrigues, Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy, Greater London Authority, commented: “Retrofitting heat pumps and improving the energy efficiency of existing buildings are key to achieving the Mayor’s ambitious target for London to reach net zero carbon by 2030.

“Not only will retrofitting heat pumps help support jobs and skills vital to a green, fair and prosperous COVID-recovery, they also reduce energy bills if designed well. However, delivering this at the scale needed will require the Government to step up investment and implement strong supportive policies.”

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The best Government regeneration schemes for Buy to Let

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The latest research by Howsy, has revealed the best spots of the UK property market being bolstered through Government infrastructure spending and investment, for buy-to-let investors with an eye on the future.

Howsy analysed 34 areas currently benefiting from Government investment and likely to see demand for rental properties grow

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LHA overpayment demand reversed without the need for a tribunal

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Hi, One of my landlord clients recently received a demand for a £10,000 Housing Benefit overpayment.

The overpayment was caused by a failure on the part of both the tenant and my client reporting his change of address

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BREAKING: House prices jump by 2% during August, Nationwide reveals

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Landlords looking to sell off part of or all of their portfolio could be hitting the jackpot after the Nationwide this morning reported prices up during August by 2% compared to July.

It also says house prices are rising by 3.7% year-on-year and that the August monthly surge was the largest for 16 years.

The average price of a property in the UK is now £224,123 up from £220,935 in July as demand for homes outstrips supply in many areas of the UK.

Nationwide says momentum has returned to the housing market and its figures show that house prices have now reversed the losses recorded in May and June and are at a new all-time high.

“Pent up demand is coming through where decisions taken to move before lockdown are progressing,” says Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s Chief Economist (pictured, right)

“Behavioural shifts may also be boosting activity, as people reassess their housing needs and preferences as a result of life in lockdown.

“Our own research, conducted in May indicated that around 15% of people surveyed were considering moving as a result of lockdown.

“Moreover, social distancing does not appear to be having as much of a chilling effect as we might have feared, at least at this point.

“These trends look set to continue in the near term, further boosted by the recently announced stamp duty holiday, which will serve to bring some activity forward.”

Mark Harris, chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, says: “This year, many people didn’t get to go on their summer holidays – for obvious reasons – stayed home and bought property instead.

“We expect September to continue to be busy while consumer demand remains strong although as the furlough scheme comes to an end and there is an increased potential for higher unemployment, there may be a question mark over how sustainable this activity will be.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – BREAKING: House prices jump by 2% during August, Nationwide reveals | LandlordZONE.

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LATEST: Scotland launches loans scheme for Covid-hit tenants

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Renters in Scotland now have access to an interest free, hardship loan scheme to help pay-off COVID-related rent arrears.

Similar to the Welsh Tenant Saver Loan Scheme launched last month, the Scottish government has put aside £10 million for its new Tenant Hardship Loan Fund for tenants who can’t access other forms of support to pay their housing costs. The Discretionary Housing Payment fund, which helps tenants claiming benefits, will increase by £3 million, bringing the total to £19 million.

Holyrood’s move has prompted the National Residential Landlords Association to call for a similar scheme for England. Policy director Chris Norris says that once again the UK Government finds itself trailing behind the rest of the UK. Says Norris: “The best way to prevent repossessions is to tackle the root cause by ensuring tenants are able to pay their rent.” 

Scottish Housing Minister Kevin Stewart says the new announcement will mean that no one should be left in a position where they can’t access support. He says: “I fully expect landlords to be flexible with anyone facing such challenges, signposting them to the sources of financial support available, and tenants in difficulty should engage with their landlord and seek advice on the options open to them.”

He also confirmed that emergency legislation will be extended to ensure no evictions can take place until March 2021 but is reverting back to a one-month period for repossession where tenants have behaved in an anti-social or criminal way.

The Scottish Association of Landlords welcomes the Tenant Hardship Loan Fund but fears tenants will be cautious of accessing a loan that would add to their debt. 

Chief executive John Blackwood tells LandlordZONE: “We hope the Scottish Government will consider additional support in grant form to help tenants pay their rent and prevent us facing a greatly amplified problem for a key part of the housing sector down the line.”

But Shelter is less keen on the loans initiative. “The answer to rising tenant debt is not another form of debt,” says Gordon MacRae, Assistant Director for Communications and Advocacy at Shelter Scotland.

“This proposal is tone deaf to the needs of renters and was cooked-up behind closed doors with no consultation with tenants and their representatives.

“The Scottish Government must produce a solution that doesn’t see tenants footing the bill for this pandemic.”

Read the proposals in full.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – LATEST: Scotland launches loans scheme for Covid-hit tenants | LandlordZONE.

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Deregulation Act 2015 – EPC prior to 1st October 2015?

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David Smith wrote an excellent article https://news.rla.org.uk/blog-section-21-after-1-october-2018/ in August 2018 about the Deregulation Act 2015. David raises the issue of whether you are required to serve an EPC prior to serving a section 21 notice if the tenancy started before 1 October 2015.

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Late student accommodation search surge pushes London and Home Counties to ten-year high

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Viewing figures in the lettings market hit a ten-year high in London and the Home Counties last month, according to new research by estate agency Knight Frank.

Although the number of new prospective tenants registering in July was down 26% on last summer, the arrival of exam results both in the UK and overseas prompted a late mini-surge in the week ending 22nd August, as some students had been holding out before deciding to look for digs.

Tom Bill, head of residential research at Knight Frank, says students account for almost a quarter of the market and that uncertainty around the start of the new academic year meant July was quieter than normal.

Strong demand

“Demand is strong in the capital and many students have worked for years with the specific aim of a place at a London university,” he says.

“Should flight schedules around the world continue their return to normality, this will support demand in the normally quieter final quarter of the year and could lead to a few more seasonal records being broken.”

Traditional tenants have been taking advantage of falling rents, reports Knight Frank, prompted by a strong supply of properties since the lockdown ended, including many short-term lets.

In the 12 months to July, average rental values in prime central London fell 5.8%, while in prime outer London they dropped 5.4% – the largest annual decline since 2009.

For most of the summer, the number of tenancies was about a third below the level seen last year, although in the week ending 22nd August the figure was 17% higher, suggesting that rental values may start to rise.

Read more about student rental market.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Late student accommodation search surge pushes London and Home Counties to ten-year high | LandlordZONE.

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Title split for house redevelopment?

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I am after some advice! I am currently in the process of redeveloping a four-storey house that was already converted into four separate apartments, but is all under one title.

The project is almost complete, and we are trying to refinance.

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Leading tenant groups backed by famous names write to Boris to extend evictions ban

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A coalition of renter organisations and their supporters have sent a letter to the PM urging his government to extend the evictions ban past September 20^th.

The letter, sent by Manchester-based umbrella organisation Homes For All, follows a very different letter sent by the NRLA to Johnson last week, pointing out that his government’s latest evictions extension means it is asking landlords to subsidise struggling renters and rewarding those who are ‘wilfully avoiding paying rent’.

Homes For All describes itself as a non-party political national alliance of tenants, leaseholders, campaigners, unions, writers, artists and activists. Previously, it has been campaigning for rent controls and has the backing of several politicians such as the Mayor of London and many within the Labour party.

Demonstrations

It also backed Tenants Union’s demonstrations over the Bank Holiday weekend outside County Courts across a dozen cities.

The letter has been signed by several high-profile organisations and people including the Big Issue magazine, Polly Neate of Shelter, former shadow chancellor John McDonnell, two trade unions, movie director Ken Loach, a leading UK Black Lives Matter organisation and Generation Rent.

Although neither letter has been officially responded to, the government’s concessions to landlords on Friday are understood to have followed heavy NRLA lobbying of No.10 to take a more balanced approach to the evictions ban.

As we reported then, landlords can now evict tenants after several weeks (depending on the reason) rather than six months under several exemptions such as rent arrears of more than six months and domestic violence.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Leading tenant groups backed by famous names write to Boris to extend evictions ban | LandlordZONE.

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Tiny government concessions including domestic violence cases

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The Government announced a tiny concession amongst its horrendous anti-landlord policies on Friday, when it stated that in cases of domestic violence, the landlord only has to give 2 weeks’ notice and in cases of anti-social and/or 6 months’ arrears

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