Industry finds holes in energy scheme’s bid to cut bills

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Propertymark has voiced fears that the government’s ECO plus scheme risks excluding many landlords with low-rated properties.

In its response to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s consultation into the scheme to help fund home insulation, the industry body warns of the dangers of omitting those landlords who have invested in properties rated with an F and G Environmental Performance Certificate (EPC).

Funding eligibility

It says: “We agree that PRS households in EPC bands D and E should be eligible for ECO+ but argue that it would be more efficient for the administration of the scheme to allow PRS households in EPC bands F and G to be eligible for funding. Under the proposals any landlords investing in properties that have an F or G rating could be trapped with this asset with no real mechanism of support to improve the property to get the property fit for human habitation and energy efficient.”

Under the proposals, PRS households would also not be eligible for secondary measures – anything other than primary measures such as underfloor heating, party wall, cavity wall and roof insulation. This rule wouldn’t apply to the social rented sector, which Propertymark believes is unfair.

Accredited suppliers

It challenges “overzealous” proposals that retrofitters should comply with both TrustMark and PAS2035 standards, based on the difficulty finding even Trustmark accredited suppliers for the Green Homes Grant.

It also urges the government to rethink its plans to exclude PRS households from being eligible for cavity and loft insulation grants. Propertymark adds: “According to the 2019 English Housing Survey, private rented dwellings had the highest proportion of uninsulated cavity walls across tenures (25%), with owner-occupied (20.8%), local authority properties (24%) and housing association homes (20.2%) at lower but still significant level. This would be a golden opportunity to address this shortfall and to achieve a baseline across all tenures.”

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