Landlords urged to beat energy grants deadline

Friday 10th August 2012

Landlords are proactively working to improve the energy efficiency of their properties as they take advantage of a window of funding, the National Landlords Association has said.

It says that 51% of landlords have made energy saving improvements to two of their rental properties and a further 12% have made improvements to five or more of their properties.

Energy grants, including Warm Front, the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) and Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP) are available only until December 31. The NLA urged landlords to use this funding while they can.

The current energy saving schemes will be replaced with new government initiatives, the Green Deal and Energy Company’s Obligation, which are due to launch this October.

David Salusbury, chairman of the NLA, said: “The private rented sector has a key role to play in ensuring Britain meets its energy targets and so it is important that we make use of the funding available.

“Furthermore, it is imperative that landlords future-proof their properties and their investments. If landlords don’t act now, they may find their property cannot be legally let come 2018 under the new legislation.

“With money left in the pot for the existing schemes, it’s important that landlords take advantage of the funding while it’s still available. It’s free for landlords and saves tenants money on their energy bills.”

Rental properties with low Energy Performance Certificate ratings are set to be banned from the market in 2018.