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Boiling Over! Landlords face huge bills to meet eco-requirements

Two players in the domestic energy industry are warning landlords that it will be an expensive exercise to meet predicted future domestic energy rules introduced to meet eco-targets.

The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) - an independent body advising the government - says gas boilers should not be sold beyond 2033 and all electricity production should be zero carbon by 2035 if the UK is to reach the target of net zero emissions by 2050.

The government and Prime Minister Boris Johnson personally have given strong indications they will follow the guidance and make these deadlines mandatory.

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But now Myles Robinson, director of supplier and installation company Boiler Central, warns: "The job is definitely going to be an expensive one. Making greener homes doesn't come cheap, especially when you're considering ripping out old boilers. 

“I think many landlords are going to struggle to keep up with the growing costs. With the Green Home Grant deadline quickly approaching, understanding how much you'll make and lose from investing in greener tech should become a priority".  

Ripping out a gas boiler and installing a heat pump requires £9,900 according to green energy supplier Igloo. Further costs with installation can take the total as high as £13,000.

The Green Home Grant for landlords and other home owners is only for £5,000 and the deadline to claim this finishes in March 2021. There is concern about how some landlords are going to be able to pay for this and whether or not they'll be able to get the work done in time before the application window closes. 

And George Holmes of Aurora Capital - a financial broker with links to the domestic energy sector - adds: "With the Green Home Grant expiring in March, there is a lot of worry landlords won't get the work done in time. With only £5,000 being available, many won't be able to afford to keep up with the proposed changes put forward by the government.”

Holmes says that although improved energy efficiency ultimately saves money for residents of properties, installations of alternatives - such as heat pumps - can be expensive. 

"If landlords are struggling with funding despite the government's best efforts, there are still other finance options available. Development finance could be used to aid with gas boiler renovation. However, it'll be interesting to see whether landlords are willing to take out further loans to keep up with the PM's ambitious targets.”

 

 

Some 18 months ago the government declared that it would be illegal to install gas boilers in new build homes from 2025; instead the ‘future homes standard’ will require all new homes to have low-carbon alternatives, such as electric heat pumps.

The CCC report calls for one million heat pumps to be installed annually by 2030, in new-build homes to begin with but then in existing residential properties. Some gas boilers may also use hydrogen in the 2030s, while some homes in cities will rely on centralised heat networks.

Want to comment on this story? If so...if any post is considered to victimise, harass, degrade or intimidate an individual or group of individuals on any basis, then the post may be deleted and the individual immediately banned from posting in future.

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    heat pumps are a con

    h2 useless

    centralized heating? used to be common but was abused

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    Won't happen, impossible to inforce.

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    we all should sell up and let this useless government house everyone

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    If this is enforced I can see landlords selling up in droves. I also think that if Boris continued with this green nonsense he won't be in government in 4 years time.

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    Boris has to go, if not we will have a labour government in 4 yrs time.

     
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    What and have the labour clowns telling us what to do!!! No way!

     
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    Why are contributors trying to politicise this issue? Please keep to the facts of the issues being discussed. No Party is perfect. All Parties make mistakes. Keep Party politics out of 'Landlord Today'. If you want to campaign for or against a Party, there are ways of doing that. This website is not one of them.

     
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    Its years and years away. If landlords don't invest in their properties then they shouldn't be landlords. If they don't like the laws, they shouldn't be landlords. Suck it up, or sell up

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    No way, professional LLs do it the right way not being lead by some clueless council or government jobs worth.

     
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    As I said before, landlords invest and tenants pay. Will the tree huggers enjoy making tenants poorer?

     
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    'Tree huggers'? 'Clueless government jobsworth'? Oh dear. Despite all the science indicating we are in the midst of a climate change emergency, certain people think they know better than all the experts in this field who have spent their lives collecting the facts about what is now happening to the climate and to the environment.

     
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    Whether we like it or not these changes are coming. If Labour were in, well this current lot, then we can all kiss our income from property goodbye.
    Technology is moving forward at an incredible rate. I am confident that we will have good alternative choices in the years ahead that will be cost effective.
    Mind you being an Arsenal supporter at the moment I am ever the optimist!!

  • George Dawes

    They’re funded by soros ...

  • George Dawes

    Committee on Climate Change

    The Committee on Climate Change was formally launched as a statutory committee in December 2008 with Lord Turner as its chair.

    In April 2013, it was announced that Lord Turner would be joining George Soros' economic think tank as a senior research fellow in its London offices.

    Join the dots…

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    Far infrared panels are worth a look. As is storage heaters on some of the new on smart meters. There's always a solution.
    Heat pumps do work well but are massively overpriced by suppliers at the minute. I have a 22kWh pump on my house and it cost me £3500 fitted.

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    heat pumps do not work well--a con+++++

     
  • George Dawes

    I looked into it on a recent renovation in a central prime London area , my gas engineer who resisted installing it said it was inefficient , ridiculously expensive and 5-10 years from being a useful product alternative to a condenser gas boiler

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    Heat pumps are very common in New Zealand, they are also not used often as they cost a arm and a leg to run

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    Do your research, the deadline has been extended to March 2022

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