Generation Rent has commented on the government’s Net Zero goals, involving phasing out boilers and introducing heat pumps into rental properties.
While rental bodies such as the NRLA and ARLA have questioned issues such as timescales, the effectiveness of retro-fitting and whether grants are sufficient incentive, Generation Rent makes a broader response.
Dan Wilson Craw, deputy director of the activist group, says: “Private rented homes are the hardest to make greener because the tenant pays the bills but has to rely on their landlord paying for the improvements.
“Raising gas prices might encourage home owners to invest in heat pumps, but on its own that won’t get landlords putting basic insulation in their properties, let alone installing the newest technologies."
He continues: “As a result more renters will be unable to afford to heat their homes properly. Homes that are harder to heat are more likely to have damp problems, causing health problems for their occupants.
“The net zero agenda should deliver lower bills and healthier homes for renters, but without a better plan the government will achieve the opposite.”
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Net zero agenda has nothing to do with the climate and is all about destroying the middle and working class , the whole thing is a total scam
The biggest contributor to co2 is the oceans , look it up , then volcanoes then methane from animals , humanity is right at the very end of the contributor , its all a load of utter twaddle
It's not the landlord that pays, any improvements that are made = an increase in rent, the end user pays
I hate to agree with anything Gen Rent say - but actually insulating properties and thus reducing the amount of energy needed to heat them seems like the first step we should be taking. I wonder what the cost & the impact of every house in the country having decent loft insulation would be - probably a better investment than 90,000 people installing heat pumps!
Agreed but tenants also need to recognise their responsibilities and not just expect everything for free.
I don't think any landlord would prevent good reliable long term tenants from paying for the necessary "green" changes themselves. Why doesn't Generation Rant think of suggesting this as an option - or agree that a higher rent would be a fair return - or does it think landlords should always pay for everything, even when only the tenant would gain from the resultant energy savings?
Biggest mistake and ' shot in the Govt and Tenants foot ' was the withdrawal of Tax allowances for energy improvements. Govt ( nor Tenants groups ) can see the wood from the trees.
Gen Rent and the rest of the activist Renter Coalition would do well to actually DISCUSS some of these issues with Landlords.
I too can see some merit on what Gen Rent say, but i have fully insualted my BTL properties and they have only achieved an E, in terms of fitting heat pumps, adding internal insulation where i need to rip every room apart including the kitchen and the bathroom..... not a chance. All that will happen is my properties will be sold to an owner occupier, whom will not need to adopt any of the new EPC regulations, thus my (then) old properties will have exactly zero improvements made to them, the end result for the planet.... no change. The only real alteration is that of my current tenants, they will have to find somewhere else to live, paying more and in a far more competitive market.
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