Generation Rent wants private tenants to be protected against eviction for six years after a landlord completes energy efficiency improvements on their property.
In addition, the activist group wants a ban on rent rises which it claims could be levied as a result of retrofitting; and it wants councils “to conduct proactive enforcement to guard against non-compliance and ensure upgrades are delivered to a high standard.”
Writing on the Housing Today website, Parissa Zand – research and policy manager at the activist group – says the government’s Warm Homes Plan doesn’t go far enough to help tenants.
The government has committed to forcing private landlords to achieve EPC C ratings in rental properties by 2030.
Zand says: “This is welcome, but with 2.6 million private rented homes currently falling below the minimum energy efficiency standard of EPC Band C in England and Wales alone, there is a long road ahead for renters.”
She claims that almost a quarter of private renters live in fuel poverty – “the highest rate of any tenure” – and that since 2010, fuel poverty has fallen by 4% for private renters compared to 35% for owner-occupiers and 54% for what she calls “council tenants.”
In the article she goes on to claim: “There is nothing currently stopping a landlord from either evicting that tenant to sell their improved property, or demanding a rent increase that captures the entire benefit of the grant.”
She also states that “I recently heard a story of a family renting privately where the landlord had substantial energy efficiency upgrades installed through a government grant. But once the upgrades were complete, the landlord hiked up the rent by £500 a month.”
No other details are given of this apparent incident.
She concludes the piece by saying: “The fact is, landlords will be making choices about homes they are not living in. It’s not rocket science that renters must be centred in policymaking that seeks to improve the energy efficiency of rented homes.”
You can see the full piece here, although for some readers it may be be behind a paywall: https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/comment/protections-for-private-renters-must-be-central-to-the-governments-warm-homes-plan-89864