The Scheme opened in September 2020 to allow homeowners and landlords in England to apply for vouchers from a £2 billion pot to fund at least two-thirds of the cost of hiring tradespeople to upgrade the energy performance of their homes up to a maximum contribution of £5,000.
According to the UK Government, the scheme was designed to provide a short-term economic boost while tackling the country’s contribution to climate change. However, as widely reported, finding contractors to complete the work was a problem. Contractors needed to be accredited against both TrustMark and Publicly Available Specification (PAS) standards, but very few general builders are PAS accredited.
Despite the sudden closure of the scheme applications made before the end of March deadline will be honoured and any vouchers already issued may be extended upon request.
EPC Band C target
For the private rented sector in England and Wales, it is only a year since rules came into force to ensure all private rented tenancies meet EPC Band E, but the UK Government has now proposed going to Band C within five years.
In addition, at the start of this year, the UK Government consulted on introducing a target-based approach for improving the energy performance of lenders’ portfolios. This includes a portfolio average target of EPC band C by 2030 and an assumed maximum spend for improvement works set at £10,000.
More support for the private rented sector needed
Propertymark has long held the view that the UK Government must provide more help for the private rented sector with energy efficiency and combating climate change as well as working to the principle that every home should become as energy efficient as practically possible within the limits of cost, consent, and technology.
Read the Government announcement →
The UK Government must understand that homeowners and private landlords have little access to funding outside of their own incomes and savings to make high-cost energy efficiency improvements to their properties. Consequently, ambition and setting targets for improving energy efficiency are meaningless if opportunities and support are not offered in order to achieve them.
Lessons must be learned from how the Green Homes Grant Scheme operated and the cancellation of earlier energy efficiency schemes to provide a long-term financial plan to support the property sector.
