Landlords to be banned from letting homes with low efficiency ratings

energy efficient houses

New regulations for landlords

From the year 2018, a new legislation will be put into effect whereby landlords will be banned from renting out draughty homes throughout England and Wales. The initiative has come about in a bid to cut energy bills, which will help around a million tenants who are – at present – paying over £1,000 more for their average annual bills than they should be. The initiative will, in turn, cut emissions; something which will naturally prove beneficial to the state of the environment.

Landlords of homes that are currently rated as F and G on the energy efficiency scale will forced to upgrade the energy efficiency of their homes by April 1st 2018 to at least a rating of E. This follows the somewhat startling statistic which notes that almost 10% of the 4.2m privately owned homes throughout England and Wales currently fall into this bracket; a shocking figure which will hopefully be addressed by this new initiative.

For those tenants in homes falling under the F and G ratings, there will now be the opportunity to request improvements to their homes thanks to these regulations. Improvements such as higher levels of insulation can be requested, as landlords will be legally bound to improve the home’s energy efficiency to at least an E rating.

Grants for improving your home

With this initiative comes serious incentive for landlords to begin improving their properties in order to be compliant with these regulations. Naturally, not all landlords are in a position to afford these improvements unaided by those creating the initiative, which is why some councils are offering funding to landlords to ensure that these improvements can be made to their homes.

Green Deal

The Green Deal is the name of one of the grants which helps landlords make energy-saving improvements to their homes and find the best way possible to pay for them. There are a variety of improvements that can be made on offer, including alterations and improvements to:

  • Insulation
  • Heating
  • Draught-proofing
  • Double glazing
  • Renewable energy generation

Warm Home Discount scheme

This grant is a 4-year initiative which aims to help around 2m of the UK’s most vulnerable customers and homeowners with their annual electricity bills. The scheme, which is of £1.1bn in value, is funded by national energy suppliers.

The Big Energy Saving Network

This network extensively delivers outreach support to vulnerable consumers, helping them to reduce their energy costs at their properties through acting upon tariffs, taking action to switch energy suppliers and take up offers of other ones to ensure bills are kept as low as possible at all times for those within the network.

Here at The Insurance Store, we are proud to provide all our customers with expert advice on everything related to their property’s energy efficiency as well as the obligations of their landlords. With our leading landlord insurance, you can rest assured that your home will be affordable and comfortable at all times and you will never be left in the lurch, providing you with total peace of mind at all times during your tenancy. For more information about landlord insurance for your property in the St Albans and Harpenden area, get in touch with our friendly team of experts today and let us provide you with the right insurance for you.