The call to action follows the Government’s recent confirmation that all landlords will have to meet an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of C by 2030.
Skipton’s research reveals a third of landlords are not fully aware of their buy-to-let (BTL) properties’ EPC ratings. It also found that 46% of landlords are planning on using their savings to pay for improvements to their BTL properties and 39% may consider selling up.
Hamptons (which is also part of Skipton Group) warned it may take landlords up to 18 years to meet the EPC rating required. The data showed that to meet the Government’s 2030 target, the same number of homes will need to see energy upgrades over the next five years as have made improvements in the last 30 years.
Charlotte Harrison, CEO of home financing at Skipton Group, said: “Landlords play an integral part in the UK’s housing provision, and we know they face significant challenges in greening their homes from an awareness, cost, and access to appropriate guidance and skills perspective.
“We believe that when it comes to the decarbonisation of our housing stock, the Government needs to consider ways to incentivise and support landlords in forthcoming Budgets to enable them to reach the new proposed target.
“Making the necessary improvements to their properties is critical to helping the country meet its net zero target and, importantly, will help to address some of the challenges that the cost-of-living, energy and climate crises have had on people living in the UK.”
What support is needed?
Skipton suggested that support for landlords could include making energy improvement costs tax-deductible. The Government could go one step further by offering grants or matching energy home improvement spending pound for pound, for example.
Harrison added: “To date, there have been more incentives for homeowners and social tenants to green their homes than there have been for landlords, offering an opportunity for this Government to equalise that imbalance.”
Skipton Building Society, in partnership with Vibrant (part of the Skipton Group) offers a free EPC Plus assessment to all of its 1.26 million members, including BTL landlords.
Related: Most inefficient homes can ‘easily’ achieve EPC C rating
