Whither minimum energy efficiency targets in the private rented sector after Michael Gove interview on housing and the environment

Epc

The recent byelection result in Uxbridge seems to have sent out ripples beyond merely a new addition to the House of Commons roll call not least, depending on one's view, blaming it on or crediting for it, London's ULEZ scheme.

In an interview in this weekend's Telegraph [paywall], Michael Gove MP (Secretary of State at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities) said "if people think that you are treating the cause of the environment as a religious crusade .... then you alienate the support that you need ...."

He then went on to say, specifically about housing and the Government's plans for upcoming Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) in the private rented sector, set to come into full play in 2028, "My own strong view is that we're asking too much too quickly. We do want to move towards greater energy efficiency, but just at this point, when landlords face so much, I think that we should relax the pace that's been set for people in the private rented sector, particularly because many of them are currently facing a big capital outlay in order to improve that efficiency."

Given the upfront cost of installing, for example, heat pumps it is now almost a cliche that currently available installation subsidies or grants don't go far enough (much like, apparently, the current old vehicle scrappage scheme under London's ultra low emission zone [ULEZ] scheme extension) in encouraging take up, whether by PRS landlords or most owner occupiers, even though such costs are said to be falling.

The big problem in the PRS is that landlords will, when the MEES regulations come into force, not be allowed to rent out properties that do not reach a minimum energy performance rating of at least C. The big question for the PRS has always been whether or not the whole sector would be able to comply with that standard in the allotted timescale, which shortens by the day. Following this interview, the question for everyone - landlords, tenants and local authorities - is whether the ground is being laid for an actual delay to the coming into force date of the MEES regulations.

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