Writing Inside Housing, Parissa Zand from Generation Rent has raised the following points after a landlords’ compliance with energy efficiency legislation.

1. Tenant Protection After Upgrades:
   • A six-year eviction ban following energy efficiency improvements aims to prevent landlords from exploiting grants and upgrades for profit through evictions or sales.
   • The group also advocates against rent increases tied to retrofitting costs, ensuring tenants benefit directly from improved energy efficiency.
2. Fuel Poverty Disparities:
   • Zand highlights stark disparities in fuel poverty rates between private renters and other tenures, attributing this partly to the poor energy efficiency of many rental properties.
   • The Warm Homes Plan is criticised for not sufficiently addressing the unique vulnerabilities of tenants in private rentals.
3. Landlord Accountability:
   • Zand calls for proactive enforcement by councils to ensure compliance with energy efficiency standards and prevent exploitative practices, such as unwarranted rent hikes or substandard retrofitting.

Challenges:

• Balancing Landlord and Tenant Interests: While improving energy efficiency is essential, landlords may face significant costs for upgrades, particularly if grant funding is limited or difficult to access.
• Policy Implementation: Proactive enforcement by councils will require increased resources and clear guidelines to ensure fairness and efficacy.
• Rent Regulation: Prohibiting rent increases after retrofits could deter some landlords from making improvements without strong incentives.

The article can be read here (registration may be necessary)