All rented homes will have to meet minimum energy efficiency standards, Ed Miliband has pledged.
In his speech at the Labour Party conference in September, the secretary of state for energy security and net zero announced that the government will consult by the end of this year on proposals for all rented homes to achieve Energy Performance Certificate C or equivalent by 2030.
Currently, private rented homes can be rented out if they meet Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) E, while there is no minimum energy efficiency standard for social rented homes.
In its election manifesto, Labour promised to introduce minimum energy efficiency standards for private rented homes but Miliband told the party’s conference that the government is going ‘further’ by ensuring that every family living in poorly insulated social housing will benefit from such upgrades too.
He claimed that the government’s move would lift more than 1m people out of fuel poverty.
Private tenants will be able to receive support for home upgrades through the Warm Homes: Local Grant scheme, which replaces the local authority delivered Green Homes Grants.
And upgrades of social housing will be supported by the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund.
All homes with an EPC rating of D or E scheme will be eligible for the scheme, which replaces the previous government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.
And the government has confirmed the continuation of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, which aims to reduce emissions from public sector buildings by 75% by 2037, compared to 2017 levels.