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 (EPC) ‘C’ or equivalent by 2030.
Currently, private rented homes can be rented out if they meet EPC ‘E’, while there is no minimum energy efficiency standard for social rented homes.
Labour promised to introduce minimum energy efficiency standards for private renters in its election manifesto. However, 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 one million 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 Grant.
Upgrades of social housing will also be supported by the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund. All homes with an EPC rating of D or E will be eligible for the scheme, which replaces the previous government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.
In addition, the government has confirmed the continuation of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, which supports the switch to green heating in public sector buildings such as schools and hospitals. The aim is to cut carbon emissions by 75% by 2037, compared with 2017 levels.
