The radical climate plans by the Labour Party government in Britain could cost landlords, taxpayers, and housing associations up to £36 billion to renovate their properties to comply with impending energy efficiency standards, the cost of which will likely being passed onto renters, a report has found.
Energy Security and Net Zero minister Ed Miliband has argued that banning landlords from renting older and energy inefficient homes until they make costly upgrades would lift a million families out of “fuel poverty”. However, critics have claimed that such a move would merely push further costs onto renters, who are already struggling under the weight of housing shortages, inflation, and high taxation.
According to an analysis from The Telegraph of Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) data, which tracks the energy efficiency of houses across the country, the leftist government’s plans to demand upgrades to some 1.6 million private rental properties could cost between £18.5 billion and £36.1 billion to landlords, taxpayers, and housing associations.
The report found that private landlords could be forced to shell out £10,000 per property to meet net-zero standards. Costs would likely vary significantly by area, however, with regions with older homes facing a much higher burden by government-imposed upgrades. For example, homes in Ryedale, Yorkshire would on average require £19,250 in green renovation costs, per the broadsheet’s analysis.
Opponents of the eco-diktats, such as Shadow Housing Minister David Simmonds noted that similar measures in Scotland merely served to reduce supply of rental properties and therefore increase the cost of renting.
“The cumulative impact of these regulations will force more landlords to exit the sector and sell their rented accommodation rather than meet the target. Instead of pushing ahead with these proposals, Labour should give the rented sector more time to implement such a drastic change without forcing up rents,” the Conservative MP said.
Founder and managing director of the property firm Eccord added: “Landlords have been saddled over the last few years with higher cost from mortgages, additional regulation and fees, and rising maintenance costs – and now another £10,000 expenditure is looming on the horizon.
“These new rules don’t apply to homeowners so they are understandably questioning why such a burden is being placed on them when the majority are already providing a professional tenant experience and valuable source of private housing.”
The looming green agenda financial burdens comes after decades of mass migration policies have put a sever strain on the housing market in Britain, with the mass importation of foreigners to the country resulting in the UK becoming one of the most densely populated countries in Europe, currently only trailing behind The Netherlands and Belgium.
Analysis conducted last year by the Centre for Policy Studies think tank found that Britain would need to build over 500,000 per year to cope with the increased demand driven by net migration, which has been the main driver of the UK population rising to a record 67.6 Million.
The turn of the century move by the leftist Labour government of former Prime Minister Tony Blair first opened the gates to mass migration — a policy which was doubled down on by multiple Tory governments — has coincided with the the average house price climbing from £130,499 in 1997 to £269,242 in 2022 when adjusted for inflation.
Yet, while housing costs increased by 106 per cent, real wages have remained essentially stagnant during the same time frame, meaning that millions were effectively priced out of getting on the property ladder and therefore placing further strain on the rental market.
A spokesman for the Labour government said that Downing Street does “not recognise” the projected further costs to landlords and renters as a result of its green agenda, claiming that taxpayer-funded grants and low-interest loans would mitigate the eco-renovations.
“Our warm homes plan will offer grants and low-interest loans to support investment in insulation and low carbon heating such as heat pumps – upgrading millions of homes over this Parliament,” the spokesman said.
“We have also announced the new warm homes local grant to help low-income homeowners and private tenants with energy performance upgrades and cleaner heating and we are also exploring options for further support.”