We’ve all seen them as sales people who deal with the general public. Run down, tatty old rented houses with single glazing causing all sorts of cold and damp problems. I have seen my fair share and trust me, there is some seriously shabby windows in some seriously shabby homes out there. However, it seems as though the Government is finally getting round to clamping down on this problem, with news laws they want to bring in by 2018.
Homes in lowest energy bands to get double glazing
Finance website This Is Money reported on Thursday the new laws that the Government were consulting on:
Ministers are consulting on a change that would mean owners of properties which fall under the lowest energy efficiency categories would be forced to make upgrades from 2018.
Basically, any home that falls into the F or G bands on the energy efficiency scale are those to be targeted. Right now, there is no framework in place to force landlords to make changes of a window nature – not to my own knowledge anyway. However, if these proposed new laws come to pass, from 2018 landlords will be forced to install double glazing as well as insulation. Sounds good? If you’re renting, then absolutely!
Even better, from April 2016, the Government wants to make it possible for tenants to have the right to request consent to carry out home improvements, with landlords only able to refuse if the improvements are deemed unreasonable. Sounds great doesn’t it.
But wait, there’s something you need to know…
To ensure there are not upfront costs, landlords will not be obliged to make improvements unless there is a grant available under the Green Deal finance initiative, Energy Company Obligation or other government funding scheme.
That’s right folks, landlords would only be able to carry out these improvements under the Green Deal or ECO schemes. So, basically what we have here, is another mechanism to try and boost the struggling Green Deal. Rather than do something nice for frustrated tenants who are having to suffer some quite appalling living conditions, the Government has selfishly chosen to tie this to the Green Deal in what looks like a desperate attempt to boost window installation figures within the Green Deal scheme.
In reality, I cannot see this new law being that influential. The clause about requests being deemed unreasonable I think is going to lead to a lot of cases being argued and then being dismissed, leaving tenants in the same position as they were before. This is simply a shameless attempt to give the Green Deal a boost, probably because the Government knows that windows have hardly shown up on the Green Deal radar.
