New Government energy grant – what landlords need to know

Labour is strongly committed to achieving Net Zero and will shortly open a consultation on requiring all private and social rented homes in England to achieve a C rating by 2030.

At the September Labour Party Conference, Ed Miliband, the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, said, “We all know that the poorest people in our country often live in cold, draughty homes. This Government will not tolerate this injustice…And because being Labour means we raise our sights to tackle injustice, we will go further and faster than promised in our manifesto: ensuring every rented home reaches decent standards of energy efficiency.”

In addition, Labour is planning to consult on making improvements to the EPC system to make it more consistent and the EPCs themselves more reliable and accurate. 

Warm Homes: Local Grant

To help bring properties up to standard, the Government announced a new ‘Warm Homes: Local Grant’, which is aimed at providing financial support to low-income private households where the property is currently rated D or below – whether they are owner-occupied or let to private tenants.

This grant scheme will be run by local authorities and will pay for the installation of energy efficiency upgrades and low carbon heating solutions. That could include insulation, double glazing, air source heat pumps and solar panels. The intention is to help deliver reduced carbon emissions, warmer homes and lower energy bills.

Up to £15,000 per property will be available for energy performance upgrades, and up to another £15,000 for heating improvements.

Landlords who qualify for the grant will be given full funding for improvements for one property but will be expected to contribute 50% towards the cost for any additional properties.

Although the exact level of funding that each local authority will be given has yet to be decided, the scheme is expected to open on 1^st April 2025 and run for three to five years.

How can landlords access this grant funding?

In order for landlords to be eligible:

• Their tenants will have to be earning below a certain amount or receiving a means-tested benefit.
• The property must have an EPC rating of D or below.
• They will have to declare they will not raise rents as a result of upgrades funded by the grant scheme.

There are also financial limits that portfolio landlords should be aware of. Under the Subsidy Control Act 2022, landlords cannot receive more than £315,000 in total funding, from this scheme and any other grants or subsidies that they’ve had within the past two financial years.

While all this information is accurate at the time of writing, we’re aware that with more than 6 months to go until the scheme opens, there may be changes. We will, of course, keep you updated and clarify exactly how you can apply for the grant as the details are made available.

Additional sources: Property Reporter, Landlords Guild, Edie