After Cop26 – What Green Housing Trends Should be on Your Radar?
Kevin Gold created on 22nd November 2021
In the wake of Glasgow’s Cop26 conference, key trends have emerged on how efforts to tackle climate change will impact on the property sector over the coming decades.
The UK has already committed to targets aimed at cutting greenhouse-gas emissions to net-zero by 2050. Apparently, housing is responsible for 14% of current UK emissions, with lack of insulation and gas-boilers the main culprits.
The government announced its Heat and Buildings Strategy in October, with moves to encourage the replacement of gas boilers with greener alternatives. The strategy includes a pledge to install 600,000 of the greener heat pumps a year by 2028.
According to the government advisory body, the Committee on Climate Change, UK insulation rates are at a third of required levels. Following the scrapping of last year’s Green Homes Grant scheme, a new initiative to encourage sustainable home improvements is due to be launched.
Changes to Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are likely too. Currently, if you rent out a property, it needs to have an EPC rating of ‘E’ or above. However, it is expected this will change to ‘C’ for new tenancies from 2025, and all tenancies from 2028. No announcements have been made about grants for landlords to fund the required changes.
For house hunters, it is expected that more importance will be placed on good EPC ratings. According to property expert Phil Spencer, EPCs were historically overlooked when agents presented the selling points of a property.
“Even if a property had strong energy performance, the subject was given little attention on a viewing or during discussions with customers in the branch. That’s changing now with more purchasers aware of energy efficiency, and with renters in particular becoming more informed about upcoming stricter energy targets for the lettings sector. So, if an EPC is ‘good’ it should be one of the main selling points.”
Kubie Gold Associates are an independent local firm of estate agents specialising in the Rental, Sale and Property Management of Residential Property in the North-West and Central London market
