New Green Deal scheme launches for landlords

A Green Deal service for landlords has been announced by the Residential Landlords Association.

It will be managed on behalf of the RLA by Enact Energy and is due to start next month, initially offering free and grant funded insulation and heating works under the Energy Company Obligation, before the Green Deal is implemented on January 28.
 
Welcoming the initiative, climate change minister Greg Barker said: “I am delighted to see the Residential Landlords Association take this approach.

“The private rented sector has some of the least energy efficient housing in the UK and this new service from the RLA will not only help to tackle that but will also help tenants to live in warmer homes.”

Alan Ward, chairman of the RLA, said: “The Green Deal offers landlords a significant opportunity to improve the energy efficiency and in some cases the appearance of their property, with the added benefit of grant funding and long-term finance.

“The legislation and processes can however be complicated and we believe that there is a requirement for a service which understands the unique needs of both our landlord members and their tenants which led us to launch this new service.

“We can offer landlords a complete service from initial property assessment through to installation of the upgrades, with access to grant funding and Green Deal finance all under one roof.

“The RLA Green Deal service will be open to non-members, although only members will be entitled to discounts and offers worth far more than the £75 it would cost to sign up.

“We aim to be the major service for Green Deal and ECO for the private rental sector and are planning to help up to 10,000 landlords to upgrade their properties over the next five years.”

The Government has put strict rules in place for the Green Deal. Any landlord wishing to upgrade their property using a Green Deal loan must obtain the written permission of their tenant or undertake the works when the property is void.  A full disclosure also ensures that any prospective tenant is made fully aware of the cost of any Green Deal plan before they sign a tenancy agreement giving them the choice as to whether they decide to rent the property.

The Government has also announced that the first households to make Green Deal improvements in January will be able to claim up to £1,000 cashbacks on a ‘first come, first served’ basis.

A fund of £125m has been made available and the cashbacks are available to private landlords.