Government plans to fund EPC reform for the PRS is financially unviable for most landlords, new analysis from the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) has claimed.
New government proposals would require landlords to invest up to £15,000 per property to meet new energy efficiency standards.
However, polling from Pegasus shows that on average £7,700 worth of investment is the threshold beyond which meeting the government’s targets becomes unaffordable for landlords.
The NRLA is using this analysis to warn the government it must not falsely assume all landlords can afford such investment.
Here, the association points to recent HMRC data which showed the average rental income declared by unincorporated landlords is £19,400 a year.
The NRLA is therefore calling for all energy efficiency investments to be made deductible against income tax, and that the cap landlords are expected to invest should be graduated according to the value of the property.
“Relying on the misguided belief that every landlord has limitless reserves to fall back on is not only wrong but will not get tenants any closer to seeing their homes made energy efficient,” said Ben Beadle, CEO at the NRLA.
“If the government is serious about its plans, it needs to engage with the sector now to develop a clear, bespoke package to help responsible landlords invest in energy efficiency works.
“That needs to start by fixing a broken tax system which does nothing to encourage proactive property improvements.”
