Industry leaders join forces to launch new campaign to reward people with a stamp duty rebate for making home energy efficiency improvements
The Better Homes Alliance has written to the Chancellor and Shadow Chancellor urging them to empower rather than penalise homeowners for making energy efficiency upgrades to their properties
The Alliance is calling for a ‘Rebate to Renovate’ that incentivises homeowners to improve their homes,
Energy efficiency upgrades can add a substantial ‘price premium’ to the value of a home
Leading businesses including E.ON UK, Kingfisher, Santander UK, Knauf Insulation and Lloyds Banking Group have joined forces to establish the ‘Better Homes Alliance’, with the objective of empowering households to help improve the energy efficiency ratings of their properties.
The independent group, which officially launches today, argues that there is an urgent need to decarbonise homes across the country. According to the Building Research Establishment (BRE), Britain’s housing stock is older and less well insulated than almost any country in Europe. As a result, the residential sector accounts for 17% of all CO2 emissions in the UK according to government figures. Research by the University of Warwick illustrates that across England and Wales, more than £10bn could be saved on energy bills each year if leaky homes were upgraded to higher standards. This is equivalent to an annual saving of £390 for the average household.
Improving our stock can also add a substantial ‘price premium’ to homes, with Rightmove research showing an improved EPC rating of F to C can add as much as £56,000 more to the value of a home than local price growth.
In an open letter to both the Chancellor and the Shadow Chancellor, the Better Homes Alliance argues that it is imperative for households to be incentivised to make the kinds of improvements - from installing double glazing to replacing gas boilers with heat pumps- that will improve energy efficiency ratings of properties across Britain.
In the letter the group says:
“We believe that a carrot rather than a stick approach is the only way to encourage homeowners to make the kind of improvements that will start addressing the fact that we have some of the least efficient and carbon intensive homes in Europe.”
As part of a push to incentivise, rather than penalise, households, the campaign group believes that a ‘Rebate to Renovate’ should be introduced by the government - a stamp duty rebate given back to the purchaser of a property if they can show an improvement to their Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating within 2 years. This step should be considered as part of a broader agenda for addressing our leaky housing stock.
There have been few successful incentives available to the public to retrofit their properties, with previous attempts to encourage homeowners having failed. David Cameron’s Green Deal pledged to improve 14 million homes in 2011 but after its scrapping 4 years later, just 14,000 homes had benefited as the scheme was too expensive and too complicated for homeowners to make a real impact. More recently the government’s Green Homes Grant failed to get off the ground after 52% of homeowners' voucher applications were rejected or withdrawn, whilst 46% of installer applications also failed.
The Alliance will shortly produce new analysis which will look at the areas in the UK most in need of home upgrades and most likely to benefit from a Rebate to Renovate, as well as its likely impact on levelling up, local jobs and supply chains.
Chris Norbury, CEO of E.ON UK, said of the announcement: “Moving into a new home is the
perfect time to upgrade the energy efficiency of your new property, even more so if there is a financial reward for making the kinds of changes that provide long term benefits in terms of greater comfort and lower energy bills. Incentivising people to better insulate their homes
inspires the kind of improvements we need to decarbonise our ageing housing stock and
work towards our net zero goals.”
Thierry Garnier, CEO of Kingfisher, said: "We know that people often carry out home improvement projects, like a new extension or kitchen, when they are buying a home. A stamp duty rebate would be an effective way to encourage more people to include energy efficiency improvements in their renovation plans, ensuring the kind of long-term changes the UK needs to decarbonise its relatively inefficient housing stock.”
Neil Hargreaves, Managing Director of Knauf Insulation, said of the announcement: “We believe a rebate to renovate gives homeowners the financial incentive to make the kind of investments to their home which will lead to savings for them and a cleaner, more efficient housing stock for all.”
EEIG Chairman Sarah Kostense-Winterton said: “Integral to successful energy saving policy is a focus on policies that reward people for making positive change. The EEIG has long called for a longer-term coordinated plan which tackles the largest tenure - the homeowners - to incentivise and empower communities and consumers to make improvements to their homes to bring them permanent energy savings.”
The initiative is part of a wider industry effort to transform the UK’s inefficient housing stock, decarbonising the housing sector, reducing households’ energy bills and improving families’ quality of life.
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