Press Release Summary = The last couple of years have seen more than just calls for
extra houses to be built in Britain. Encouraged by the government through
competitions, grants and grand policy pronouncements, the grandest of all being the
aim to make every new home carbon neutral by 2016, it seems that the priority is as
much building green as building to solve the housing shortage.
Press Release Body = The last couple of years have seen more than just calls for
extra houses to be built in Britain. Encouraged by the government through
competitions, grants and grand policy pronouncements, the grandest of all being the
aim to make every new home carbon neutral by 2016, it seems that the priority is as
much building green as building to solve the housing shortage.
Buy-to-let investors cannot be isolated from all this, of course. For one thing,
many investors will themselves live in homes which may benefit from more insulation,
the installation of solar panels to heat the water or other energy-efficient
measures. Just as importantly, those renting properties from such investors may
often be concerned with the same issues.
In May the Daily Telegraph highlighted the fact that buy-to-let investors, like
anyone else who owns a property, will have to deal with the introduction of the
government's home information packs. Just then, of course, the introduction was
imminent, until the government realised that the industry, lacking sufficient
inspectors, was not ready and had to put the launch date back to August.
For buy-to-let investors, the paper stated, the scheme will not be introduced until
October 2008. However, it warned, investors would have to pay for the
energy performance certificates which form a key environmental element of the packs. These
have been controversial, partly due to the concerns about inspectors, but also due
to the cost, which the Telegraph said would be around £200.
One expert told the paper there was one obvious difference between buy-to-let
landlords and homeowners who live in the property that they would need a home
information pack for before they could put it one the market. Quite simply, he put
it, unlike the householder looking to move, "The landlord does not pay the heating
bills in most homes he rents out". Thus there is no incentive for the person who
does not personally save on fuel bills.
However, this may not necessarily be correct. The very fact of a property being
rented out being more energy efficient, due to measures such as insulation, could be
an attraction for some potential customers. Promises of lower fuel bills, as well as
the attraction to ethically-conscious residents of a lower carbon footprint, could
make such homes more attractive. At the same time, some landlords may find they can
still set a premium on the rent if they believe people will pay more for
eco-friendly homes, just as many ethically-conscious consumers willingly pay extra
for fairtrade goods.
Neil Marshall, chief executive of the National Insulation Association, has said that
"Getting your home properly insulated is probably the greatest single thing anyone
can do to reduce both their energy bills and their impact on the environment",
adding that this is cost effective because the lower bills soon pay for the
investment, he emphasised that the benefits should be clear enough to homeowners.
But the possibility of a premium on well insulated homes for let being viable could
yet give landlords some benefit. Besides which, many eco-conscious investors may
themselves be keen to ensure they are doing their bit for the environment. The price
of a buy-to-let eco-home may not just be about money.
2008
