The government has finally unveiled its long-awaited Warm Homes Plan, claiming landlords 'have a responsibility to ensure homes are safe, warm and affordable.'
The £15 billion plan introduces new protections for renters and aims to tackle fuel poverty by offering grants for upgrades such as solar panels, batteries, heat pumps and insulation.
The government says it will set out more details this year on how consumers will be able to access low-interest loans.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband says giving new protections for renters is one of three key planks of his Warm Homes Plan.
Specifically the plan says “by updating protections for renters, and supporting landlords to make these upgrades in a fair way over several years, an estimated half a million families will be lifted out of fuel poverty by the end of the decade.”
There will be “new rules to ensure landlords invest in upgrades to cut bills for renters.”
The relatively few details released so far do not make clear whether tenants will be empowered to initiate improvements on rental properties.
But the plan gives a broad indication of what it expects from landlords.
These include potential improvements such as solar panels (Photovoltaic and thermal), heat pumps (ground source, air source (including air to air)), home and heat batteries, smart controls, insulation (wall, floor, and roof) and draught proofing.
There will be a £7,500 universal grant for heat pumps, and the first ever offer for “air-to-air heat pumps” that can also cool homes in the summer.
And the statement adds “the government believes in a simple principle that if you rent a home, private or social, a landlord has a responsibility to ensure that it is safe, warm, and affordable.”
However it admits there is no information on who will be able to access other grants or interest-free loans, nor how such a process will work.
Instead it states “we will set out more detail later this year on how consumers will be able to access low-interest loans, following further engagement with the finance sector and consumer groups.”
In the meantime Miliband says his Warm Homes Plan will deliver £15 billion of public investment, rollout upgrades to up to five million homes that could save hundreds on energy bills, and help to lift up to a million families out of fuel poverty by 2030.
He says homeowners of all kinds will be able to apply for government-backed, low and zero interest loans to install solar panels – unleashing a “rooftop revolution”.
These loans will also be available for batteries and heat pumps.
Low-income households and those in fuel poverty could receive support to cover the full cost of having solar panels put on their rooftop, or insulation installed.
The drive to roll out upgrades will be left to local mayors and other councils.
Miliband promises 180,000 “additional high-quality, well-paid, future-proofed jobs in energy efficiency and clean heating by 2030.”
The Warm Homes Plan is backed by lenders
Lenders and finance houses have thrown their weight behind a government scheme to upgrade energy efficiency standards for the poorest households in the UK.
Homeowners will eventually be able to apply for government-backed, low and zero interest loans to install solar panels – unleashing a “rooftop revolution”.
These loans will also be available for batteries and heat pumps, making it easier than ever for every home to access clean energy technologies that can lower bills.
Low-income households and those in fuel poverty could receive support that would cover the full cost of having solar panels put on their rooftop, or insulation installed, alongside new rules to ensure landlords invest in upgrades to cut bills for renters and social tenants.
Few practical details have been released wit the government planning further announcements later in 2026 after further discussions with lenders.
The government says there are three planks to the plan:
- DIRECT SUPPORT FOR LOW-INCOME FAMILIES
- Low-income households will receive free of charge packages of upgrades, depending on what technologies are most suitable for their homes- backed by £5 billion of public investment.
- For example, families could receive fully funded installations of solar panels and a battery, to the full average cost (currently £9,000-£12,000).
- For social housing residents, this could mean upgrades to entire streets at the same time, lowering bills and improving warmth and comfort for whole neighbourhoods. - AN OFFER FOR EVERYONE
- The government-backed, zero and low interest loans programme to get solar panels onto the nation’s rooftops and new rules that mean every new home will come with solar panels by default.
- This plan will triple the number of homes with solar panels on their rooftops by 2030.
- Making it easier for anyone who wants to get a heat pump, with a £7,500 universal grant for heat pumps, and the first ever offer for “air-to-air heat pumps” that can also cool homes in the summer. - NEW PROTECTIONS FOR RENTERS:
- Today, 1.6 million children live in private accommodation suffering from cold, damp, or mould.
- The government believes in a simple principle that if you rent a home, private or social, a landlord has a responsibility to ensure that it is safe, warm, and affordable.
- By updating protections for renters, and supporting landlords to make these upgrades in a fair way over several years, an estimated half a million families will be lifted out of fuel poverty by the end of the decade.
How EPCs will change
In what the government calls “a partial response” to a 2024 consultation exercise on reforms, the government says it will, in the long term, base EPCs on four elements.
These are: energy cost, fabric performance, heating system and smart readiness.
The government says “the separate metrics will provide clearer and more useful information to consumers, whilst enabling government to be more targeted in addressing issues such as fuel poverty and net zero, in a way that is not possible [currently].”
A lengthy document released today by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) says work is still ongoing on requiring a new EPC when an existing one expires for all private rented buildings.
And specifically it says “we will ensure the revised Energy Performance of Buildings and Private Rental Sector Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards regulations interact effectively to place the right requirements on landlords without incurring undue burdens.
“MHCLG and the Department for Energy and Net Zero will engage landlord groups to help shape our plans which we will finalise in the final government response to this consultation.”
In addition to EPCs, the government will introduce for all residential buildings what it calls ”a secondary energy demand metric” based on delivered energy, to provide information on modelled energy usage.”
It will also retain a secondary carbon-based metric on domestic EPCs, to provide a snapshot of the emissions produced by the building.
The government adds that when new EPC formats are introduced, old certificates will still be valid until the end of their 10 year life.
Homeowners will be able to commission an EPC voluntarily to seek information about how they might improve the energy performance.