RICS has written to the Minister in charge of the Energy Bill, Greg Barker, and met with DECC officials to seek clarity on the details of certain proposed measures.
This follows Government amendments to the Energy Bill which remove the proposed independent review of the Green Deal measures in 2014 and impose the deadline of 1 April 2018 for residential and commercial landlords to bring their properties up to an 'E' rating.
DECC assured RICS that the Government is committed to working with the sector to ensure that all parties fully understand the Green Deal ahead of 2018. DECC are particularly keen to engage with landlords who own one or a small number of properties to ensure they fully understand the measures and how they and their properties can benefit. RICS will continue to seek views from members as the secondary legislation emerges.
RICS raised a concern that introduction of the measures 'no later than 2018' gives the Government flexibility to bring forward the introduction of the measures. It was made clear that the Ministers see the 2016 and 2018 regulations as a ‘backstop’ and have purposely allowed a long period for non-regulatory approaches to take effect. The Minister will seek to make his intentions clearer when he returns to the House of Commons at Report Stage.
RICS sought clarity from Government about how different types of building and tenure, for example, industrial warehouses and holiday lettings, will be treated in the regulations and whether exceptions for listed buildings for example, would be possible as it may not be desirable or cost-effective to bring these buildings up to an ‘E’ rating.
DECC confirmed that an initially broad definition was intentional and that this detail will be in secondary legislation. There will be a full consultation on this and potential exceptions before the regulations are drafted and introduced. RICS welcomed this and will seek to contribute in due course.
Finally, RICS offered to assist DECC in their current work around the issue of potential retaliatory evictions ahead of the Green Deal being introduced and to gather views on the issue of commercial leases where the lease makes an explicit obligation for a tenant to improve the energy performance of the property. RICS will also be undertaking further meetings with DECC on technical issues around solid wall insulation.
RICS will continue a regular dialogue with DECC as the secondary legislation is developed in the autumn.
Please contact Mary Thorogood, Parliamentary Affairs Manager at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you would like to contribute your views.