How would the Conservative Party’s Energy Performance Certificates change UK homes?
As the world uses more and more energy and the threat of green house gases destroying our natural environment increases, it is important that economically developed countries, such as Britain, set a leading example and strive towards a low carbon economy. The Conservative Party wants to lead Britain towards this, not only by investing in renewable energies but also by making a huge difference to everybody’s homes and in turn the UK property market.
Inefficient housing contributes enormously to Britain’s ranking as the primary waster of energy in Europe and by introducing a number of cost-effective schemes to UK homes, the Conservatives intend to introduce a low carbon economy. One of the most significant schemes laid out in the Conservative manifesto is to introduce Energy Performance Certificates (EPC). By possessing an EPC a current house owner will be provided with vital information regarding how to make their property much more energy efficient. This will enable any property to achieve its optimum energy efficiency level and the EPC will also offer advice on how to install these measures and where to receive financial help if required.
The Conservative Party believes that once EPCs become a standard across UK homes they will provide an enormous incentive for property owners to increase the energy efficiency of their homes. This is due to the expected influence it will have on the UK property market in terms of making a decision on buying or renting. If a property is already fulfilling the standards indicated by an EPC then a prospective buyer or renter will look more favourably upon it because energy bills will cost significantly less and large amounts of money will be saved in the long run meaning the impact of EPCs could be significant.
Currently EPCs are provided within the controversial Home Information Packs, which were introduced by Labour, but under the existing regulations Home Information Packs have arguably created an extra hassle when buying and selling homes and have increased the related costs. Under this system, The EPC becomes entangled with the Home Information Pack and thus has negative associations when marketing a property. The Conservatives vow to abolish the Home Information Pack to ensure that EPCs are there to aide property owners in improving the energy efficiency of their properties. Ultimately, this scheme intends to provide incentives and to have an influential effect on how the UK property market is viewed by potential house owners.