CIEH calls for landlord registration scheme in response to BEIS consultation

CIEH has reiterated its call for a new landlord registration scheme in England in response to a consultation from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

In September, BEIS launched a new consultation asking for views on proposals around raising energy performance standards for the domestic private rented sector in England and Wales. 

The UK Government had previously committed to upgrading as many private rented sector homes as possible to Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) Band C by 2030, where “practical, cost-effective and affordable.”

The Government’s proposals within the consultation include plans to:

• Reduce energy bills and increase comfort for tenants and support delivery of the fuel poverty target of EPC C by 2030
• Investigate potential property value improvements for landlords
• Deliver carbon emission savings over Carbon Budgets 4 and 5, making progress towards the net zero target

In its response, CIEH welcomed the proposals in the consultation, notably that they focus on health outcomes as well as carbon emissions. 

However, the central element of the response was the call for a much-needed landlord registration scheme in England. Over the past 12 months, CIEH has campaigned strongly for the adoption of a new register as set out in its “A national registration scheme for the private sector” parliamentary briefing published in July 2019.  

The introduction of a national landlord register ahead of the new energy efficiency regulations being implemented would help central Government and local authorities to communicate with landlords about new laws and regulations as well as reminding them about some of their existing responsibilities.

Tamara Sandoul, Policy and Campaigns Manager at CIEH said:

“This consultation contains many promising proposals and we strongly welcome the focus on health outcomes as well as carbon emissions.  

We also welcome the proposal of £10,000 cost cap for landlords and cut off point of 2028 to bring all private rented sector properties up to a Band C standard. 

However, we absolutely need to see the implementation of a holistic landlord registration scheme in England, replicating what has already been achieved in Wales and including all housing hazards, to help aid enforcement of these new energy efficiency standards.

We have long called for a national registration scheme for all privately rented properties. This would cover a range of health and safety considerations and improve the quality of housing overall, rather than only being focussed on energy efficiency. A broader database would be more useful to local authorities, simpler for landlords to use and also more cost-effective to run, whilst bringing benefits of better quality homes and better information for tenants.

A national register was also recommended by the Committee on Fuel Poverty and has broad support from many organisations and regulators alike.

We have been heartened by the Government’s response to this key policy initiative and look forward to working with them to help shape it further.”