How a New Boiler Could Save You Getting Hit by Green Tax Charges

Landlords may soon have to consider getting a new boiler for their properties as part of a Government drive to improve efficiency in older houses.

Changes in the so-called green tax measures mean more than 330,000 buy-to-let landlords may have to fork out up to £5,000 from spring 2018 to ensure their properties satisfy the new rules.

This is because, from April 2018, home improvement loans will no longer be available to landlords to make their houses more energy efficient.

How a New Boiler Could Save You Getting Hit by Green Tax Charges

The green tax

Part of the UK Government’s plans to improve the energy efficiency of the country and reduce its overall environmental impact, the green tax is actually a series of country-wide measures aimed at encouraging householders as a whole to make their homes more energy efficient.

Part of the scheme has involved providing loans to landlords through the Green Deal project, where improvements were paid for by tenants, who would get the benefit of the resulting lower energy bills.

The Green Deal scheme also encouraged ordinary homeowners to take out loans to improve their own property’s efficiency through insulating their loft, installing cavity wall insulation or boiler replacement. These, and other measures, were aimed at saving homeowners money on their energy bills, as well as helping improve the country’s environmental credibility.

Forthcoming changes to the scheme, implemented by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, mean landlords will effectively have to foot the bill for a new boiler themselves. It is estimated that more than 300,000 landlords will be affected by the changes.

How efficient?

Under the new rules, landlords will have to ensure their water heating systems are at least a band E on the energy rating scale. As many older Victorian and Edwardian houses only currently achieve ratings of bands F and G, landlords will have to fit a new boiler – improving its energy rating – in order to meet the requirements.

The Government is proposing to place a cap of £5,000 on improvements by landlords and insists most will not have to pay much more than £1,800 to install a more efficient boiler.

However, it does mean landlords will have to pay for improvements themselves and will face penalties if their properties do not conform to the revised energy standards. Experts are warning the moves could result in higher rents for tenants, as landlords seek to pass the cost of improvements on, as well as a reduction in the number of people becoming buy-to-let investors in the first place.

Given these changes, landlords are being advised to make improvements to the energy efficiency of their properties as soon as they can. If your properties are falling behind in the energy efficiency stakes, maybe a boiler replacement is on the cards sooner rather than later.

This article was written by Aura Gas, leading installers of new boilers in Hampshire and the surrounding areas.