The government has promised to look at increasing the minimum energy efficiency level required to rent a home by 2030.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband used his keynote speech at Labour’s conference to promise to take more than a million renters out of fuel poverty.
He said the government will consult by the end of the year on boosting minimum energy efficiency standards for private and social rented homes by 2030.
Currently, private homes can be rented out if they meet the energy performance certificate E, while social rented homes have no minimum energy efficiency standards.
The government wants to raise that limit to an energy performance certificate C or equivalent by 2030.
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The consultation is part of Labour’s manifesto pledge to raise standards in the private rented sector, with the government saying it goes even further by extending it to social rented homes as well.
Mr Miliband accused the Conservatives of leaving the poorest people in “cold, draughty homes”, calling it a scandal and an outrage that Labour will not tolerate.
“Warmer homes, lower bills, over one million people lifted out of fuel poverty,” he said.
“That’s the difference a Labour government makes.”
However, he did not mention the fact 10 million pensioners have had the winter fuel payment removed by his government. It was first introduced by Sir Tony Blair, under who Mr Miliband was a minister, to help pay for higher energy costs in winter.
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The move is part of Labour’s “Warm Homes Plan” to make homes cleaner and cheaper to run.
Greenpeace welcomed the announcement but said the government has a long way to go to get all poorly insulated homes “fit for purpose”.
The campaign group’s head of politics Ami McCarthy said: “When it comes to insulation, renters have been left out in the cold and landlords let off the hook for far too long.
“So, we wholeheartedly support this proposed move to ensure the homes of those living in private and social housing are properly insulated, warm and cheaper to heat, which will also lower planet-heating emissions and make Britain more energy secure,” she said.
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“This must come with measures to ensure costs are not passed on to renters.
“With 19 million homes rated EPC D or under in the UK, however, the government still has a long way to go to ensure that all poorly insulated homes are fit for purpose.
“Introducing a national renewal tax on the bloated wealth of the super-rich would be a fair way to raise the revenue required to fund these measures and bring people’s energy bills down for good.”
