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Wednesday, June 02, 2010

Energy efficient landlords

The Energy Saving Trust (EST) a government quango are doing their bit to cajole landlords into providing more energy efficient housing.

They have provided a begging letter for a tenant to send to a landlord seeking to persuade their landlord to install energy saving measures.

How nice! I wonder out of interest how many of these letters have been sent. Perhaps one for ever member of staff employed by the EST to come up with the idea. Probably not a very efficient use of tax payers resources.

Landlords will respond to environmental concerns if sufficient incentives are given. Look at the take up of the recent boiler scrappage scheme.

Tax system up until recently against energy efficient landlords

Don't forget up until very recently the tax system mitigated against a landlord from installing such energy efficient improvements as Upvc windows by classing them as an improvement rather than a repair. Thereby preventing a landlord from setting the costs against rental profits.

It is now possible under the Governments Landlord Energy Saving Allowance (LESA) to claim up to £1500 against tax every year for certain insulation works. This includes loft, wall and draught proofing.


Landlords need cash incentives

Perhaps Property Hawk could produce a letter that landlords could send to some of these quangos asking their workers to resign and give up their idiot jobs. Put the £50,000 of costs they save the public purse per post into a fund. Then this could be given as a real grant to incentivize landlords into taking action. Now I'd definitely send that letter and landlords would be 'properly' set up to start making a real difference.



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4 comments:

Matt Robinson said...

Hi,

it's OK - only one of us (me!)wrote the landlord letter - not a committee. We were responding to requests from renters that their wasn't meuch they could do directly themselves to take larger energy saving measures.

I'll check how many downloads of the letter there were and post this later.

Thanks,

Matt

The Editor said...

Hi Matt,

I'm still waiting for the 'score on the door'?

If you do want to connect with & get your message across to tens of thousands of genuine landlords. Property Hawk is still looking for sponsorship of it's Assured Shorthold Tenancy agreement used by over 25,000 landlords per year and at least that number of tenants.

Now that would be public money effectively spent!

Anonymous said...

hi. I have just put some upvc glazing in and foolwed the link about energy sabving tax benifits, but double glazing was not mentioned. Can anyone cnfirm if it is allowable against tax please?
Thanks
Paul

Anonymous said...

Just read my comments and wonder what happened as loads of spelling mistakes have appeared...seems a bit random!
Paul