Many landlords will have been relieved to hear our Prime Minister confirming that he has taken the decision to significantly relax the proposed net zero targets, for both boilers and Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) ratings. 

Part of the plan had been to ban the installation of new gas boilers from 2025, with the aim to force people to move to alternatives, which in the main would be air source heat pumps. This requirement is now being delayed to 2035.

The other significant change was the scrapping of the requirement for EPCs to have to reach a rating of C by 2025 for new lettings, and by 2028 for all lettings. This was going to be extremely hard for many properties to reach, and indeed we have many under our management that would have struggled.

Of course, not everyone is happy with the changes, given the need to make our housing stock more energy efficient. However, the proposals were just not deliverable, being unpractical and expensive. No doubt there will be further changes to policy over the next year or so.

Read our full update here.