Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department has taken to incentivise the installation of household insulation by private landlords and housing associations; and if he will make a statement.

The Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property)(England and Wales) Regulations 2015 require that, subject to certain exemptions, domestic and non-domestic private rented sector landlords improve any Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) F or G rated properties they rent to a minimum of EPC band E from April 2018. To reach this standard, landlords of poorly rated properties will be required to install energy efficiency measures relevant to those properties, which could include insulation.

The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) supports the installation of energy efficiency measures in both private rented housing and social rented housing. From January 2013 to June 2017, energy efficiency measures were installed in 242,348 private rented homes and 223,046 social rented homes under ECO.

The Government will also look at a long term trajectory for energy performance standards across the private rented sector, with the aim of as many private rented homes as possible being upgraded to EPC Band C by 2030, where practical, cost-effective and affordable. We will consider options with a view to consulting in 2018. In addition, the Government will also look at how social housing can meet similar standards on the same timetable. When looking at this we will need to take account of the findings of the independent public inquiry into the fire at Grenfell Tower and the Government’s separate work looking at wider social housing policy issues.