Private rented housing energy efficiency: consultation assessment (part one)
Partial business and regulatory impact assessment (BRIA) of our consultation on efficiency and condition standards.
10. Summary and recommendation
The recommended policy option is to introduce regulations at the point of turnover coupled with a backstop date, as well as setting a trajectory so that the minimum EPC is raised over time from an E to a D. In the absence of such regulation, the required retrofitting of low energy efficiency dwellings in the private rented sector is unlikely to happen, or will only happen more slowly than is required for purposes of the delivering the Scottish Government's objectives relating to climate change, energy efficiency, fuel poverty, and delivering a high-quality private rented sector.
The combination of point of rental and backstop date, coupled with setting the trajectory with an initial E and only raising it subsequently to a D, will allow the regulations to be introduced in a phased approach so as to reduce any disruption to landlords and tenants, while ensuring that within a reasonable time period all tenants in the private rented sector are assured of minimum standards of energy efficiency.
The key summary costs and benefits were set out above in Table 3 and Table 7, which are reproduced below.
Costs and benefits of raising all private rented dwellings to a minimum EPC of E
| Total | Average | |
|---|---|---|
| Dwellings below EPC E | 30,000 | |
| Cost and benefits within private rented sector | ||
| Upgrade cost | £33.2m | £1,110 |
| Hidden cost | £3.3m | £110 |
| Assessment costs | £4.2m | £140 |
| Post-upgrade EPC cost | £2.1m | £70 |
| Annual fuel bill savings before in-use factors | £12.8m | £430 |
| Annual fuel bill savings after in-use factors | £9.6m | £320 |
| Net present value before in-use factors | £226.8m | £7,560 |
| Net present value after in-use factors | £155.6m | £5,190 |
| Net present value of cost of having EPC by Sep 2021 | £0.2m | |
| Net present value after in-use factors and having EPC by Sep 2021 | £155.4m | |
| Emissions abatement ( CO2e) | ||
| Annual carbon savings before in-use factors | 0.06Mt | 2.2t |
| Annual carbon savings after in-use factors | 0.05Mt | 1.6t |
| Annual carbon savings after in-use factors and comfort taking | 0.04Mt | 1.3t |
| Annual non-traded carbon savings after in-use factors and comfort taking | 0.03Mt | 1.1t |
Costs and benefits of raising the minimum standard from an EPC E to an EPC D:
| Total | Average | |
|---|---|---|
| Dwellings below EPC D | 95,000 | |
| Cost and benefits within private rented sector | ||
| Upgrade cost | £170m | £1,790 |
| Hidden cost | £17m | £180 |
| Assessment costs | £13m | £140 |
| Post-upgrade EPC cost | £7m | £70 |
| Annual fuel bill savings before in-use factors | £22m | £240 |
| Annual fuel bill savings after in-use factors | £17m | £180 |
| Net present value before in-use factors | £216m | £2,280 |
| Net present value after in-use factors | £102m | £1,070 |
| Emissions abatement ( CO2e) | ||
| Annual carbon savings before in-use factors | 0.13Mt | 1.3t |
| Annual carbon savings after in-use factors | 0.09Mt | 1.0t |
| Annual carbon savings after in-use factors and comfort taking | 0.08Mt | 0.8t |
| Annual non-traded carbon savings after in-use factors and comfort taking | 0.06Mt | 0.7t |
Contact
Email: Denise Buchanan
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