A year ago the government launched an initiative for householders to improve the energy efficiency of their homes and hopefully save money through loans to install measures such as insulation, heating, draught proofing, double glazing and renewable energy such as solar panels. Has it been worth it?
No seems to be the overwhelming response for private homeowners but it is a different matter for landlords. The principle of the scheme is sound where you pay for an energy assessor to visit your property and based on recommendations, borrow the money to pay for energy and money saving works to be done through a loan that is paid off through your electricity bill. The problem is, from the assessor onwards the scheme is far too expensive.
The assessor costs around £150 as opposed to £65 that Homefinders charge. The loans that the government offer, although conveniently added to your electricity bill, cost around 10% over 25 years with all the extra fees and finance charges included as opposed to around 7% you can get on the high street.
If you’re a landlord it is a different matter. When you have the works done, it is the electricity bill payer that pays for the loan with a slightly higher payment amount. Couple this with legislation from 2016 that forces landlords to improve energy efficiency at a tenant’s request and by 2018 it will be illegal to let out a property with a low rating of F or G, it is something worth considering before costs of the scheme increase to meet demand and of course, utility bills increase even further.
To find out more click here or if you want a better value option, contact Homefinders for either your own home or your rental. Improvement costs can range from as little as £50 upwards and make you significant savings in your energy bills.
Haydar Sehri's blog
