Sheffield private house renters paying more for electricity and heating than social tenants

Campaign group Generation Rent says private renters have put up with draughty homes for too long as lax regulations mean landlords can avoid making improvements.

Energy Performance Certificates provide information on the energy efficiency of a building, and are required when a property is built, sold or let.

Homes are rated from zero to 100, with a higher score reflecting more energy efficiency.

The median score for privately rented houses with a rating in Sheffield was 59 in 2018-19, compared to 68 for those rented by social landlords, Office for National Statistics data shows.

The median is a measure of the average which takes the middle of a range of figures, meaning it will not be skewed by exceptionally low or high ratings.

The estimated median energy cost – those for lighting, heating and hot water – for private renters was £1,083.50 a year, much more than the £665 for social rented flats.

The figures do not cover all homes in the area, only those with a known EPC rating – the ONS estimates that 54% had a certificate at the end of March last year.

For privately rented flats, the median EPC score was 73, on a par with social rent flats.

But median energy bills still came in at £552 – more than the £459 for social renters.

The ONS said estimates can be influenced by factors such as property size and the assumed number of occupants, so somewhere with the same rating will not always have the same costs.

Across England, the score was 68 for private rent flats compared to 73 for social rent, with bills at £567 and £461 respectively.

For houses it was 63 (£849) for private rental and 68 (£667) for social lets, meaning private renters were worse off in both cases.

Dan Wilson Craw, director of Generation Rent, said: “Private renters have had to put up with draughty homes for far too long, because there hasn’t been much of a carrot or a stick for landlords to insulate their properties.

“Even with recent Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards, landlords get an exemption if it would cost too much to make the necessary improvements.”

He said the recently announced Green Homes Grant, whereby homeowners – including landlords – can get financial help to make energy efficiency upgrades, was an opportunity to make thousands of rented homes more comfortable.

The Government will pay vouchers of up to £5,000 – or £10,000 for some low-earners – to cover up to two-thirds of the cost of work done by approved tradespeople.

“But the Government hasn’t told us how it will make sure the money goes to people who need it most,” Mr Wilson Craw added.

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesman said new homes of all types are significantly more energy efficient than most older housing.

He added: “We are improving the quality of housing across the country by ensuring new homes adhere to strict energy efficiency standards, giving councils powers to deal with dangerous damp in privately rented homes, and enabling renters to take landlords who fail to provide decent living conditions to court.

“We’ve also introduced Green Homes Grants, worth up to £10,000, to help cover energy efficiency improvements, meaning hundreds of thousands of homes will be warmer and safer this winter.”

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