The National Insulation Association (NIA) and National Landlords Association (NLA) have come together to provide landlords with an easy to use online facility to find local insulation installers to help meet energy efficiency standards.
Both organisations are advising landlords that they should be taking action soon in order to upgrade their properties by April 1, 2018. This is when the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES) will come into force and require rented properties to have an EPC rating of E or above before they can be legally let.
Richard Lambert, chief executive officer of the National Landlords Association (NLA), said: “It’s important that landlords have access to the most trusted and reliable of local specialists, particularly when it comes to insulation, and we hope that this online service will enable landlords to meet their obligations by making their properties more energy efficient.”
Minister for Energy and Industry Jesse Norman said: “This is a welcome initiative from the NIA and the National Landlords Association, which should help people improve the energy efficiency of their homes and save money on their heating bills.”
The Associations say that landlords should be thinking about what they need to do to meet MEES and how they can provide warmer homes for their tenants. The minimum E rating may be raised in the future and so landlords with buildings rated F or G may decide that they wish to spend more than the minimum in order to bring those buildings to D or above.
Neil Marshall, chief executive of the NIA, commented: “Our partnership with the NLA will provide a timely service to help Private Landlords to meet the new energy efficiency standards. Landlords can contact local NIA Installer members via the NLA or NIA websites to arrange a survey and quotation. They can be safe in the knowledge that NIA installers will have met stringent criteria and sign up to the NIA’s Code of Professional Practice providing added assurance and recourse.”
