The Autumn Statement could propose offering discounts in stamp duty for homebuyers who take improvement to raise the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of their home during their first two years of ownership. Could this be the beginning of a new divergence between the Conservatives and Labour, where the Tories provide incentives and Labour pursue punitive measures?
More carrot and less stick over green policies seems a good thing
Previous government policy was to threaten the owners of homes with low EPC ratings. Landlords were to be banned for letting properties with a rating lower than ‘C’, and in the longer term it would become impossible to buy, sell or take out a mortgage on such a property. The policy threatened to blight millions of otherwise perfectly good properties. At present, fewer than half of homes in England have an EPC rating of ‘C’ or above.
More carrot and less stick over green policies seems a good thing.
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