Greater collaboration between leaseholders and local authorities, and exploration of potential legal changes, could help residents in leasehold flats save money on energy bills, according to new guidance from London Councils.
London has the most leaseholder properties in the country, with 36% of all homes and 62% of flats owned by leaseholders.
Making London’s homes more energy efficient is a key ambition for London boroughs. However, local authorities and residents wanting to make their homes greener and warmer are facing significant challenges.
London Councils’ new report on how best to make leasehold properties more energy efficient acknowledges that financial costs and legal complexities are making it difficult for leaseholders and council tenants living within the same housing blocks to receive help. It is also putting a significant strain on council’s budgets.
Improvements to make these homes warmer and greener often include installing new insulation across a whole building or replacing fossil fuel heating with renewable sources. This can be technically complex and costly.
This new report includes step-by-step guidance to support councils with resident engagement, the legal landscape, and support around costs. It also includes recommendations for wider policy reforms.
Recommended policy reforms include:
- A clearer framework for freeholder and leaseholder collaboration, to streamline the process of recovering costs and minimise financial pressure on leaseholders.
- Better guidance on leaseholder caps as London boroughs often receive conflicting legal advice.
- An adjustment to funding schemes so work on leasehold homes will be more successful. Current funding schemes do not give councils sufficient time to go through the leasehold consultation processes, despite it being required by law.
- Legal timelines to be a top consideration for government when allocating funding, giving local authorities the time needed to meet their obligations while accessing available funds.
Cllr Kieron Williams, London Councils Executive Member for Climate, Transport and Environment, said:
“Making it easier for leaseholders to carry out improvements to their homes is an important issue for London - more than a third of all homes in the city are owned by leaseholders, including 62% of flats.
“We also have 379,000 households living in fuel poverty in London, partly due to the number of cold and poorly insulated homes in the capital. This is damaging people’s health and eating into people’s incomes.
“Today’s report sets out clear recommendations for how councils can accelerate the delivery of energy saving measures for leasehold properties, making it easier for leaseholders to make their homes greener and warmer.
“With 31% of London’s carbon emissions coming from domestic buildings, not only will these improvements lower energy bills, but they will play a vital role in achieving our goal to reduce carbon emissions across the capital.”
ENDS
Notes to editors:
1) The Mandatory Reduction of Service Charges (England) Directions 2014, commonly referred to as Florrie’s Law, was introduced to protect leaseholders from unaffordable repair and maintenance costs. The law limits the amount that a landlord can charge for repair, maintenance or improvements to £15,000 in any five-year period for properties in London. However, the cap is only applicable when costs are incurred for repair, maintenance or improvement “undertaken wholly or partly with relevant assistance” from a central government programme (e.g. a grant scheme).