More confusion over Green Deal as landlords steer clear

Nearly two-thirds of housing professionals have no plans to let their tenants use the Green Deal with many citing confusion surrounding the scheme as a main barrier.


According to a survey released today by rendering company SPSenvirowall, only 36.6% of respondents planned to let tenants use the Government’s flagship energy retrofitting scheme, compared with 21.4% who had no plans and 42% who were undecided.

The questionnaire was completed by employees from local authorities, housing associations and arm’s-length management groups. They ranged from chief executives and directors to department heads and officers.

For those respondents not planning on using the Green Deal, more than a third (35.8%) said it was because they were unclear of the pros and cons, whereas 43.4% said although they had no plans, they had not yet made a final decision.

There was more enthusiasm for accessing money through the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) and the Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP) with 57.3% of respondents having secured funds from at least one of them.

Similarly, plans to access money through the Energy Company Obligation were confirmed by 36.8% of respondents, with only 12.6% confirming they had no plans to do so.

SPSenvirowall managing director Mitch Gee said: “The big proportion of people who are undecided about the Green Deal reflects the confusion that currently surrounds the scheme, which the government and industry needs to address urgently.

“However, as only a fifth say they definitely have no plans to let tenants use the Green Deal, it gives a window of opportunity to show those undecided customers and organisations the benefits they could gain. It’s a similar story with the Energy Company Obligation.”

Launched on January 28, the Green Deal aims to support the introduction of energy efficiency measures to all buildings.

However, it has been mired with accusations of over complexity and lack of publicity. According to a survey conducted by the Energy Saving Trust (EST), earlier this year, one in five people were confused about what to buy under the scheme.  

Read here to find out how SMEs might fare under the Green Deal. 

Conor McGlone

Action inspires action. Stay ahead of the curve with sustainability and energy newsletters from edie

Subscribe