Despite efforts to heat our homes over winter, many of our members have experienced inside temperatures dropping to unsafe levels. Renters’ Voice believes this is a result of low-quality housing and outdated fitness standards in the private rented sector. We are therefore happy to see the Department for Communities Draft Fuel Poverty Strategy out for public consultation. The strategy proposes ways to improve energy efficiency for vulnerable households by raising and enforcing housing standards in the private rented sector.
Renters’ Voice knows that poorly insulated homes, draughty single-glazed windows & inefficient heating systems make homes uncomfortable and unsafe to live in, as well as add to the financial stress renters are under. In our Cost-of-living survey (Feb 23), nearly 70% of respondents told us that the efficiency of their heating system made it more difficult for them to afford to heat their privately rented homes.
This was the case for one of our members, who received a quarterly electric bill of £754. Our member’s usage does not warrant such a high bill, instead the bill is shockingly high because her home is heated by electric radiators, which are costly to run and ineffective when trying to heat a large room, like her studio flat. Even when the heating was on, our member recorded the room temperature at below 18 C. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends indoor temperatures to be between 18-21’C for non-vulnerable households and 20-23’C for vulnerable households.
Legislating for higher EPC ratings & updating fitness standards
As well as higher EPC ratings, Renters’ Voice wants legislative change to update the current fitness standards, focusing on what is deemed an adequate provision of heating. One of our members spent most of 2024 living without heating or hot water due to a broken gas boiler. Despite the landlord persistently delaying the repair, Environmental Health could take no action as the property had working sockets to plug in an electric heater. Renters’ Voice strongly believes that electric heaters and electric storage heaters should not be considered to provide, ‘a reasonable degree of thermal comfort,’ and would argue that, as well as being extremely costly to run, they do not prevent or protect against the growth of mould and the spread of dampness which is prejudicial to health. Therefore, we want to see all electric heaters and electric storage heaters removed from the current Fitness Standards definition of ‘efficient heating’.
Crucially, to ensure these changes in legislation achieve their purpose, Renters’ Voice also calls on the Department for Communities to prioritise enforcement of EPC ratings and fitness standards. As we have seen with the continued practice of charging illegal letting fees, that legislation alone does not ensure compliance.