Critics have argued that the government’s Heat and Buildings Strategy does not do enough to ensure that landlords invest in green home improvements to their rental properties.

In plans announced yesterday, the government said it would be offering grants of £5,000 to encourage property owners to scrap gas boilers and install low-carbon energy generators such as heat pumps.

However, both landlord and tenant groups have expressed doubts over how successful the strategy will be.

Generation Rent deputy director Dan Wilson Craw says: “Private rented homes are the hardest to make greener because the tenant pays the bills but has to rely on their landlord paying for the improvements.

“Raising gas prices might encourage home owners to invest in heat pumps, but on its own that won’t get landlords putting basic insulation in their properties, let alone installing the newest technologies. 

“As a result more renters will be unable to afford to heat their homes properly. 

“Homes that are harder to heat are more likely to have damp problems, causing health problems for their occupants. 

“The net zero agenda should deliver lower bills and healthier homes for renters, but without a better plan the government will achieve the opposite.”

Meanwhile the National Residential Landlords Association warns the government’s “piecemeal” approach risks undermining efforts to improve the energy efficiency of the private rented sector.

The NRLA says that following discussions, the government has indicated that landlords will be able to apply for the grants from April next year.

However, it says that despite the publication of the strategy, the government has again failed to provide the clarity needed by private landlords to plan for the future of their businesses – pledging to publish further information before the end of the year. 

National Residential Landlords Association chief executive Ben Beadle says: “80% of private rented households have gas central heating and replacing such systems will be both costly and vital to achieving net zero.

“Providing grants to assist householders and landlords to install heat pumps is a welcome step, but much more is needed to make the government’s targets achievable.

“Once again private landlords have been left waiting for the government to publish details of the standards they will be required to comply with, the deadlines they must meet, and how such work should be funded.”