Incentives for refurbishment
A prime opportunity for investing in the refurbishment of a property is shortly following the sale, therefore of crucial importance in helping to bring about a transformation of the housing stock. Sales and rentals of residential properties totalled 1.3 million transactions in 2002 (ODPM, 2003). Tenants in rented housing move, on average every five years, while owner-occupiers move less often – about once every fifteen years (Robinson et al., 2004). Therefore by 2050, each rented dwelling needs to be transformed through the process of nine property transactions, whereas owner-occupied homes have approximately three transactions.
A system of rebates on stamp duty is proposed as a means of motivating energy efficiency improvements in the time just following a property sale, when major works are often undertaken. In the rental sector, where the efficiency cost savings and comfort improvements are enjoyed by the tenant rather than the landlord, there is far less scope for incentivising improvement. Regulation of the rented sector could provide an obligation for the landlord to improve the property to a minimum standard before a new rental contract is agreed.
