The government’s Net Zero Review has called for a number of actions to deliver “cleaner, cheaper, greener homes”, including reforming EPCs, creating retrofit hubs and expanding green finance.

Last year, the government committed to becoming net zero by 2050, with housing a major area of reform as it contributes a large of amount of emissions.

Recommendations in the report include bringing forward all consultations and work to mandate the Future Homes Standard by 2025 and for all homes sold to have an Energy Performance Certificate of C by 2033.

“A Net Zero Homes Standard should be considered for the future, as homes that have taken the appropriate steps to be as efficient as possible through a mixture of fabric and low carbon heating measures will be more financially desirable to live in, buy, and sell,” it said.

The report added that there should also be a consultation to mandate new homes be built with solar panels.

The review also recommended that the government adopt a 10-year mission to make heat pumps a “widespread technology” in the UK and regulate for the end of new and replacement gas boilers by 2033.

It said the government should “provide certainty by 2024” on new and replacement gas boiler phase out date to “drive industry and investor confidence”.

It also called for the government to “urgently reform” EPC ratings to “create a clearer, more accessible” Net Zero Performance Certificate (NZPC) for households.

The review added that the government should require landlords to include the average bill cost alongside the EPC or possible NZPC rating, when letting out a property to help renters understand costs and help put a premium on energy efficient homes.

Creation of retrofit hubs

The government should also establish localised retrofit hubs by 2025, as part of a national programme, to “facilitate local retrofit delivery”.

The report said this would allow installers to seek training and impartial advice as well as connecting households to suitable installers.

It added that the policy framework should be structured in a similar way to the Future Homes Hub.

The report said over the next 10 years, warmer homes could grow the economy by £174.4bn and create 500,000 new jobs across the country.

It acknowledged the retrofit challenge, noting that the UK housing stock is older, with over half of homes in England built before 1965 and almost 20 per cent built before 1919.

The report added that lower income households were more likely to have a lower EPC rating, with nearly half having a rating of D or lower.

Another challenge is the dominance of gas as a heating source with 80 per cent of homes using it as a heat source.

A skills gap for installers of low carbon or energy efficiency heating was also mentioned, with the report saying that the government should encourage reskilling and greater training opportunities in the heat pump sector.

It also should encourage the adoption of standards to increase the number of firms able to use existing schemes.

Green finance product report should be delivered by end of 2023

The report said the government should create an Energy Efficiency Taskforce workstream, which was launched by Chanceller Jeremy Hunt in his Autumn statement, on green finance products to report by the end of this year.

“This should help to support those in low EPC rated properties to carry out green home upgrades and should identify opportunities to crowd-in private finance, alongside public funding,” it added.

It also called for the government to deliver the Heat Pump Investment Accelerator “to catalyse private investment for at least two major heat pump factories in the UK”.

The report also recommended that the government extend the Boiler Upgrade Scheme to 2028 and look at whether grants should be increased “before being scaled down over time”.

Awareness of available government support should also be improved.

Schemes like the Homes Upgrade Scheme, Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and existing schemes for low-income households should be continued and expanded the report added.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Treasury, as part of its update to its green finance strategy, should also “set out a clear, robust and ambitious approach to disclosure, standard setting, and scaling up green finance”.

This includes how it will enforce Sustainable Disclosure Requirements across the economy, long-term plan to attract capital to meet net zero ambition and maintain the UK’s position as a “leading green finance hub”.