Good points brian. perhaps landlords need to be bound by some sort of byelaw or building regulation to encourage them to keep up to a certain standard. perhaps the CSH for existing properties when it is introduced will address this.

This is the typical landlord-tenant scenario it happens in commercial buildings too.

There are tax breaks for landlords to encourage them to carry out these improvements.
Ultimately all rental properties will require an energy rating and the poorly insulated ones will achieve a poor rating and this will impact on their rents.

Hopefully this will be the starting point for change.

Apparently there is an EU directive which will soon force Registered Landlords to produce a valid energy performance certificate (EPC) or energy certificates for domestic properties (EPBD) for any homes they plan to let or sell (at change in tennancy). It seems set to come into force in 2009.
Take a look at:
http://www.esd.co.uk/has/cfs.html" >Energy for Sustainable Development

As a landlord myself perhaps I can put the case from the property owner's point of view.

Tenant's put a value on double glazing and gas central heating which is reflected in the rent so all my properties have it - no grants would have been required for this but I applied for and got some anyway in certain cases. There are some grants for better loft insulation and draft proofing when your tenant is on benefit. I have always encouraged my tenants to apply for these and so all my properties have 300mm loft insulation. The majority of landlords will have done likewise but you you only ever hear about the ones who haven't.

Going any further than this on old housing stock is expensive and what would I get out of it? The rent won't go up. Tenant's won't care one way or the other and the capital value will not increase. So what if I can get a tax break, I've still got to fund 78% of the cost as a basic rate tax payer - this is just a gimick to make the Chancellor look like he is doing something.

I would be in favour of regulations to force improvements in energy efficient in the existing housing stock but only if they are universally applied to all housholders not just landlords. The atmosphere does not care whether the CO2 comes from tenant's boiler or a homeowner's boiler after all does it?

however, this kind of policy, while perhaps necessary, will inevitably decrease the supply of housing in the private rented sector by forcing up costs and time spent on compliance. I am already selling off a large part of my portfolio in the expectation of housing market crash. Estate agents I know are telling me the only investment buyers at the moments are the inexperienced first time investors who are buying into yields of 5 or 6%. I can get that in the bank and it is a lot less hassle believe me.

There are advantages to landlords of having energy efficient properties. Namely;
- it can cut down on maintenance costs by reducing mildew or dampness
- insulations can increase tenancy periods reducing times when properties are vacant.

There are research papers to back up the lower tenancy turnovers, but sorry, can't find a link to them. Educating landlords of the benefits to them of improving a rentals energy efficiency may go some way to increasing the standard of rentals.