Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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As outlined in the Government's Strategy to Combat Energy Poverty, minimum standards for energy efficiency in the rented sector are being considered because published research has demonstrated that people living in rented accommodation are more than twice as likely to live in a home with an E, F or G Building Energy Rating (BER) than homeowners. Households living in relatively energy inefficient properties spend €160-€419 per annum more on energy than households in a home rated with a BER of B. This leaves those living in rented accommodation more vulnerable to energy poverty.    

This situation arises as the typical tenancy in Ireland is short and hence tenants do not tend to invest significant sums in the property they are living in. At the same time, landlords under-invest in energy efficiency works as the tenants are the ones who benefit from  the consequent energy bill savings and in a constrained rental market there appears to be little value placed on the energy efficiency of a rented property. These diverging incentives mean that energy efficiency investment is much lower in the private rented sector than among homeowners, even though Government grant schemes such as the Better Energy Homes scheme are open to landlords.

My Department has worked with external consultants to examine the impact of introducing minimum energy efficiency standards to counteract this market failure but this must be balanced against the impact such regulations would have on the price and availability of rented properties.

With the publication of the 2017 Census, my Department is working to update the research findings and incorporate this new data. By the autumn I intend to present the findings of this updated research to a seminar of tenant and landlord interest groups, with a view to publishing the research shortly thereafter and engaging in a full public consultation.