Lloyds Banking Group: Five Steps to Greener Homes

by Floyd March

Lloyds Banking Group is the latest bank to issue advice to the UK government on the appropriate steps to help make homes greener and incentivise the retrofit of private homes.

Despite appropriate steps in place to help decarbonise the social housing sector, with ECO 4 and the SHDF, Lloyds Banking Group have been advocating for more ways to encourage landlords and private owners to make their homes greener. Recently, through a social media campaign Lloyds Banking Group published a 5-step action plan for the government to follow, allowing for homeowners to be incentivised into improving the EPC rating of their homes and help contribute to the net zero agenda.

Stamp duty rewards for green homes

As it currently stands, there are only a handful of grants available for homeowners that still sees a large number of costs pushed onto them for the installation of solar panels, heat pumps etc.

This links to the first action plan, which stipulates that the government needs to provide more certainty around green home improvements with a package of incentives and regulations.

Another aspect of the plan is to use stamp duty to reward green home improvements. Finding new ways for people investing in their own housing stock to claw back money faster than the repayment costs through cheaper bills is one of the best ways to incentivise investment.

ROI is at the top of the priority list for people looking to make changes to their homes; acting purely for the benefit of the planet is unlikely to convince large swathes of the population to make these changes.

Additionally, Lloyds Banking Group stated that improving EPCs provide accurate and up-to-date information; this should be at the heart of government policy moving forward.

Further tax incentives may be required

Across the automotive sector, there are employer tax incentives to encourage people to invest in EVs, something that has grown significantly since the announcement of the ban on the sale of new diesel and petrol cars by 2030. Similarly, Lloyds Banking Group have advocated for similar schemes related to homeowners, using employer tax schemes to encourage people to retrofit their own homes and encourage employees to make green improvements.

Finally, they suggested supporting new green jobs across the whole country with the apprenticeship levy. This will encourage the private sector to invest in developing more retrofit infrastructure and will encourage more young people into the sector, improving the skills gap.

Cymru

Mercure Holland House Hotel, Cardiff

11 July 2023