What can homeowners expect from the new Labour government?

Since Keir Starmer’s Labour government was elected on 4 July 2024, there’s been plenty of activity in Westminster. With ambitious plans promised in Labour’s manifesto, homeowners have been eager to hear more about how the government will help make their homes more energy efficient. But details of housing policy have so far remained limited.

In this article, we’ll explain what we do know and what those missing details could look like...

Retrofitting 5 million homes

Very little detail has been provided since Labour pledged to invest an additional £6.6 billion over the next five years (bringing total investment to £13 billion) to upgrade the energy efficiency of five million homes.

According to their election manifesto, Labour will launch a new Warm Homes Plan which will see them work with local governments, banks and building societies to offer grants and low interest loans to help people upgrade their homes’ energy efficiency.

We know how important grants and finance options are in raising the quality of the UK’s homes, which are collectively one of the least-efficient in the developed world. And Labour seems to know this too, having pledged to “make the UK the green finance capital of the world,” in their manifesto.  

Without further detail, it’s unclear exactly how their retrofit target will be met given that the additional funding equates to just £2,600 per home on average. But it’s most likely that Labour expects this number to be boosted by grants and loans provided by the private sector.

Additionally, we await more details on Labour’s plans to boost the number of skilled retrofitters in time to meet their ambitious target.

Building 1.5 million new homes

In this area, we do have some detail. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner recently announced an overhaul of the planning system to make it easier to build more homes.

The Labour government plans to reintroduce and increase mandatory housing targets (scrapped by the previous government) to 370,000 new homes per year. This is a huge increase from the current level of house building, which reached 210,000 in the 12 months to March 2023.¹

The planning reforms mean it should be easier for developers to build on brownfield sites, as well as low-quality green belt land previously off limits. Labour also wants local authorities to ensure that developments include at least 50% affordable housing and suitable infrastructure.

Newbuilds are good for homeowners wanting energy efficient homes as they’re typically built to high standards. Around 85% of newbuild homes have an EPC rating of A or B.²

Upgrading the private rented sector

In 2023, the Conservative government scrapped planned requirements for landlords to ensure their rental homes had a minimum EPC rating of C by 2025. This was a blow to the UK’s Net Zero ambitions and seen as a let-down for renters who want to live in energy efficient homes.

In July, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband confirmed Labour would bring back the requirements, saying: “One thing that this Government will do that the last Government did not, is demand that landlords raise the standard of their accommodation to a proper energy performance certificate standard C by 2030.”

Additionally, Labour has introduced a Renters Right Bill to improve rights and protections for renters. The bill includes scrapping ‘no-fault’ evictions, giving tenants greater rights in challenging unreasonable rent increases and keeping pets, and requirements for landlords to fix reported health hazards within specific timeframes.

Labour also plans to give local councils more powers to identify and hold bad landlords to account.

Increasing renewable energy

Work to decarbonise the UK’s energy grid has begun with the launch of Great British Energy - a publicly owned company that’s aim is to accelerate clean energy adoption. With funding of £8.3 billion over the next five years, Labour plans to use GB Energy to invest in clean power projects such as offshore wind and carbon capture.

The UK has some of the best wind-energy generating potential in the world - already, the UK generates just over a quarter of its energy usage from wind.³ But Labour is keen to maximise its unique potential to become a wind energy superpower.

In July, Ed Miliband announced an initial investment of £1.5 billion to deliver homegrown clean energy projects (mostly offshore wind) and boost UK's energy security. Additionally, he launched a partnership where areas of seabed owned by the Crown Estate will be leased to build offshore windfarms. Miliband claimed the project would lead to lower bills for households.

Although it currently takes 10-15 years to build an offshore windfarm, Labour believes they can do it in half the time. Assuming they can, we’ll see the first Crown Estate windfarm online somewhere around 2030. So it's no quick fix.

Meanwhile, Ed Miliband has also promised a “rooftop revolution,” tripling the amount of solar power in the UK by 2030. We expect this to be fulfilled with financial support via Labour’s Warm Homes Plan and planning regulation changes that relax rules preventing some homes from being suitable.

Want to help reach Net Zero and lower your energy bills? Find out how to make your home more energy efficient today, with a free energy efficiency plan.