Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 July 2023
142. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the number of grants awarded to owner/occupiers; renters; landlords and holiday homes in Q1 2023 and in Q2 2023, in tabular form. [37067/23]
View answerThe Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) has a number of schemes in place to support homeowners to upgrade their properties including the fully funded Better Energy Warmer Homes Scheme and part-funded schemes, namely, the Better Energy Homes Scheme, Community Energy Grant Scheme, Solar PV Scheme and the National Home Energy Upgrade Scheme (NHEUS). This allows homeowners to choose the best home upgrade option to suit their particular needs. Figures for the first half of 2023 show that 21,727 homes have been upgraded under the schemes.
Apart from the Warmer Homes scheme, which is only available to owner-occupiers, these schemes are available to landlords and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) to improve the efficiency of their rental properties. SEAI does not hold information which classifies grant recipients as landlords or holiday homes.
151 AHB homes were retrofitted under the SEAI’s NHEUS/One Stop Shop Service in Q1 2023. Figures in relation to AHB homes completed in Q2 2023 will be available shortly.
I recognise that rental properties can present a specific challenge for energy efficiency improvements. This is an issue found in most countries where the incentives to invest in energy upgrades can be misaligned between landlords and tenants. The Government’s Housing for All Plan commits to the introduction of a minimum BER for private rental properties, where feasible, from 2025, and to develop a roadmap to implement these standards.
In addition to the supports mentioned above which are available from SEAI, a tax incentive is now in place to encourage small-scale landlords to undertake retrofitting works while the tenant remains in situ. This measure provides for a tax deduction of up to €10,000 per property, against Case V rental income, for certain retrofitting expenses incurred by the landlord on rented residential properties, for a maximum of two rental properties. Full details are set out in Section 32 of the Finance Act 2022.
It should also be noted that the Housing for All plan commits to the retrofitting of 36,500 local authority homes by 2030 as part of the achievement of the Climate Action Plan retrofit targets.
