Just 0.06% of rented homes benefiting from government energy efficiency scheme

Scottish Liberal Democrat climate emergency spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP has today urged the SNP/ Green government to listen to his party’s calls for a national insulation programme after he revealed that a mere 0.06% of private rented properties have received funding from one of the government’s flagship energy efficiency schemes since its inception more than three years ago.  

Established in April 2020, the Scottish Government’s Private Rented Sector (PRS) Landlord Loan scheme was set up to support the installation of energy efficiency and renewable measures in private rented households across Scotland.  

Scottish Liberal Democrat research reveals that of the 340,000 private rented households in Scotland:  

• 215 properties in total (0.06%) have received funding for retrofitting measures from the PRS Landlord Loan Scheme.
• Of these, 190 (0.06%) have received funding for energy efficiency measures, such as insulation).
• Only 26 private rented households across Scotland (0.008%) have received funding for renewables measures through the scheme. (These measures include heat pumps, but also include installations such as solar panels, which don’t replace home heating).

This data also shows that only one property in the whole of Scotland has received funding for both energy efficiency and renewable heating measures, in line with the full ‘whole-home’ approach to building decarbonisation emphasised in the Scottish Government’s Heat in Buildings Strategy. This approach is a central focus of other Scottish Government programmes, such as the Warmer Homes and Area Based Schemes, but has been left out of the design for the PRS Landlord Loan Scheme.

£1million was allocated to the PRS Landlord Loan Scheme in its first year and £500,000 each year since, totalling £2.5 million to date. This allocation, however, has been significantly underspent, with just £1.2m being awarded so far.  

Mr McArthur said:  

“This is supposed to be one of the Scottish Government’s flagship schemes to decarbonise and warm homes, yet it is having almost zero impact.

“The poor uptake and lack of a whole-home focus suggest the scheme was cobbled together without any serious understanding of how to deliver warmer, greener homes for people living in private rental properties.

“If Scottish Ministers are serious about making energy efficiency a national priority, they must ensure schemes provide the necessary incentive and that effort is put into promoting uptake. That is the only way to make meaningful progress in decarbonising homes and reducing fuel poverty.

“More broadly, Scottish Liberal Democrats will continue to call for a national emergency insulation programme for all home across the country, with a particular focus on those homes which are hardest to heat. This will accelerate progress towards creating properties which are both financially and environmentally sustainable.”