Current status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 14 March 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of enforcing a minimum energy performance certificate (EPC) rating on private sector home sales, and what consideration it has given to the financial costs associated with upgrading rural off-gas grid properties to a minimum energy efficiency rating as part of any assessment.
The Scottish Government worked with stakeholders as part of the Regulation of Energy Efficiency in Private Sector housing group between 2013 and 2015. The working group considered proposals for enforcement of a minimum standard of energy efficiency in both the private rented and owner occupier sectors.
Following this the Scottish government consulted last year on a minimum energy efficiency standard in the private rented sector properties and committed to seek the views of owner-occupiers on improving the energy efficiency of their homes, including the role of standards and the use of financial and fiscal incentives. The forthcoming routemap on Scotland’s Energy Efficiency Programme will include details of the next steps for each of the housing sectors.
To support the group’s recommendations, modelling of housing stock was commissioned including rural properties off gas grid. This work was published on 5 November 2015 and is available here http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2015/11/4536 .