The Government's Green Deal

As promised, my post today will focus on the Government's Green Deal which was officially launched yesterday (yes I know I am a day out!). I have never been particularly green fingered and I must confess, somewhat guiltily, that my eyes usually start to glaze over as soon as anything 'green' or environmental is mentioned. It's not good. The Earth's resources are not infinite. We do need to harness alternative sources of energy today for the sake of our children's future tomorrow. To that end, it is important that any land and buildings are energy efficient.

Whence- the Green Deal! This was introduced by the Energy Act 2011. It is meant to encourage property owners to carry out energy efficient works (e.g. the installation of solar panels, double glazing etc). The property owner will enter into a contract with a Green Deal provider. The works will be carried out by an accredited Green Deal installer.

Now - the important part. The provider will recover the costs of the deal through the property owner's Electricity bills. The idea is that the expected financial savings from the energy efficient measures should be equal to or greater than the repayments that are made over the course of the Green Deal plan.

So what's this got to do with property? Well what happens if a property owner enters into a Green Deal plan and then leaves the property? Will the subsequent owner be bound to make the repayments under the plan? What if they don't want to? Will a Landlord of residential and (especially) commercial premises be able to stop their Tenants entering into a Green Deal plan? (despite the potential savings in the long run and the satisfaction that comes with saving the planet! well partly...). Could new Leasehold covenants emerge where the Landlord will try to stop the Tenant entering into a plan? No doubt the Green Deal will form part of the pre contract enquiries in residential conveyancing and the Commercial Property Standard Enquiries (CPSE) for commercial conveyancing. It is for that reason that practitioners must be aware of the scheme and its purpose.

Will the scheme deter potential buyers and lessees? As stated before, it is important that Landlords attract Tenants (and thus income) for their properties. We will have to wait a bit longer before the potential effects, and benefits, of the scheme are realised. For now it appears that the commercial interests of Landlords and Tenants must be balanced with the wider humanitarian goal of saving the Earth's resources.

A noble goal if ever there was one. Well- for those interested at that sort of thing at least!

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