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You and Yours: Energy Performance Certificates, DVLA Delays, Green Homes Grant Ends

08/11/2021

Energy Performance Certificates, DVLA Delays, Green Homes Grant Ends

BBC Radio 4 - You and Yours, Energy Performance Certificates, DVLA Delays, Green Homes Grant Ends

Does improving your home's EPC rating make any difference to its value?

Does improving your EPC rating make any difference to your home's value when you come to sell? And the end of the Green Homes Grant - nearly half of vouchers haven't been used.

A fifth of the UK's carbon emissions come from residential property, and most of that is caused by our heating. The property company Savills has looked at the Energy Performance Certificates of UK homes and calculated that it would cost £330billion to make the improvements recommended. Savills also concluded that improving the EPC rating made little difference to the value of your home. We hear from a listener who spent £30,000 on improvements such as an air source heat pump and solar panels but found it added no additional value to the property when they came to sell.

You & Yours has reported repeatedly on DVLA delays issuing driving licences. The DVLA says that whilst the system for online applications is working fine, they are still seeing delays to postal applications as a result of the pandemic. We hear from listeners who are unable to work because they're waiting for a new driving licence. 

The deadline to use Green Homes Grant vouchers is the 30th November. The government scheme offered grants of £5000 towards the cost of energy saving improvements, but was closed to new applicants in March. Those who were successful have until the end of this month to use the vouchers or lose the grant. The latest data published in October shows that 52% of the vouchers issued have been used. A further 24% of vouchers have already expired, and the remainder were yet to be used. 

Presented by Winifred Robinson.

Produced by Beatrice Pickup.

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