Warming up!

Our new campaign for Warmer Homes was launched at our Annual General Meeting in September.

Cold homes affect people’s health. An estimated 36,000 people die every year because their homes are too cold. Living in a cold house can also cause a lot of health problems such as chest and heart complaint.

BPTRG is working with a number of organisations, including FRIENDS OF THE EARTH, on a campaign to persuade the Government to stop landlords from renting out homes where the conditions for tenants is defined as ‘EXCESS COLD’.

When private rented homes are let, landlords are required to get an Energy Assessor to assess the energy efficiency and produce an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). The law says that landlords must make the EPC available to tenants and prospective tenants.

EPCs give energy efficiency ratings from A to G (like fridges and washing machines) with A being the most energy efficient and F being the worst. Friends of the Earth believe that IT SHOULD BE AGAINST THE LAW FOR HOMES RATED ‘F’ OR ‘G’ TO BE LET.

BPTRG supports this. After the launch of our own Warming Up! Campaign, Campaign members met for a lively discussion and came up with a plan to expose Landlords and Trading Standards if they don’t do what they law requires them to do.