Government to beef up consumer protection following botched energy efficiency works

Victims of the Government’s botched insulation scandal will now be able to claim for repairs of up to £25,000 per property, it has been announced.

Last year it was revealed that almost all external wall insulation and a third of internal wall insulation fitted under Government-funded schemes ECO4 and Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS)  will need to be replaced.

A damning report from the National Audit Office revealed tens of thousands of homes were left needing repairs to correct failed installations likely to cause dangerous damp and mould. It also flagged suspicions over fraud within the ECO scheme, with evidence some retrofit businesses have been overclaiming for work.  

In all more than 30,000 homes, including rental properties as well as owner-occupied homes have been affected.

In the wake of the scandal the Government had originally agreed to fund repairs up to £20,000 per property, with the announcement of this week’s increase coming during the launch of a new consultation onto plans to beef up customer protection.

Boosting consumer confidence

With the Government about to overhaul its Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) requiring landlords with lower EPCs to get them up to a C by 2030, it recognises landlords and homeowners need to have confidence that work they pay for will be up to standard.

This comes after the Audit Office report identified an under-skilled workforce, confusion over standards and corner-cutting as reasons for the catastrophic failures.

Greater accountability

The new consultation ‘Reforming Consumer Protection for Home Upgrade Schemes’ aims to better protect landlords and homeowners when upgrading homes and to hold the retrofit industry to account through a new consumer protection service.

The document includes proposals to create:  

• A transparent public register of Government-approved installers.
• A single advice and support service covering the entire time a home is being upgraded. 
• Powers to hold installers and delivery partners to account, including bans from working on Government schemes if they don’t meet high standards.
• A new data-backed system that spots risks and installer performance issues earlier.

Government pledge

In a written statement Minister for Energy Consumers, Martin McCluskey MP said: “As we embark on the Government's Warm Homes Plan - the biggest programme of home upgrades in British history - we must ensure that people have confidence when retrofitting and upgrading their homes.

“Homeowners and landlords need to trust that upgrading their buildings will deliver the right results and not leave them facing further issues down the line. Those faulty installations did not just damage people’s properties, they eroded trust and confidence in the entire market.”

At the same time he announced the Installation Assurance Authority (IAA) will cover the cost of repairs to ECO4 and GBIS solid wall insulation up to £25,000 where these are within the terms of the original, still-valid guarantee, confirming this will include cases where the original installer has gone bust.

He said those affected should first contact the installer who carried out the work and, if they are no longer trading or unable to remedy damages, contact their guarantee provider to initiate a claim.

Support packages

The Minister said the Government is already working to remedy the botched installations, taking a three-pronged approach by:

Launching the Find and Fix programme last year: This scheme, supported by TrustMark, identifies and offers a full house audit to families who had external wall insulation installed under ECO4 and GBIS. Since the scheme launched it has contacted 10,000 householders and arranged more than 5,000 audits.

Organising remedial works: The National Energy Foundation will now be contacting homeowners and arranging remediation of both internal and external wall insulation fitted under ECO4 and GBIS, where the installer that fitted the faulty installation is no longer trading and the guarantee is missing, fraudulent or cancelled.

Discussing solutions for those with higher repair bills: The Minister has said that in the ‘rare’ cases repairs exceed the new limit covered by guarantee, it will work with its ‘deliver partners’ to come up with a solution.

More information

The full consultation document is available here, with responses due by 10th September.

Homes eligible for free repairs will be contacted by the National Energy Foundation.