Are the Tenants right to feel manipulated?

[primmiemoo]

Asking for a friend, who is a long-term Tenant living in a converted traditional farm building whose Landlord is from a family that was farming until the conversions were made. The old farmyard is a hamlet of conversions.
Friend's household has got on well with the Landlord for over a decade. No rent missed, no damage to the property. Everything is kept spick and span. The Landlord has been well organised, with a regular routine of maintenance inside and outside the properties.

Recently the Tenants were asked if they would like more efficient heating. They agreed, because they would benefit from lower bills, and were pleased the Landlord is doing their bit for the environment.

They have since been visited by someone who appears to be making applications for grant towards the upgrades on behalf of the individual Tenants. The person was particularly keen to sign up those Tenants who have low income and receive benefit.
When asked about it, the Landlord has apparently been evasive, and even verbally hostile to the askers - some of whom now worry that the upgrades will lead to rent rises, and potential ousting of Tenants who's low income appears to be important to the success of the claim for grant.

Is the Landlord acting correctly by using the Tenants to leverage monies that will improve the Landlord's housing stock?

Thanks in advance for any views or whys and wherefores.

 

[Clive]

Asking for a friend, who is a long-term Tenant living in a converted traditional farm building whose Landlord is from a family that was farming until the conversions were made. The old farmyard is a hamlet of conversions.
Friend's household has got on well with the Landlord for over a decade. No rent missed, no damage to the property. Everything is kept spick and span. The Landlord has been well organised, with a regular routine of maintenance inside and outside the properties.

Recently the Tenants were asked if they would like more efficient heating. They agreed, because they would benefit from lower bills, and were pleased the Landlord is doing their bit for the environment.

They have since been visited by someone who appears to be making applications for grant towards the upgrades on behalf of the individual Tenants. The person was particularly keen to sign up those Tenants who have low income and receive benefit.
When asked about it, the Landlord has apparently been evasive, and even verbally hostile to the askers - some of whom now worry that the upgrades will lead to rent rises, and potential ousting of Tenants who's low income appears to be important to the success of the claim for grant.

Is the Landlord acting correctly by using the Tenants to leverage monies that will improve the Landlord's housing stock?

Thanks in advance for any views or whys and wherefores.

hes doing nothing wrong, there are “green deal” grants available to home owners and landlords

sounds like hes just putting an application together to me that will benefit all ?

 

[Formatted]

Is the Landlord acting correctly by using the Tenants to leverage monies that will improve the Landlord's housing stock?

Its not the tenant's money, its who is providing the grants.

 

[Ffermer Bach]

I think they are government grants to improve energy efficiency (they will provide loft insulation too as part of the package), and if the tenant is on benefits, the whole thing is free (provided the tenant stays for a year),

 

[Goweresque]

Private tenants who are on qualifying benefits can get Insulation improvement grants:

Benefits Calculator - entitledto - independent | accurate | reliable | www.entitledto.co.uk

Check what benefit entitlement you are entitled to. The entitledto benefits calculator will check which means-tested benefits you may be entitled to e.g. tax credits, universal credit, housing benefit …

www.entitledto.co.uk

There is also the Green Homes Grant scheme for similar CO2 reduction improvements, which landlords can apply for:

[Withdrawn] Green Homes Grant: make energy improvements to your home (closed)

The Green Homes Grant voucher scheme provided grants to homeowners and landlords to make energy efficient improvements to homes.

www.gov.uk

 

[primmiemoo]

Thank you all for your time and help. I'll pass the links on, and hope that gives them reassurance. All the Tenants intend to stay longer than a year. It's a pleasant little community.

The feeling was that the Landlord was being uncharacteristically vague about why the application forms were to be filled by individual Tenants, with subsequent suspicions about ulterior motives. If it's above board - as you've shown - then it's just poor communications on the Landlord's part.

I know someone who's a Council Tenant who's had grant work carried out in their home, but everything was organised by their Landlord. No form filling from them. There appear to be two approaches to achieve the same outcome, then.

 

[farmerm]

There is also the Green Homes Grant scheme for similar CO2 reduction improvements, which landlords can apply for:

[Withdrawn] Green Homes Grant: make energy improvements to your home (closed)

The Green Homes Grant voucher scheme provided grants to homeowners and landlords to make energy efficient improvements to homes.

www.gov.uk

Is there one that covers condensing boilers not just "low carbon" heat pumps or biomass...

 

[Tubbylew]

We had a grant job here,to try and get us away from the solid fuel rayburn, with a condensing boiler, but it was part of a complete heating system. Wouldn't do it again, it's left us with a system thats been thrown in as cheaply as they could get away with, and one that we can't afford to pay anyone to make servicable. Luckily I can solder and run new pipes in myself. iirc the guy said they had a 30k allowance to do a property of this size, id be astounded if it cost them more than 4k including the tank and the boiler, the boiler is probably the only thing in the entire system that isn't undersized. Not saving the planet much, but someone's doing well out of it, just a shame it's not the people these schemes are supposed to help. On another note there was a fella that wouldn't let his tenants move out until he'd had the grant for double glazing. Where there's a scheme.....

 

[primmiemoo]

I'll pass your comments on, too, @Tubbylew , thanks.

 

[Tubbylew]

I'll pass your comments on, too, @Tubbylew , thanks.

I will add that i'm sure there are genuine firms out there, but this type of funding does seem to attract rouge traders as they know the clients have very little recourse, be careful is all...