Back to main menu
Search
Search
Overlay
Climate

NatWest reveals 75% of UK renters facing rising costs want landlords to make sustainable changes to properties

The latest stats from the Greener Homes Attitudes Tracker show renters fear rising monthly payments and the majority want landlords to make green changes to their property to reduce the financial burden.

  • The latest stats from the Greener Homes Attitudes Tracker show renters fear rising monthly payments and the majority want landlords to make green changes to their property to reduce the financial burden
  • According to the figures, rental properties are typically less well insulated than owner-occupied homes.
  • NatWest recently launched the Home Energy Hub, enabling the UK’s 14.6m homeowners to understand steps needed to make sustainable changes

6 February 2024 – The latest data has been released today from NatWest and S&P Global, revealing that 75% of renters across the UK expecting a rise in rental costs want landlords to improve the sustainability of their properties.

The Greener Homes Attitudes tracker from NatWest is conducted to get a deeper understanding of homebuyers’ preferences on the importance of certain environmental features and energy saving improvements.

Those renting properties face a continued rise in monthly payments, with NatWest data finding approximately two-thirds of UK renters (63%) expecting a further increase over the next 12 months. Among this group, three-quarters want landlords to make sustainable home improvements to their properties to help offset the increase.

According to the figures, rental properties are typically less well insulated than owner-occupied homes. This includes tanks and pipes insulation (42% versus 58%*) and cavity wall insulation (42% versus 58%*).

The tracker found that when it comes to UK homeowners making sustainable upgrades, around one-in-five homeowners  reported plans to make improvements to their property in the next 12 months, with many of those not planning to make changes citing the cost of work and disruption being the key barriers.

 

How much are we REALLY paying towards energy bills right now?

Households were asked in the final quarter of 2023 how much they’re now spending on monthly energy bills. Of those that reported having both mains gas and mains electricity, almost a quarter (23%) answered between £100-£149 – that’s approximately 21 Netflix monthly subscriptions and equates to £1,200-£1,788 per year.

This was followed by 18% of households paying between £150-£199, equating to £1800-£2380 a year.

 

The tracker also found that:

  • Over half of respondents feel that the UK Government is moving too slowly to aid the green energy transition
  • The green lifestyle choices that have gained the most traction in the past year are regular use of public transport (29% in 2023 up from 25% in 2022) and regular recycling of clothing i.e. using Vinted or depop to buy and sell second hand clothing (48% in 2023 up from 46% in 2022).
  • London topped the rankings for plans for solar panels (45%), with the Northeast, Yorkshire & Humber and Scotland (all 30%) at the other end of the scale.

This Greener Homes Attitudes tracker follows the recent launch of NatWest’s Home Energy Hub, allowing homeowners to understand the carbon footprint of their homes, the steps they need to take in making sustainable changes and potential financing options.

 

The hub helps homeowners identify and understand specific improvements that could be made to their property, and tackles some of the biggest barriers to taking the next step – finding someone trustworthy to do the work in their local area and how to pay for it. It also includes an affordability calculator, letting homeowners get an idea of how much they could borrow and outlines for consumers the costs associated with making specific sustainable upgrades.

 

Lloyd Cochrane, Head of Mortgages at NatWest said:

“Cost and disruption continue to be major barriers for homeowners looking to make sustainable changes to their homes. We’ve also seen from latest data that renters are increasingly calling for landlords to address the energy efficiency of their properties."

“We recently introduced the Home Energy Hub to help to solve that problem for homeowners, by making it faster to understand, commission and pay for the work they might need.”

NatWest Greener Homes Attitude Tracker

Download the latest NatWest Greener Homes Attitude Tracker

Download

Disclaimer

The NatWest Greener Homes Attitude Tracker survey was first conducted in May 2021 and is compiled by S&P Global. The survey is based on monthly responses from 1,500 individuals in the UK, with data collected by Ipsos MORI from its panel of respondents aged 18-64. The survey sample reflects the true composition of the population to ensure the accuracy of the survey results.

The intellectual property rights to the data provided herein are owned by or licensed to S&P Global and/or its affiliates. Any unauthorised use, including but not limited to copying, distributing, transmitting or otherwise of any data appearing is not permitted without S&P Global’s prior consent. S&P Global shall not have any liability, duty or obligation for or relating to the content or information (“data”) contained herein, any errors, inaccuracies, omissions or delays in the data, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. In no event shall S&P Global be liable for any special, incidental, or consequential damages, arising out of the use of the data.

This Content was published by S&P Global Market Intelligence and not by S&P Global Ratings, which is a separately managed division of S&P Global. Reproduction of any information, data or material, including ratings (“Content”) in any form is prohibited except with the prior written permission of the relevant party. Such party, its affiliates and suppliers (“Content Providers”) do not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy, completeness, timeliness or availability of any Content and are not responsible for any errors or omissions (negligent or otherwise), regardless of the cause, or for the results obtained from the use of such Content. In no event shall Content Providers be liable for any damages, costs, expenses, legal fees, or losses (including lost income or lost profit and opportunity costs) in connection with any use of the Content.

 

*Calculations exclude those who reported “don’t know”

Climate
Natwest
Housing
Energy costs
Construction
Press Release
2024

Related press releases

All stories & press releases
scroll to top