Friends of the Earth has welcomed the call for government to consider a number of ways to strengthen legislation to tackle fuel poverty in privately rented homes. 
These were highlighted in a letter to Greg Barker MP, Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change from Tim Yeo MP, chairman of the Energy and Climate Change Committee (ECC).
It’s also seen as an important step forward by the National Home Improvement Council’s Educational Trust, which has made the reduction of fuel poverty per se, a major issue to pursue and eliminate.
Friends of the Earth Warm Homes Campaigner, Dave Timms, says: “This is welcome advice from the Committee – homes rented from a landlord are the most likely to lack basic insulation, meaning they waste energy and cost a fortune to heat.
“With the number of people in rented homes rising annually, the Government must move faster to ensure they meet a basic energy efficiency standard and close loopholes to prevent large numbers of dangerously cold rented homes slipping through the net.”
FOE led the campaign for the inclusion of legislation to establish a minimum energy efficiency standard for rented homes in the Energy Act 2011. This means it will become an offence for a landlord to rent out a property with the very worst levels of energy efficiency (an energy rating of F or G), until it has been improved.
The ECC letter asks the Government to consider a number of improvements to plans including:
· Introducing a register of landlords;
· Starting the new minimum energy efficiency standard in 2016 (rather than 2018 currently planned), and raising it further by 2020; · Ensuring tenants get legal protection from eviction when they ask for energy efficiency measures.
More information: www.foe.co.uk