Will period property fall out of favour because of high energy bills and energy efficiency measures?

[flashbac]

I love the charm of old/period property. I know I'm not alone. However I do wonder what will happen to them due to energy efficiency measures in the pipeline. Will they fall out of favour?

I find it hard to believe that in 8 years time banks won’t be giving mortgages on period houses

Me too. More likely stringent requirements will be placed on new homes, and houses older than a certain year will have a watered down version, and lending will be completely available.

I don't think they'll ever fall out of favour and climate change is making the planet warmer, so hopefully that means we can all turn the boiler down a bit.
My house is listed, I'm trying to get double glazed windows which won't look any different but the council won't allow it - which is totally at odds with the government trying to get everyones house as insulated as possible, so you really can't win.
Theirs a big difference between the governments agenda and the council - who make owners of listed properties just through hoops - the whole system needs a complete makeover.

• Sorry just needed to get that off my chest !

I think the government will have to rethink You cannot make an old property energy efficient and if its listed you can’t do much at all even double glaze windows So there will have to some sort of exemptions

for a few years maybe, but they will slowly become energy efficient because people won't be able to sell them without installing measures to get the EPC up to standard.

@Escapetothecatshome

I don't think they'll ever fall out of favour and climate change is making the planet warmer, so hopefully that means we can all turn the boiler down a bit. My house is listed, I'm trying to get double glazed windows which won't look any different but the council won't allow it - which is totally at odds with the government trying to get everyones house as insulated as possible, so you really can't win. Theirs a big difference between the governments agenda and the council - who make owners of listed properties just through hoops - the whole system needs a complete makeover.

• Sorry just needed to get that off my chest !

Er, climate change means colder winters:

"most climatologists predict that winters in the UK will become colder and more severe in future, whilst our summers become much hotter."

I think we need to learn how to insulate them well in sympathy with the old stone/ lime/ brickwork.

As someone else said, I think open plan layouts have a lot to answer for in terms of how people manage their heating.

I’ve been thinking about the popularity of period properties and them possibly falling out of favour too @flashbac. I’m lucky enough to live in a house which dates from around 1500. It’s lovely and full of character (though I am typing this in the kitchen whilst wearing a coat and scarf). It’s not a grand or big house but it is of particular historical interest so is Grade II* listed which restricts what we are allowed to do outside and inside to make it more efficient. I do worry about selling it because it’s a minefield of potentially expensive problems and very inefficient despite our best efforts. We heat it very carefully and have always braced ourselves for the energy costs involved in running a house not designed for the 21st century but in recent years it’s become a real worry, especially as my DH is approaching retirement age so we will only have one salary. I don’t think we can keep going but I fear that potential buyers will be understandably asking about energy costs much more than they did. I’d have to fess up to about £5k a year for electricity and gas at the moment. There is very little we can do to make it more efficient and very little we are allowed to do. There are certainly no grants available where we live. I suspect prospective buyers will fall in love with our house on sight but run very fast in the other direction once they take a close look at what it costs. I think if we were looking for a family house now we would be avoiding a house like ours.

Plenty of buyers with the cash for these type of properties, so the banks can go whistle with their mortgage conditions!

Also, new type of solar coming - looks very exciting, thin enough to have on the windows:

inews.co.uk/news/environment/new-solar-cell-windows-clothes-green-energy-1470012
www.renewableenergyhub.co.uk/main/solar-panels/windows-with-solar-panels-built-in/

I read an article about this and think it said that listed properties were going to be exempted from these new measures. Not because of expense but because in some period properties, it is literally impossible to insulate without causing damp/damage and to install heat pump heating as well due to structural features.

By modern I was meaning anything with a cavity wall. It could come in slowly, start with the houses with the worst EPCs. Maybe unmortgagable would be a bit far, but it will need specialist lenders, cost more etc.

Banks are already working on this so they can estimate emissions for scope 3 under tcfd. And some small specialist lenders already discount for energy efficient houses like Ecology.

Climate Change is a big focus in the finance world - some of the pressure will come from that direction. Some from government. Some from consumers.

You can do alot with an older house but it is costly and disruptive but then they have gone through indoor plumbing, central heating and electrics so I have hope! We just need far more skilled builders which is the bit I worry about!

No

Haha re not renting houses worse than C. Council currently have MUCH LOWER standards on everything than private landlords, so my house will continue to be a windtunnel.

I own a ye olde farmhouse from early 1800s. It is really solid the walls are 2 and half foot thick stone. It comes with woodland, veg garden, wood stoves and private water supply. If all else fails I can appeal to the preppers market :)

I think there will always be a market for detatched properties with no neighbours. I know when I bought it that it would cost more to run than a modern house but I've always felt that old buildings should be loved and maintained.

Our house has cavity walls.. I wouldnt dream of putting insulation in them, Ive heard horror stories about that. I have the windows open all year round anyway so that we dont get condensation. Insulating the walls isnt going to make much difference to my heating therefore

Bloody hope not. Mines not massively old, built around 1890 and an old railway house. I still have the old sash windows, original flooring and fireplaces. I have just paid for a new Bathroom and Kitchen, both fittings will give a nod to the Victorian era. This house has been a labour of love for me. I think like minded people who love period properties will value what I have kept if ever I sold.

This was built in 1923. The walls are much thicker and it maintains heat better than our last more modern house.

Also living in a road of period houses most have been ripped apart. From the front they all look alike and many have kept original features in decor but in the majority have been extended to the absolute max that the majority of the property is now new build. The energy efficiency will be individual. I feed/take the toilet the neighbours dog and even when I have no heating going into her house is absolutely freezing, I swear it’s colder than outside.

Tellthemagain

for a few years maybe, but they will slowly become energy efficient because people won't be able to sell them without installing measures to get the EPC up to standard.

Listed properties are exempt from having an EPC

Not convinced by climate change (this winter has been pretty much par for the course - dreary, a bit cold and wet, so nothing new there). I'm not interested in energy efficiency, but I would only ever live in a pre-1900 house (preferably pre-1800).

@gulliblestravels only at the moment. Homes England are talking up demolition and widespread regeneration at their industry events currently, so there's clearly going to be big moves to have to either improve or remove housing from the stock. and if this is just the start, it will eventually work its way up to older private homes.

Period properties that are expensive to insure and hard to mortgage tend to be rented out. That’s why they will always exist to an extent because they’re cheap housing stock and the reduction in rent can be offset against bills.

Also a lot of victorian terraces and Edwardian mansions get turned into flats - so it can improve affordability re: bills.

@Ozanj

Period properties that are expensive to insure and hard to mortgage tend to be rented out. That’s why they will always exist to an extent because they’re cheap housing stock and the reduction in rent can be offset against bills.

Also a lot of victorian terraces and Edwardian mansions get turned into flats - so it can improve affordability re: bills.

You missed my post above about landlords needing a grade c rating for a property, from 2025, in order to let it.

I think we need a mind shift in what is prioritised when renovating old properties. I took my Victorian semi mostly back to brick and insulated as far as was feasible with relatively cheap materials. Woodfibre, mineral wool etc. Made it more airtight and installed a ventilation system to keep the humidity down. It was easier to do all of this on an older property as the house was so well built to start with. Thick walls, amazing roof timbers etc. But I had to do my own research to devise a strategy and the builders thought I was crazy.

There are ways to improve insulation on period properties you just need to be careful.
Ours was stripped back to brick as part of renovations we insulated the walls but made sure breathing panels were still installed. My energy bill is half that of a friend in a newbuild.
Once we replace the roof we will again improve the efficiency.

Its about doing what works for the property and bit by bit as people can afford it (it's taken us 8 years to save up for the roof!)