Insurance News Archive

No tax discount for green homes

Officials have said that there are "absolutely no government plans" for there to be a national council tax rebate scheme for green homes.

David Nieberg, a spokesman for the Department for Communities and Local Government said that there were no plans to create the incentives to make homes more efficient, despite recommendations from the environmental audit committee.

He made his comments to IFA Online in response the to the committee's suggestion for when home efficiency certificates are introduced as part of next year's home information packs. The Treasury was said to be behind the decision.

At present, 16 local councils are trialling council tax rebates on green homes, such as Braintree residents getting a £100 rebate for installing cavity wall insulation.

The environmental audit committee's report was highly critical of the lack of a national incentive to make homes more efficient and declared a voluntary scheme as "not enough".

However, comments confirming the lack of tax incentives for green homes reinforce statements in January, when John Healy, financial secretary to the Treasury, said it was "unwise to commit public money" to such schemes.

15 Jun 2006