I was asked to look at yet another Government Consultation document out of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) by a respected colleague. Though I did put the job off, we finally got around to it earlier in the week. Reading through ‘Improving Home Energy Performance through Lenders’ from BEIS was about as much fun as pulling my own teeth out and my lack of qualified experience made answering the questions somewhat extraneous, but I don’t regret the time spent on the job.

What reading the document has reinforced is the growing certainty that nothing will be the same after Covid-19 and that we are seeing a period of deep, rapid, and almost irresistible change that goes far beyond the impact of the virus.

Just another in a growing list of Policy Proposals

Over the last few months, we have seen a growing number of policy proposals, public consultations, and regulatory reforms. These seem to spill out of various departments across Westminster at an unprecedented rate. Some of these are aimed at stimulating economic growth, others relate to safety, some will replace responsibilities wrestled back from Europe, and others are aimed at saving the planet. There are even a few that might be aimed at making our lives and our environment, just a little better.

To give you an idea of the range of legislative reform the PCA has read and contributed to, includes consultations relating to moisture in buildings, conveyancing, lending, herbicide use, ventilation, insulation, retrofit, product safety, packaging, and air quality. Taken together what we are starting to see is a growing wave of reform, legislation and new regulation that will change the domestic and commercial property and building sectors in very significant ways.

Change is on the horizon

These few lines have been written to flag what we are seeing and to help members understand that change is coming. What is more, though the detail of many of these proposed reforms is still far from set, we must be ready for the challenges. More importantly, perhaps we must be ready to realise the opportunities that come with change.

Five years ago, a document that sets out a framework where banks can be penalised, named, and shamed for lending too much money to people who live in poorly insulated homes would have been ridiculed. As would policy that brought enforcement action against private landlords who rent inefficient homes. Now it looks like it these things will happen and probably happen soon.

PCA continues to engage and lobby on members’ behalf

To keep a finger on the pulse and to try and influence matters when appropriate, the PCA will continue to engage with these policy and regulatory consultations no matter how dull or apparently peripheral to our daily work. It is our job to be your eyes and ears on these matters and we do our best to keep ourselves, and in turn you, informed of what is coming down the road.

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