Report finds some rental properties aren’t properly insulated
A tenants advocacy group is calling for better energy standards for rentals, after finding many homes were colder than recommendations. A report by Better Renting found many houses were below 18 degrees for almost 80 per cent of June and July. Executive Director of the group, Joel Dignam, says the impacts can be concerning.
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00:00 So, obviously, one impact is your bills. If you are trying to heat the home, which many
00:06 renters just give up on, but if you are, you do obviously have to deal with the cost of
00:09 that, a lot of people feeling anxiety and having to cut back just to try to pay off
00:13 energy debt. But then there's also an impact on your mental health, both from living in
00:17 a cold home and from the worry about energy costs. And for some people who might have
00:21 a disability or a chronic health condition, you are also looking at more risk around cardiovascular
00:26 health and respiratory health as well when you are living in a home that's so often below
00:29 that healthy threshold of 18 degrees. We think governments can play a role in creating some
00:34 standards and mandating compliance with those, getting basic measures in rentals that will
00:38 make them easier to heat in winter, easier to cool in summer, and really help to deal
00:42 with these unhealthy temperatures we're seeing. That's a state and territory responsibility.
00:47 The Commonwealth can also play a role in helping to create a framework that will support compliance
00:51 and make it easier for landlords to get these measures done. Things like what happened in
00:55 the last budget, $300 million for energy performance retrofits and social housing are great. I
01:00 would love to see more support to help those mandatory standards have the best impact.
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