If like me, you spent many a night during this summer’s heatwave in your unbearably hot loft conversion, it will come as no surprise to learn that searches for homes with air conditioning more than tripled this year.
Recent research from Rightmove reveals that on July 19 – the hottest day on record – searches for properties to buy with air conditioning shot up by 280% compared to 2021, with searches for rental properties with air con rising by 180%.
While we all might bemoan the temperature in our house for a couple of weeks a year during the summer months, this is often forgotten once the Autumn wind and rain sets in. Indeed, as we enter the winter months, the conversation has understandably already changed to how we can keep our homes warm as the cold weather creeps in and energy bills rise.
As climate change continues to throw more extreme weather our way however, the importance of keeping our homes cool is no longer a problem we can ignore and poses some serious and challenging questions about our current housing stock.
UK homes in the majority are badly equipped to deal with the excessive heat we experienced during this summer, and those of our most recent past. Much of the focus to date has been on keeping heat in – not keeping houses cool.
If summers like the one we just experienced are to become a permanent feature in our country – which seems more than likely – it is going to impact every thread in the property cycle, from the homes we build, to how we value them and how they are mortgaged.
This June saw new building regulations introduced for new-build developments and home extensions, with a reduction in overheating forming part of this. The new rules are a predecessor to the 2025 Future Homes Standard, which will go further in terms of energy efficiency measures.
Designing or retrofitting a property to meet all climate conditions is no easy task. While it may be straightforward to equip it to withstand the extremes of hot or cold weather individually, equipping it to effectively handle all of the elements, from flooding to overheating is far trickier.
Insurer Zurich UK sounded the alarm recently when it warned that a surge in office-to-residential conversions could create homes unfit for future climate conditions.
Empty office blocks – as a result of more people working from home – resulted in 2,121 planning applications to convert offices into residential units in England last year. Up from 1,765 in 2020. Since 2015, more than 73,500 residential units have been developed from former office blocks.
The insurer warns that poorly-designed conversions, which lack appropriate ventilation and shading, could create homes in danger of overheating in more frequent and intense heatwaves. Again, if this summer is anything to go by, the problem of overheating in homes is only likely to get worse.
The changing weather also brings with it other less obvious threats. Insurer LV= saw subsidence claims rise 205% between June and July this year. The insurer also dealt with claims totalling £1.2 million following the extreme heat and fire-related incidences.
The majority of buyers are still only beginning to think about energy efficient features but as the changing climate becomes more of a realisation and energy costs continue to rise, we are likely to see them think more about such issues. In July, searches for mortgages which consider a property’s Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating grew by 34%, according to Legal & General.
While awareness of EPCs may be increasing, currently a higher EPC alone does not equate to a better valuation. As of yet, neither the shift in climate, nor a property’s EPC is affecting the valuation process. A turning point will almost certainly come during the next decade as the Government confirms its plans around residential and rental properties’ EPCs.
Borrowers, buyers and sellers will increasingly become more attuned to a property’s energy efficiency and its EPC will play a more central role. Even without government intervention, we could see the pace of awareness accelerate quicker than the government can act if we continue to see the extremes witnessed over the last few months and demand for better-equipped homes increases.
The changing climate is likely to result in a different market over the next decade for lenders, advisers and valuers and we should be preparing now as to how best we can inform and guide our clients in this area.
Simon Jackson is managing director of SDL Surveying
