Policy & Projects
Complementary measures to minimum rental energy performance standards
All homes should be comfortable, healthy, and affordable to run. But poor energy performance and a lack of basic weatherproofing means that too many renters in Australia are paying high energy bills and living in homes that are too hot in summer and too cold in winter.
Regulated minimum energy performance standards are an important response to the poor energy performance of Australia’s rental homes. However, there is a lower level of consensus on the other additional or complementary policy measures that governments should adopt alongside this core policy.
Complementary policy measures may have a role in supporting the implementation of minimum standards, encouraging energy improvements to rental homes beyond regulated minimum standards, or mitigating stakeholder concerns in relation to implementation.
In partnership with national NGO Better Renting, EEC has conducted an analysis of complementary policy measures available to governments to enable the implementation of minimum energy performance standards for renters.
We find that complementary measures can play a role in addressing non-financial barriers to rental upgrades; that governments may consider incentives as a response to financial barriers; that government policy should leverage existing decision points and processes such as lease agreements or advertising; and that social licence for minimum rental standards can be strengthened if considered in the design of complementary measures.
