This report analyses and assesses policies and measures that address energy poverty in the private rented sector (PRS) across Europe. We review intervention strategies aimed at reducing energy poverty in private rented properties, particularly scrutinising policies targeting vulnerable households in the sector. The overarching objective is to investigate the content, aim, and structure of PRS policies in this domain, noting key patterns in the coverage, distribution, and delivery of such initiatives. As a result, the review identifies some of the wider structural challenges in the type of support currently available to energy poor households.
Policies have been identified on the basis of publicly available, non-confidential and nonpersonal information, collected between January 2021 and January 2023. Data was compiled by experts from the ENPOR consortium, as well as from submissions via the ENPOR Energy Poverty Dashboard (EPD) portal. Although 122 policies appear on the EPD (as of 31st March 2023), 114 are included in this analysis, as a result of insufficiently available information for the remaining measures. The resulting dataset is a diverse set of measures operating at different geographic and governance scales, and with highly variegated programmatic objectives.
The objective of this report is to provide indicative insights into the overall typology of support measures and interventions that target the PRS. We also caveat that the level of information available online on each policy was highly variable: for some, highly comprehensive levels of detail were given, for others, only basic information was publicly noted. Given that a pan-national review with a similar conceptual remit has not been undertaken to date, this updated document proposes a framing to help develop methodological tools and analytical approaches for future investigations into policy measures in this domain.