This updated report examines the structural barriers preventing investment in energy
efficiency measures in Europe’s Private Rented Sector (PRS) housing stock. The analysis is
undertaken with reference to the broader trends in private renting, the regulatory
landscape that currently exists, and the need to reduce social vulnerability and income
poverty more generally. An introduction detailing historical and geographical trends in
Europe, using case studies and elaborating upon research and policy analysis from previous
ENPOR project reports, serves to provide the starting point of the review.
Following desk-based reviews of academic and grey literature, we identified Financial,
Political/Regulatory, Social, and Geographical factors as key barriers to the implementation
of energy efficiency policies in the PRS, which provide the backbone structure of this
review. Several strands of analysis are drawn upon, including expert viewpoints and a
stakeholder survey.
The primary survey was conducted twice, in 2021 and 2022, with a range of stakeholders
working in the field of energy poverty, energy efficiency, housing and decarbonisation. This
served to generate primary data on people’s knowledge of policies, ratings of importance
on the identified barriers and governance scales, and understandings of the effects of policy
on vulnerable groups. Partners from the ENPOR Consortium also provided expert situated
viewpoints, which were drawn together to provide a holistic overview of factors
contributing to the key barriers, as well as suggesting potential solutions from a multistakeholder perspective, supplemented by the survey’s findings. In this updated report, we
also include reflections on the impact of COVID-19 and the ongoing energy crisis in terms of
implementing energy efficiency solutions.
A common theme running throughout our analyses and recommendations is that solutions
to energy poverty in the private rented sector are situated across the barriers, and are
ultimately financial, social, political/regulatory and technical. Although a practical way of
identifying structural factors that can prevent investment in energy efficiency, this is where
we reach the limits of the conceptual notion of ‘barriers’ as an explanatory tool for
understanding the persistent energy poverty, housing quality and energy efficiency related
challenges. We reflect on how we can overcome these national barriers to work towards
improved energy efficiency policy implementation.
