According to Natwest and S&P Global’s Greener Homes Attitude tracker, which is done on a quarterly basis and based on the responses of 4,500 people across the UK, more than a quarter, 26 per cent, of people are less likely to implement energy efficiency changes in the next 12 months due to cost of living, reflecting a growing trend over the past few months.
In its previous report 23 per cent said they were less likely to implement changes, which is up from 17 per cent in Q2 and 11 per cent in Q1.
This rose to 32 per cent for those earning less than £15,000 a year.
Those planning to make changes over one to five years also fell slightly from 34 per cent to 33 per cent and from 21 per cent to 19 per cent for the six to 10-year period.
The proportion of people not planning to make changes in the next 10 years also rose to around 20 per cent, which is slightly up from the prior quarter.
The report said 22 per cent of homeowners measured said they had plans to improve their property in the next 12 months, which up from 16 per cent in the same period last year but slightly down on the 24 per cent recorded in the prior quarter.
The majority of those surveyed said that the cost was the biggest barrier, with 71 per cent of those who had no plans to change their property pointing to this factor.
This was followed by availability of financing options at 29 per cent and level of disruption work would cause at 28 per cent.
EPC ratings increasingly important for buyers
The report found that although homeowner plans had been dimmed by cost of living concerns, Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) ratings are becoming more important to prospective buyers.
Around 21 per cent of those looking to buy in the next 10 years are looking to buyer a property with an EPC rating of C or above, an increase from 17 per cent in the same period last year.
Of those who had moved home in the last 12 months, 22 per cent said getting a property with a higher EPC rating was main factor or one of the factors they would consider.
Among those considering moving in the next year 32 per cent said that the EPC rating was the main factor or a key factor they would look at.
However, cost of living and rising mortgage costs remain a concern for buyers, with 49 per cent considering moving in the next year citing this as a crucial issue.
Around 21 per cent of homebuyers who had considered moving but had changed plans pointed to cost of living as the primary reason for their aborted plans. This was followed by mortgage rates at 15 per cent.
Lloyd Cochrane, head of mortgages at Natwest, said: “The latest Greener Homes Attitude tracker shows that although people are placing importance on EPC ratings and individual energy saving measures, there are still barriers when it comes to taking steps in retrofitting their homes.
“We know that homeowners are keen to make changes that will save money and combat climate change – but the costs of making these changes remain a barrier for homeowners.”
He continued: “Our retrofit pilot and quarterly tracker have informed our support for customers. These insights have also formed part of our work across industry and our engagement with government to propose policies that can work positively to support consumers improve the energy efficiency of their homes.
“With supply chain issues also increasingly acting as bottlenecks to the decarbonisation of our homes, it is key that we support customers financially so they are not held back from boosting demand for energy efficient products and services”
Natwest is helping to fund a series of green home retrofit pilots for nine customers across the UK, taking them from research and consideration to installation to “inform future products”.
Through the Sustainable Homes and Buildings Coalition, the lender is working with Worcester Bosch, Citizens Advice and British Gas to assess the EPC rating of their properties and install solutions to improve energy efficiency and cut emissions.
These include insulation upgrades, heat pumps and solar panels.
