Landlords are being urged to cash in on grants of up to £8,000 that are on offer to help them make draughty homes warmer and drive down their energy bills.

The money is available for improvements such as installing better insulation or replacing old boilers or windows.

It will help landlords meet new regulations that will, in future, prevent them from renting out the most energy inefficient properties.

From April 2018, they will be required by law to get their properties to an energy efficiency rating of at least Band ‘E’.

The grants are available through Action on Energy, a scheme run by Fenland District Council. They include:

• Up to £6,000 to install either external or internal solid wall insulation (covering up to 75 per cent of the costs of installation),

• Up to £1,000 towards one other energy-saving measure, such as a replacement boiler, replacement windows or heating controls,

• Up to £2,000 towards loft or cavity wall insulation plus one other energy-saving measure for landlords with more modern properties, and

• A one-off payment of £500 for increasing the Energy Performance Certificate rating of any property in a landlord’s portfolio to at least a ‘D’ rating through measures funded by Action on Energy.

One-off payments of up to £500 are also available to tenants to compensate them for the disruption of having works done while they are in residence.

The current Action on Energy offer is available until the end of September. Applications will be considered on a first come, first served basis.

Councillor Peter Murphy, Fenland District Council’s cabinet member responsible for the environment, said: “Landlords should make the most of this scheme - the benefits are obvious.

“Making these sort of improvements will make their properties easier to rent out and reduce the amount of time they remain unoccupied. At the same time, helping tenants to cut their energy bills will reduce the risk of them falling into rent arrears.

“But it’s not just about helping landlords. We want to make sure tenants aren’t living in cold, draughty properties which lack proper insulation.”

Action on Energy is also open to owner occupiers, with grant funding available for solid wall insulation only.

The scheme is being delivered by Climate Energy, one of the UK’s leading independent providers of energy efficiency services.

• For more details, visit www.actiononenergy.net, call 0800 093 3303 or e-mail Ian Bradley at the council on ibradley@fenland.gov.uk

• The energy efficiency rating of a property can be checked online at www.epcregister.com