Portsmouth landlord forced to remove triple-glazed windows

The triple-glazed windows, which replaced single-glazed sash ones, will have to go

A landlord has criticised a council for ordering him to remove "energy efficient" triple-glazed windows.

Mike West replaced single-glazed sliding sash windows with UPVC triple-glazed ones while renovating his Victorian house in Southsea, Portsmouth.

But the city's council ordered the return of the original windows due to the house being in a conservation area.

The authority said further "erosion" of the area's heritage was unacceptable.

The initial enforcement notice came after a complaint over the windows, which Mr West sought retrospective planning permission for.

Mr West said he may have to pay £10,000 to get the made-to-measure front windows changed at the four-floor rental property.

He said: "We put in triple glazing. It's very energy efficient and also very comfortable for the tenants.

"We saw sash windows but in a minority - 73% of windows were of the type of frame we put in.

"We're not conservation cowboys... anybody walking casually up and down the street would not notice the difference."

The Planning Inspectorate upheld the council's decision at an appeal.

Mike West said the council's conservation rules were out of step with government policy

A spokesperson for Portsmouth City Council said: "Unfortunately, there are other UPVC windows on the street. We can't do anything about these, because we didn't know about the changes at the time, and legally too much time has passed for us to take action."

The council added it would be happy to work with Mr West in installing double or tripled-glazed sash windows with planning permission.

But Mr West said he fears he will be unable to rent out his property due to its energy efficiency rating falling from Band C to potentially Band E if the single-glazed windows are restored.

A is the most efficient rating and G is the least efficient rating.

The government has said it wants to upgrade as many private rented sector homes as possible to EPC Band C by 2030. Currently private rental homes without an exemption must meet a minimum of EPC Band E.

Mr West said the conservation area policy was in "total disconnect with government policy" and needed to be "modernised" in the age of climate awareness.