Miliband confirms plans to raise EPC standards for private rented sector – London Wallet

Energy secretary Ed Miliband has committed to consult on raising the minimum energy efficiency standards for private and social rented homes by 2030.

The consultation will happen “by the end of the year”, according to The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

Currently, private rented homes can be rented out if they meet Energy Performance Certificate E, while social rented homes have no minimum energy efficiency standard at all.  

The government will now consult on proposals for private and social rented homes to achieve Energy Performance Certificate C or equivalent by 2030.

Commenting on the proposals, Chris Norris, policy director for the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) said: “The NRLA wants to see all rented properties become as energy efficient as possible. However, the government’s approach must involve a clear and comprehensive plan which recognises that the sector has some of the oldest, and hardest to improve, properties in the UK’s housing stock.

“The sector needs a clear trajectory setting out what will be expected of it and by when. This plan must also ensure sufficient numbers of tradespeople are in place to undertake the work that will be required.

Norris added: “Alongside this, as the Committee on Fuel Poverty has warned, is the need for a financial package to support investment in energy efficiency measures. At present, the private rented sector is the only housing tenure without a bespoke package to support work to upgrade homes.”

According to official data, in 2022, almost 45% of private rented properties in England had an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of at least a C, more than double the rate compared to 2012.  However, a third of private rented sector homes were built before 1919, a higher proportion than any other tenure. These are among some of the hardest to improve properties of the entire housing stock.

Research suggests the UK is set to see a shortfall in the number of tradespeople grow to 250,000 by 2030 while the Committee on Fuel Poverty has argued that landlords could best be supported to improve the energy efficiency of rented housing “through tax offsets for improvements, loans or potentially grants for landlords with a low profit margin in areas of low rental value”.