Are new energy efficiency rules 'dead in the water?'

The long delays in introducing new energy efficiency legislation has made the proposed timescales unworkable, argues the National Residential Landlords Association.

Consultations in respect of energy efficiency upgrades to private rental sector properties ended in January 2021. It was then envisaged that all new tenancies would need an EPC rating of C or above by 2025 and existing tenancies by 2028. Landlords would be expected to pay up to £10,000 for the upgrades.

Since then, nothing.

There are an estimated 5.5 million homes in the private rental sector, of which more than 60% fall below the required EPC Level C standard, suggesting that some 3.5 million properties will need to be retrofitted. It is highly unlikely that the industry has the capacity to achieve this within the originally proposed timescales.

The NRLA has called on the government to admit that the dates proposed at the consultation stage cannot now be met.

They propose three courses of action.

That the government publishes a new timetable for the implementation of energy efficiency upgrades that reflects the industry's capacity to complete them. This would also provide clarity for landlords to plan accordingly.

That the amount landlords are expected to pay to be based upon the average market rents in the area, reflecting property values. They suggest a sliding scale between £5,000 and £10,000.

That new fiscal measures be introduced, giving landlords a tax allowance to those working towards Net Zero.

We all want to see properties as energy efficient as possible. However, the government's delay in responding to the consultation on energy standards in the private rental sector means its plans are dead in the water. The lack of clarity is playing a major part in holding back investment in the homes to rent tenants desperately need.

In the interests of certainty, the government needs to admit what we all know, namely that it has no hope of meeting its proposed energy targets for the rental market.

​Ben Beadle, National Residential Landlords Association