EPC C targets could put renters at risk without stronger protections – ACORN

Draughty windows or doors?

But make a property draught proof and then tenants moan about condensation mould

It still amazes me how so many people are ignorant to the fact that properties need ventilation, I even had to explain to my elderly mother why you can’t just have windows without trickle vents, no air bricks etc and wonder why you get mould around window reveals. Trickle vents on windows are now mandatory under building regs

I’ve even had tenants block trickle vents up thinking that will improve the condensation

Dry air is much easier to heat than moist air, it will still be cheaper even though some air escapes, and will keep the property in better condition and be better for your health

“90% of 250 tenants reported faults with their property, and 70% feared eviction if faults fixed and property upgraded”….. where were these people living? How were they identified? How representative of all tenants? What range of rents were they paying? How did their rents compare to the average for their property in their area? So many questions, so many gaps in this survey.
Plus, upgraded higher specification properties always attract a higher rent – that’s the market process. So to legally deny landlords the higher market rate for their property for an unlimited time is unreasonable. A stepladder of increases over 2 years might be a viable solution.

Some of the improvements needed to get properties up to an EPC of C are just not realistically achievable with a sitting tenant! We have a couple of older flats with long standing tenants in them and the external walls will need insulate boarding on the inside to improve their ratings and they are small one bedroomed flats stuffed to the gills with the tenants belongings. Where do they and their goods go during the couple of months it takes to upgrade their properties?

After the landlord has spent £15,000 upgrading the property to the EPC of C, the whole flat will need redecorating, but the tenant doesn’t expect the rent to go up? How do they expect to have a property seriously upgraded, thousands of pounds spent and the rent not to increase? Property rentals are a business which is intended to turn a profit rather than a loss, so how does that happen if cost increases are not covered by income across the business? Realistically what will happen is that tenants in properties that need an EPC upgrade will be given notice as the work required is too extensive to do with them and their belongings in it; we will do the improvements, fit new carpets, kitchen and bathroom etc and relet it at a much higher rent than before. So, the realistic effect is that the tenant will be moving out and will have to pay more in another flat that is already at the correct EPC rating of C or above. As with all the other f***erage that governments pull on landlords the ultimate effect is to increase the cost of rented housing for tenants!

“Renters claimed these issues were directly causing their energy bills to be higher, with the average energy spend across all respondents at £148 per month.”
£148 per month is a meaningless statistic. What is the expected reduction from this figure if improvements are carried out? Let us suppose that a massive saving can be obtained and the energy bill reduced to £100 a month, a saving of £48.. 12 x £48 = £576. If a landlord has to spend the required £15,000 on upgrades, that is a return of under 3.9% on his capital. If the cost saving is less – which is more likely – say £20 a month, then the saving is £240 and the return on investment just 1.6%. The £15,000 spend (or whatever higher figure the Secretary of State comes up with in future) may have to be repeated every 5 years, regardless of whether it achieves any material reduction in bills.
[ACORN] said: “Ending Section 21 “no fault” evictions is insufficient if landlords can price tenants out, or choose not to renew already short-term contracts – as most respondents fear.”
If Acorn thinks that requiring a landlord to spend £15,000 to save tenant a few hundred pounds a year will not lead to rent increases they are on the wrong planet.
By “pricing out”, I assume they mean “charging the market rent”. If they want someone to blame for rising rents and high energy costs, they should look to Ed Milliband for high energy bills and blame the Government (and previous governments) for relentlessly imposing extra costs and risks on private landlords.

What does the RRA say about giving tenants notice so the property can be upgraded to epc C?
What if the property is a D and you’re not allowed to rent it after 2030 and you’re not selling it or moving back in? Can you give the tenant notice?

Reply to the comment left by JB at 10/12/2025 – 13:29
“What does the RRA say about giving tenants notice so the property can be upgraded to epc C?”

It says nothing.

The Government intends (and I use that in the lawyerly sense that a person is presumed to intend the natural consequence of their actions) that landlords with houses that do not reach the “C” standard will be in breach and liable to penalties.

Landlords may be able to obtain an exemption if, for example, the tenant refuses to allow access. However, I expect this will not be clearly spelled out and some landlords will be caught out if they do not apply in time or if the local authority is not satisfied with their paperwork.

Landlords and tenants are both missing the point – the whole object of the exercise is a money-grab.
The eco-scheme, which was funded by a green levy on energy bills, wasted £billions as contractors creamed money and mutilated almost every building they touched…all of which now require £billions more in remediation.
Even Rachel Reeves noticed that the green levy was costing people more than they were supposedly saving on their bills, so she scrapped it and replaced it with the Warm Homes scheme which is funded by landlords with some support from central government.
It is still the same eco-contractors ripping off money and causing mayhem for landlords and tenants alike.

Good landlords should already have a plan for the EPC ratings.

The worst performing properties, that are likely to cost the most to achieve EPC Rating C, need to be offloaded into the owner-occupier sector.

Reply to the comment left by Cider Drinker at 10/12/2025 – 17:41
Easier said than done