Upgrading energy efficiency under the Renters’ Rights Act poses new challenges
1 month ago | 5 comments
EPC C targets push landlords towards the exit
8:01 AM, 18th May 2026, 3 weeks ago
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Nearly a quarter of landlords plan to sell or reduce their property portfolio due to EPC C targets, according to a new survey.
Research by Goodlord suggests that, following the King’s Speech announcement of an Energy Independence Bill, many landlords are now weighing up the cost of upgrading properties to meet EPC C targets.
The news comes alongside the government announcement that all private rented properties need to meet EPC C targets by 2030.
More than half of rental properties below C
According to the data, nearly a quarter of landlords (23%) said they plan to sell part or all of their portfolio as a result of changes to EPC requirements, and a further 32% remain undecided on their next step.
Emily Popple, director, Landlord Experience at Goodlord, said: “The King’s Speech has put energy efficiency firmly back on the agenda for landlords. While many understand the long-term direction of travel, our data shows a significant proportion are still weighing up whether the costs of upgrading stack up – with some already planning to sell.
“With more than half of rental properties still below EPC C, the scale of work required is substantial and presents a significant logistical challenge.
“Delivering that level of change across multiple properties will take time. Landlords require clear guidance and the right support to ensure they are able to plan and invest with confidence.”
A previous Goodlord poll found that 46% of landlords and 34% of agents believe that raising minimum energy efficiency standards would negatively affect the rental market.
Substantial and costly upgrades
However, as previously reported on Property118, Propertymark has raised concerns that the costs for landlords under the Warm Homes Plan will be high.
Timothy Douglas, head of policy and campaigns at Propertymark, previously said: “While the ambition of the Warm Homes Plan to improve energy efficiency and tackle fuel poverty is acknowledged, the proposals as they stand are deeply concerning for landlords and agents across both the residential and commercial sectors.
“In the private rented sector, landlords are being asked to deliver, in many cases, substantial and costly upgrades to reach EPC C by 2030, yet this is being imposed without clear, long-term funding commitments, realistic delivery timescales, or sufficient flexibility for older, complex, and hard-to-treat properties.
“A phased and realistic approach would allow landlords to maintain the Decent Homes Standard, manage costs effectively, and contribute meaningfully to the UK government’s ambition to achieve net zero by 2050.”
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Member Since June 2019 - Comments: 838
8:59 AM, 18th May 2026, About 3 weeks ago
In addition we cannot be certain what an EPC C actually means as the econuts want gas heated homes to rate lower. We have already seen the Labour logic is that they lost the council elections because they were not far left enough!
Member Since May 2018 - Comments: 2137
3:46 PM, 18th May 2026, About 3 weeks ago
Reply to the comment left by Paul Essex at 08:59
Labour do seem to have lost council elections to the Greens, who are now not ‘green’ but a radical left-wing pressure group calling for rent controls, although rent controls in Scotland caused rents to rise, just as they do everywhere:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cql77nrgv67o
But labour have also lost councils to Reform who according to the iPaper intend to repeal the RRA :
https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/money/reform-government-mean-housing-market-landlords-4417298
And what Reform are reported to have said is:
All this Act has achieved is making renting more expensive and leaving ordinary people desperately hunting for homes that simply aren’t there.
Because of the changes introduced to the RRA by labour that changed the RRA from what it was originally supposed to be (an act that was fair to both landlord and tenant) I mostly have to agree with this statement although it appears to me that none of the main parties have got their act together yet on domestic energy policy.
If all parties accepted that it should be possible to rent ANY property at any EPC band (including E and F) then we would not be looking down the barrel of a severe restriction in supply that will have the effect of raising rents without delivering any significant economic or climate benefit. The climate-change argument is a red-herring because with Putin bombing Ukraine, the Israelis bombing the Lebanon, the Americans bombing Iraq and China both burning coal and mining it in eastern europe, what we do to our domestic housing is almost an irrelevance. But if a significant proportion of UK domestic housing stock were able to generate and store energy that would increase our resilience to energy shocks. In order for that to happen we need the capital allowances to make it worthwhile investing in e.g. photovoltaics and storage, and the EPC system needs to make sense from the perspective of energy security. At the very least landlords should be able to offset their finance costs against rents for properties able to generate their own energy. If the government wanted to move away from incentivising gas use via the EPC system (currently gas is cheaper and taxed less by government) that wouldn’t be so bad if the market were able to rent any property, including any property below band D. Then the market could choose whether it wants an EPC band A with photovoltaics and a battery, or an EPC band E with an oil-fired or gas-fired boiler and the market would decide the appropriate rent.
The solution to sustainability is reforming the tax system to bring renewables within the reach of the small business, small landlord, small homeowner. Without reform to the tax system renewables are the preserve of the rich. If we extracted more oil and gas from the North Sea to create sovereign wealth and invest in infrastructure, (as the Norwegians did to create one of the biggest sovereign wealth funds in the world), rather than for example paying public sector workers for a four day week without any agreements on productivity, then again we would have a chance of producing an economy that was more sustainable and more resilient. When New Labour were in power John Prescott announced that he was going to build millions more homes south of London, only to be told by the water companies that there was not enough water there (of course he never asked). Ed Miliband wants to generate our energy via wind in the North Sea but UK power grid infrastructure can’t get it to where it is needed….you would think he would have asked about that before opening his mouth. But the labour tradition is that you don’t have to listen to ordinary people or to the market. You are above all those mundane considerations. You can introduce increases to employers’ NI and pretend that you are pursuing market growth and this is OK because these are your lies. If you are labour the opposition’s lies are abhorrent…but you are free to pursue your ivory-tower-ideology…the end justifies the means and because your end is so noble it justifies your own lies.
Labour logic?…..for me that’s an oxymoron.