© 2025 News On The Block. All rights reserved.
News on the Block is a trading name of Premier Property Media Ltd.
© 2025 News On The Block. All rights reserved.
News on the Block is a trading name of Premier Property Media Ltd.
Legislative changes are coming into effect which will impact how energy inefficient properties in the private rented sector can be legally let. And the financial costs associated with these changes could prove significant for landlords.
In the next three years the regulations, recently announced by Energy and Climate Secretary, Ed Davey, will require all private rental properties to meet a minimum energy efficiency standard - an EPC rating of at least ‘E’. If ‘F’ and ‘G’ rated properties are not upgraded to ‘E’ by 2018 they will be illegal to let out, and this is set to affect one in ten privately rented properties (380,000).
The cost of upgrading properties to an ‘E’ rating is on average £9,000 per property but these upgrades can include anything from wall insulation to a new boiler and are listed on the property’s EPC certificate.
Chris Gauld, CEO at rental sector energy supplier Spark, said: “If landlords cannot afford these upgrade costs, their rental property will be unlettable and void periods would follow.
“The private rented sector has the worst energy efficiency record of any property tenure and yet it is also the fastest growing. Landlords should have more responsibility in ensuring their homes are energy efficient so that tenants are not forced to pay energy bills which are over the odds.”