Landlords get two extra years to make houses eco-friendly as Miliband extends 2028 deadline

Landlords will have an extra two years to make their homes more eco-friendly after Energy Secretary Ed Miliband extended the original deadline.

Under the Government’s £15bn Warm Homes Plan, rented homes will need to achieve an energy performance certificate rating of at least C by 2030, an extension from the previous 2028 cut-off. 

There are handful of exceptions, such as listed properties and those in conservation areas. 

Alongside the two-year deadline extension, the government also lowered the maximum amount landlords will be expected to fork out to fund eco improvements.

It confirmed the planned cap on the amount landlords will be expected to invest to meet the new standards will be lowered from £15,000 to £10,000.

The cost cap will be lower where £10,000 would represent 10 per cent or more of a property’s value, and any spending on energy efficiency works since October last year will be included within the planned cap. 

The Government has announced the maximum a private landlord will be required to spend on improving the energy efficiency of a home is £10,000, down from £15,000 previously

Changes to EPC requirements have been hanging over the sector for a number of years now.

The EPC is a rating scheme which bands properties between A and G, with an A rating being the most energy efficient and G the least. 

It is estimated that 2.6 million privately rented homes have an EPC of D or below, according to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. That equates to 60 per cent of rented homes. 

At present, landlords need to ensure their property has a minimum energy performance certificate rating of E in order to let it.

EPC certificates are valid for 10 years and all landlords must provide a copy to tenants before they move in.

Failure to do so can lead to large fines and stop a landlord from being able to let their property in future. 

The National Residential Landlords Association has long argued that the 2028 deadline would be impossible for most landlords to meet.  

Ben Beadle, chief executive of the NRLA said: ‘We have long supported the need to improve the energy efficiency of the rental housing stock. 

‘However, the Government’s initial proposals were simply unrealistic and had no hope of being delivered within the timescales originally set out.

‘The Government has clearly listened to our pragmatic proposals to improve its plans, and we look forward to working with it to ensure its ambitions work in practice.’

However, a campaign group working on behalf of renters criticized the Government’s decision to lower the cap on landlord spending and also raised concerns about landlords potentially evicting renters following upgrades, so they could raise rents to cover the cost.

Niamh Evans, policy officer at the Renters’ Reform Coalition, said: ‘The Government’s choice to lower the cap on landlord spending on upgrades from £15,000 to £10,000 means many tenants stuck in some of the worst insulated homes will – quite literally – be left in the cold, as their landlords won’t be required to bring them up to EPC C. 

‘Government data suggests more than one in ten rented homes fall into this gap.

‘We’re also concerned the Government have still not set out plans to protect renters from rent increases or evictions following any upgrades linked to the scheme. 

‘It can’t be right that landlords could put up rents or evict tenants to sell after using taxpayer-funded grants to upgrade their home.’