Will your rental property meet the latest EPC standards?

An estimated 2.9 million properties need to be improved under the government’s proposal for rental homes to reach a minimum EPC rating of C by 2030, costing £23.4 billion – an average of £8,074 per property. Rightmove’s third Greener Homes Report found half (50%) of landlords say they are concerned about potential financial penalties if rental properties fail to meet EPC C standards by 2030.

A green wealth divide has emerged – analysing EPCs created over the past year found 50% of £1 million plus properties had significantly improved their rating since their previous EPC, compared with only 32% of properties worth under £400,000. The majority (72%) of people would be willing to change how and when they use energy if it meant they could access cheaper energy rates at different times of the day. Ahead of the Autumn Budget, Rightmove is asking the government to consider support for landlords which in turn will benefit tenants, and more mass market help for homeowners of lower value homes.

Rightmove’s Energy Bills Tracker shows that the difference in bills between homes with higher and lower energy efficiency ratings can be significant. The average energy bill for a three-bedroom semi-detached house with an EPC rating of F stands at £4,312 per year, compared with £1,681 for the same house with an EPC rating of C – a difference of £2,631. 92% of renters say it is crucial to understand the energy efficiency of their home, compared to 87% of homeowners, showing the growing importance of increasing costs and energy bills in rental properties.

Labour’s Warmer Homes plan proposes to invest £6.6 billion to upgrade homes with better insulation and low-carbon heating like heat pumps, an encouraging ambition to improve Great Britain’s homes.

Don’t miss our next article, subscribe to our news updates…