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Landlords: EPC targets for 2030

Journalist: Tom Haynes, Daily Telegraph

ended 26. September 2024

Ed Milliband is set to introduce mandatory EPC targets for landlords. Those who don't achieve a minimum rating of C by 2030 will be banned from letting to tenants.

How much is this likely to cost? And what are the risks of requiring landlords to pay for their own upgrades?

Keen to hear your thoughts!

5 responses from the Newspage community

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Editor
Michelle Lawson
Director at Lawson Financial
...and another thing to add to the list for Landlords! The 'Green' agenda is just not taking off with homeowners and a significant amount of the UK housing stock will not lend itself to get to a C rated EPC. What about flats, non-standard construction...the list goes on. The costs to implement solar panels and heat/air source pumps do not give a great return and even then, the Landlord will not benefit but the tenant will. Landlords cannot keep absorbing all these costs so the only loser in the end will be the tenant yet again as it will be passed on by higher rents. If grants are released the devil is always in the detail but historically it has been to support tenants on applicable state benefits and even then the whole cost wasn't always covered.
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Stephen Perkins
Managing Director at Yellow Brick Mortgages
Successive governments are just stopping short of having landlords pilloried in the streets for rotten fruit to be thrown at them. Added to regulatory and taxation changes that have already left landlords bruised, adding more forced property improvement costs and threatening bans is just rubbing salt in the wounds. Ultimately, the costs bourne here by the landlord, will likely just be passed on in higher rents to tenants, which will further exasperate the housing crisis.
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Amit Patel
Adviser at Trinity Finance
Private landlords are being attacked left, right and centre. This will drive some landlords out of the market and reduce the available stock to rent. Landlords will look to recoup the costs of upgrading their properties, this will further increase the rent. This will cost the tenants ultimately.
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Luke Loveridge
Founder and CEO at Eco Approach
There are 2.6m private rented properties below a C in the UK and 74% of those need more than £10,000 to get to a C - it's going to be a challenge especially on the supply chain with social housing now required to reach a C also.

Without adequate support and exemptions, what we could see is the continuation of smaller landlords exiting the market. This may impact supply, but may also increase the number of properties that larger corporate landlords manage.

There is an additional £6.6bn of funding from government so hopefully some of this can be used to support landlords - such as with grants and low cost / interest free loans.

We've certainly seen an uptick in interest from private rented landlords (and also small social landlords!) over the last few weeks who are looking for help to comply - especially those who are potentially eligible for grants.
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Julie Ford
Ed Miliband’s proposal to introduce mandatory EPC targets for landlords, requiring a minimum rating of C by 2030, is raising concerns about the financial burden on landlords and, indirectly, tenants and taxpayers. With 4.6 million homes in the private rental sector, and 56% not meeting the target, retrofitting could cost an estimated £10,000 per property. This totals around £50 billion, with similar costs faced by councils and social landlords.

Landlords, already under pressure from compliance costs, face a significant financial strain. Critics argue that this could push some out of the market, reducing rental supply and driving up rents, with tenants ultimately shouldering the burden. In a country responsible for just 1% of global emissions, many question whether targeting the private rental sector will have any meaningful impact on the environment. Ultimately this will see the inevitable rise in rents which is exactly what the Renters Rights Bill is trying to suppress