It will take another 18 years for landlords to meet EPC valuation standards for rental properties, according to a leading real estate agency.

If work to modernize rental apartments continues at the current pace, Hamptons says it will not be completed until 2042.

The pressure is great

Miatta Fahnbulleh, Minister for Energy Security and Net Zero, confirmed this week that the Government will introduce a requirement that rental properties must achieve at least a C rating by 2030.

The Tories had previously put their plans for the obligation on hold because they believed it would be too costly for landlords, particularly those modernising older Victorian buildings.

But now landlords are again under pressure to comply with the regulations within six years.

Higher Band

So far this year, 39% of energy certificates for rental apartments have been classified in a higher category. The Hamptons says.

However, to achieve the proposed 2030 target, around 340,000 rental apartments will need to be renovated each year to achieve at least a C rating.

Around 115,000 households will be renovated so that they achieve a C rating in 2024.

Successive amendments to the proposed energy efficiency regulations have changed the rules of the game for landlords.”

Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons, said: “Successive changes to proposed energy efficiency regulations have changed the playing field for landlords, some of whom are facing costs that could run into the tens of thousands of pounds.

“Despite this, many investors have continued to improve the energy efficiency of their rental properties and we are currently on track for 100% of rental properties where EPC air conditioning is viable to achieve this rating within a generation,” she says.

“In order to achieve the government’s target for 2030, the same number of households will have to be renovated to improve energy efficiency in the next five years as in the last 30 years.”