New EPC minimum standards

With the confirmation of Labour’s plans to require all rented properties in England to have a minimum EPC rating of C by 2030, we look at what this means for the rental sector.

In the last 12 months, just 56% of property rentals were in homes meeting the requirement. A third of lets were in homes with a D rating, while 10% were E or below.

At a regional level, there were a higher proportion of homes rented in the North West, Scotland (where different rules apply) and Greater London which achieved the higher ratings but a significant number will still need to be improved.

Some improvements have been made. Back in 2019, less than half of rented homes (49.8%) met the standard. Still, large scale investment will be required. Reapit estimate the cost of retrofitting all PRS properties in England, Wales and Scotland to a C rating is over £24 billion. Source: Dataloft Rental Market Analytics by PriceHubble, MHCLG. August 2024