Two-thirds of private rental properties in some parts of England have an EPC below C, illustrating the scale of the challenge facing landlords, according to new research.

All rental properties in England and Wales must reach a C by 2030, and while the Energy Saving Trust found less than half (48%) of homes in England would fail the new target, number crunching by EPCGuide reveals that this is much higher in many Northern cities where dense pre-1930 stock with terraced houses make it expensive and disruptive to upgrade.

Manchester Gorton has the most rental properties that would fail new standards (67%), followed by Nottingham East and Cambridge (64%). At the other end of the table are Holborn and St Pancras (29%), Brent Central and Leeds West (24%).

Many London boroughs are better placed because its rental market skews heavily towards purpose-built flats, which have far lower non-compliance rates.

Rees Calder, founder of EPCGuide, says there is wide compliance variation within the same broad market, which suggests landlords can’t rely on postcode-level assumptions alone.

Spend

Landlords would be expected to spend up to £10,000 improving a property but those who most need help – with older stock, higher upgrade costs, and mid-market tenants - are exactly those that current schemes don’t reach well, says Calder.

“Cambridge is a textbook case of why the 2030 deadline is so difficult. Over 60% of homes can’t meet EPC C, driven by a city full of Victorian and Edwardian stock that’s expensive to retrofit,” he tells LandlordZONE. “The finance support exists on paper, but most landlords with working tenants earn too much for ECO4 and too little to absorb £10,000-plus upgrade costs alone.”

Leasehold

These new energy regulations could force leasehold landlords to exit the market, the NRLA warns, as many could fall short of an EPC C not because they have failed to act, but because they are unable to.

It says even if landlords are willing to invest in improvements, progress can be difficult to achieve because implementing changes requires approval from the freeholder and coordination with other leaseholders, which can complicate and slow the process. It has called on the government for a more flexible and practical approach.

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