More than one-third of private rented properties in England and Wales have raised their EPC rating from below a C since 2012.

Analysis by Upgraded Intelligence of 331,882 homes recorded as privately rented on both their first and latest usable certificates found that of the 250,017 that started below C, 90,830 (36%) had then managed to make the grade or above on their latest certificate. Of these properties, 12,187 moved below a C – the minimum level which must be achieved from 1 October 2030, unless a valid exemption applies.

It explains that the certificates span July 2012 to October 2026, and the gap between assessments varies by home. The English Housing Survey estimates that 50% of privately rented homes in England were rated C or above in 2024.

The findings follows confirmation from the government that councils will have stronger powers to enforce Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) across both domestic and non-domestic private rented properties.

Penalty

Private landlords face a maximum civil penalty of £30,000 if they don’t meet the required standards and new legislation will improve access to compliance information, helping councils identify failing properties and take enforcement action. This will ensure the civil penalty for non-compliance is larger than the updated proposed maximum required investment per property of £10,000.

The government explains: “Local authority pilot studies and evaluation work have shown that secondary legislation alone is insufficient without provision in primary legislation to provide for enhanced enforcement and compliance powers. Therefore, government is seeking powers to ensure local authorities are better able to enforce the current regulations as well as have adequate deterrence in place for the increased requirements.”

Its Energy Independence Bill also allows it to strengthen regulations by including HMOs in the remit, while it says although there is a provision to require short-term lets to comply with the regulations it currently has no plans to exercise these powers.

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