Minimum energy efficiency standards in the private rented sector

Landlords of cold homes in England and Wales must not let out a property with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of F or G unless they have spent up to £3,500 (inc. VAT) on improving insulation and/or heating to bring it up to E or above, or have a registered exemption.

This applies to all privately rented homes, whether for new tenancies, renewals, or properties where tenants remain in place.

If the property still cannot reach EPC C after spending £3,500, an exemption can be registered.

Since the introduction of these requirements, the UK Government has consulted several times on raising energy efficiency standards for private rented homes in England and Wales.

Key proposals include:

• Requiring new tenancies to meet EPC Band C by 2028, and all tenancies by 2030.
• Increasing the cost cap to £15,000 per property.
• Introducing new EPC metrics from 2026, focusing on insulation, heating efficiency and smart technology.

Final decisions are expected in early 2026.

You can find more guidance around the new regulations on the government website.

Cold homes in the private rented sector

The private rented sector has the largest proportion of the most energy inefficient homes (in England, 6.3% are F and G rated properties, compared to around 0.7% of social housing). Nearly half (45.7%) of households living in such properties in England are in fuel poverty.

Improving the energy efficiency of private rented homes will not only improve comfort and reduce energy bills but will also reduce ill health. National Energy Action estimates that 10,000 deaths each year are attributable to living in a cold home, similar to the number of people who die from breast or prostate cancer each year. Moreover, work undertaken by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) highlights that cold-related illnesses from privately rented F and G rated properties costs the NHS £35million per year.

It has not proved easy to tackle this issue, as it’s landlords that are responsible for investing in improvement measures, while it is the tenant who benefits from the resulting reductions in fuel bills.

What do the new regulations mean for landlords?

All landlords in England and Wales should ensure that all potential tenants see a full copy of the Energy Performance Certificate before they agree to rent a property.  This is a legal requirement and landlords can be, and are, fined for not doing this.

The EPC is produced by an expert home energy assessor, but there’s no need to get a new Certificate produced every time you re-let the property, as they have a validity of ten years. Nonetheless you should think about getting a new EPC produced if you’ve made significant energy efficiency improvements (a new boiler, insulation, double glazing etc), as a home with a higher EPC rating will be more attractive to tenants.

Certainly, if you own a private rented property currently rated F or G and have made energy efficiency improvements since the EPC was produced, you should get a new certificate so that you remain compliant with the MEES regulations.

Under the MEES regulations, when properties are rated below “E” on the Energy Performance Certificate, landlords will need to invest up to £3,500 (inc VAT) to get them to the required standard..

Examples of improvement measures include installing floor insulation, low energy lighting, increasing loft insulation, or changing to a more efficient heating system. The Residential Landlords Association indicates the average cost to improve an F or G-rated property to a band E is expected to be around £1,200.

Some homes will need more than £3,500 to bring them up to an E standard. In those cases, landlords who can prove they’ve got as far as they can with energy improvements up to that cap, can still rent out the property, even with an F or G banding. And there are some other grounds for exemption from the MEES requirements, including for new landlords (in their first six months of operation) and where energy efficiency measures will damage the home or its value.

In these cases, the landlord needs to register an official exemption. Each exemption remains valid for five years from registration. Upon expiry, the landlord must either upgrade the property to at least EPC band E, or re-register under the applicable exemption. Exemptions do not transfer to new owners, and a change of ownership requires a fresh registration.

Where possible, Energy Saving Trust advises landlords to go at least to an E standard and not to be bound by the £3,500 limit on investment. The government is likely to increase the minimum standard incrementally from E, to D, then C in the future.  Undertaking a single whole house retrofit, tackling insulation, windows and heating system to get a cold property to a D or C standard in one go is likely to be cheaper than a series of upgrades.

More advice on improving your property.

What will this mean for tenants?

Landlords must disclose the energy rating of the property when they advertise it, and they must show the full Energy Performance Certificate to potential tenants at a viewing.  If the certificate isn’t offered at this stage, tenants should ask the estate agent to supply it.

Tenants should make sure to check the EPC rating before agreeing to rent a home and be cautious if a property is F or G banded.

Tenants already in a rented home, who have never seen, or do not currently have, the Energy Performance Certificate, should ask their landlord or managing agent to provide it. If they then discover they are in an F or G banded home, they should speak to their landlord about what steps will be taken to ensure it is improved.

If no action is taken to improve an F or G rated home, the local authority should be able to help. Under housing health and safety rules they are obliged to help tenants in dangerously cold homes. The local authority can order landlords to make energy saving improvements. Before going down this road, tenants should discuss the communication the local authority will have with the landlord. Unfortunately, it is still sometimes possible for landlords to evict tenants who ‘cause problems’ in this situation.

Looking ahead

Energy Saving Trust supports the UK government in its ambition to raise the standard to a ‘C’ rating for new tenancies by 2028, and all tenancies by 2030.