The government has launched a £15 billion Warm Homes Plan, promising upgrades to millions of properties and targeted protections for renters as it seeks to cut energy bills and tackle fuel poverty.
Ministers say the programme will support households to install solar panels, batteries, heat pumps and insulation, with measures tailored for low income families, social housing tenants and private renters.
The government says landlords across both private and social sectors have a responsibility to ensure homes are safe, warm and affordable.
By phasing in changes over several years and backing landlords to carry out improvements, ministers believe around half a million families could be lifted out of fuel poverty by the end of the decade.
Help fuel poverty
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: "A warm home shouldn't be a privilege, it should be a basic guarantee for every family in Britain.
"This is a government bearing down on the cost-of-living crisis.
"By driving bills down for good and upgrading millions of homes, we're giving people the security and the fair shot they need to get on in life."
PRS EPC target of 2030
Alongside the wider package, ministers have confirmed revised plans for energy efficiency standards in the private rented sector.
It says that all rented homes should reach an Energy Efficiency Rating (EPC) of at least C, if possible.
The compliance deadline for landlords is now October 2030, which means an earlier proposal for an interim 2028 deadline has been binned.
The maximum amount landlords are expected to invest in boosting their property’s EPC rating has also been reduced from £15,000 to £10,000.
That cap will be lower where £10,000 equates to 10% or more of a property's value, reflecting calls from the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) for a more proportionate approach.
Previous EPC spending will count
Spending on qualifying energy efficiency works carried out since October last year will also count towards the cap.
Funding support will be available, including continued access to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.
Government figures suggest that just over 2.5 million privately rented homes in England currently have an EPC rating below C.
Ben Beadle, chief executive of the NRLA, said the revised framework was more achievable.
He added: "We have long supported the need to improve the energy efficiency of the rental housing stock.
"However, the government's initial proposals were simply unrealistic and had no hope of being delivered within the timescales originally set out."
Reform of PRS MEES
Mr Beadle went on to say: "The announcement of a clear roadmap for the reform of PRS MEES is welcome.
"It gives landlords and those living in the private rented sector some certainty and allows businesses to plan for the future."
Ben Twomey, the chief executive of Generation Rent, said: "Homes are the foundations of our lives but high energy bills and rents force many of us to make heart wrenching choices between heating and eating, while millions of us are living with shocking levels of mould and damp.
"That's why it's so important, both for renters and the climate, that the government is raising the basic insulation and heating standards for rented homes.”
Issues over government plan
Rob Wall, the assistant director of sustainability at the British Property Federation, said: "At last we have some clarity on the government's plans for domestic EPC reform and for new minimum energy efficiency standards for the private rented sector.
"We still believe a compliance deadline of 2030 for all tenancies is unrealistic, but we welcome the proposed transitional measures and the recognition that more consultation is needed to understand how the new EPC regime will work in practice."
Propertymark's head of policy and campaigns, Timothy Douglas, said: "The proposals as they stand are deeply concerning for landlords and agents across both the residential and commercial sectors.
"In the private rented sector, landlords are being asked to deliver, in many cases, substantial and costly upgrades to reach EPC C by 2030, yet this is being imposed without clear, long-term funding commitments, realistic delivery timescales, or sufficient flexibility for older, complex, and hard-to-treat properties.
"A phased and realistic approach would allow landlords to maintain the Decent Homes Standard, manage costs effectively, and contribute meaningfully to the UK government's ambition to achieve net zero by 2050."
Vann Vogstad, the founder and chief executive of the shared living platform COHO, said: "The Warm Homes Plan is well-intentioned, but it risks overlooking the shared housing and HMO sector, which is a significant part of the UK housing system.
"While landlords are mentioned within the Warm Homes Plan, the practical focus and financial support still appear to be weighted towards owner-occupiers.
"Over two million house-sharing tenants live in homes where energy bills are typically included, meaning landlords already have a direct financial incentive to manage energy use efficiently."
Student landlords and EPC work
Simon Thompson, the managing director of Accommodation for Students, said: "Student landlords with properties that have an EPC rating of below now have a clear deadline to meet.
"This might be an expensive undertaking for some, but the government is determined to improve EPC ratings in the private rented sector."
He added: "I would suggest that student landlords make their plans now because demands for workers to carry out the work will intensify.
"There is talk that there aren't enough people to carry out the work currently so the situation might get tighter."
