The UK’s push towards more energy-efficient housing is a necessary and important step on the road to Net Zero. However, for many landlords across England and Wales, the reality of meeting the government’s proposed EPC Band C targets by 2030 presents a significant financial and logistical challenge. Recent analysis by Just Landlords shows that the scale of the retrofit bill facing the private rented sector is far greater than many property owners may have anticipated.

Our research found that more than 3.3m privately rented properties still fall below the proposed EPC Band C requirement. With the average upgrade cost sitting at £7,633 per property, this equates to a total estimated retrofit bill of around £26bn across England and Wales. But while averages help illustrate the scale of the issue, they don’t tell the full story. In reality, the costs and challenges vary significantly depending on location, property type and existing energy performance.

To see what the reality would look like for landlords, we compared retrofit costs to the annual rental income a property generates. This allowed us to create what we call a ‘repair-to-rent ratio’, which shows how financially manageable upgrade works may be for landlords in different parts of the country.

In some areas, particularly rural and coastal regions, the numbers are stark. In Powys, for example, the average cost to bring a property up to EPC Band C is over £10,700, while average annual rental income is just over £7,200. This means landlords could face upgrade costs equivalent to 148% of their yearly rental income. Similar challenges exist in areas such as Hartlepool, the Isle of Anglesey, Gwynedd and Northumberland, where retrofit costs represent well over a full year’s rent.