Letting agents have been urged to tell government how they feel about the new EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) proposals from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

Under current regulations the minimum energy performance standard is an EPC Band E for domestic rented properties; this has applied since 2018 to properties let on new tenancies, including renewals, and since April this year it has applied to all privately rented properties whether there has been a change in the tenancy or not.

However within the BEIS proposals, the government’s preferred option for the future is:

- raising the energy performance standard for rental properties to Energy Performance Certificate energy efficiency rating Band C;

- achieving the improvements for new tenancies from 2025 and all tenancies from 2028;

- increasing the maximum investment amount, resulting in an average per-property spend of £4,700 under a £10,000 cap;

- introducing a ‘fabric first’ approach to energy performance improvements (this is improving the performance of the materials that make up the building fabric itself, before considering the use of mechanical systems).

Now Paul Offley, compliance officer at The Guild of Property Professionals, is urging letting agents to explain to the government how difficult this may be for landlord clients.