Plans to improve the energy efficiency of private rented housing have no hope of being met following the Government’s failure to respond to a consultation which closed two years ago. 

The Government proposed a target that all new tenancies in the private rented sector should be in a property with an energy performance rating of at least a ‘C’ by 2025.  It proposed that this be extended to cover all tenancies in the sector by 2028. 

Despite the consultation closing in January 2021, the Government has so far failed to provide any response to it, leading to uncertainty about what will be expected of the sector. 

In view of the failure to provide any concrete steps forward the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) is calling on the Government to make clear that the dates envisaged in the consultation are now unrealistic. In addition, to provide certainty for the market, it is calling for a definitive timetable for publication of a response to the consultation and any required legislation thereafter. 

The Government also proposed that all landlords should be expected to pay up to £10,000 to make the necessary improvements to meet the proposed targets.

The NRLA is calling instead for the amount that landlords should be expected to contribute to be linked to average market rents in any given area. Under the NRLA’s proposals this would mean the amount a landlord would need to pay would taper from £5,000 to £10,000, taking into account different rental values (and by implication, property values) across the country.