Landlords say homes energy efficiency schedule is ‘detached from reality’

The Government’s plan to improve the energy efficiency of all private rented homes is “detached from reality”, landlords have warned.

The proposed timeframe for requiring all properties to meet a higher efficiency rating is “simply unrealistic” largely due to a shortage of tradespeople to carry out the work, the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) said.

The Government’s consultation on the plan, which aims to cut bills and emissions to deliver a statutory fuel poverty target, closed last month.

It proposes that all privately rented properties must meet a minimum efficiency standard C, rather than the current required rating of E, by 2030.

The NRLA said that while landlords support the overall objective, the Government must rethink its implementation process.

Under the Government’s current timeline, the new minimum efficiency standard, which will be set against new metrics, will be confirmed in late 2026, with a view to it applying to all new tenancies by 2028 – and all tenancies by 2030.

The NRLA said this could give landlords less than two years to upgrade more than 2.5 million rented homes that it estimates do not currently meet the new energy performance standard.

It also said ministers have not explained how the “extensive” works will be funded.

In its response to the consultation, the NRLA cited research by the Kingfisher group, the owner of brands such as Screwfix, B&Q and Tradepoint, which estimated there will be a shortfall of 250,000 skilled tradespeople in the UK by 2030.

The NRLA proposed an adjusted implementation plan which requires landlords to meet specified standards relating to the fabric of the building, such as improved insulation, by 2030.

All landlords should then meet secondary standards relating to smart meters and efficient heating systems by 2036, it said.

NRLA chief executive Ben Beadle said: “We want all private rented properties to be as energy efficient as possible. However, tenants are being sold a pup with timelines that are hopelessly unrealistic.

“The idea that millions of homes can be retrofitted in less than two years is detached from all reality, not least given the chronic shortage of tradespeople the sector needs to get the work done.

“Noble ambitions mean little without practical and realistic policy to match.”

In its annual report in 2024, the advisory Committee on Fuel Poverty said: “Failure to make rapid progress in the private rented sector on energy efficiency will fundamentally undermine any Government strategy to end fuel poverty.”

A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: “Everyone deserves to live in a warm home, which is why we have recently consulted on plans to require private landlords to meet higher energy performance standards.

“These plans could lift up to half a million households out of fuel poverty by 2030, while also making renters hundreds of pounds better off.

“We have also announced plans to train up to 18,000 skilled workers to install heat pumps, fit solar panels, install insulation and work on heat networks.”