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The government is hot on energy efficiency and is proposing all landlords upgrade their rental homes to a C Energy Performance Certificate rating by April 2030.
Property experts forecast that landlords will miss the target by 12 years at the current rate of improvement.
They blame successive Tory and Labour housing ministers for changing their minds about the deadline for reaching a C-grade EPC.
Landlords saw former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak dump the proposal as ‘too expensive for landlords’ in the run-up to the July election, and only for newly-elected Labour to pick up the policy.
However, property consultant Hampton’s research found that landlords are modernising their rental homes despite government indecision, and the sector is on track for all properties to hit an A to C rating within a generation.
To meet the 2030 target, landlords must upgrade 340,000 homes yearly to reach a C-grade.
This year, 115,000 homes are expected to move from a D to a G grade to a C or above.
The cost of modernising from the bottom G grade to a C grade is estimated to be about £27,000 while moving from a D to a C is about £10,000.
Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons, said: “Successive changes to proposed energy efficiency rules have shifted the goalposts for landlords, some of whom face costs which can run into tens of thousands of pounds.
“Despite this, many investors have continued to improve the energy efficiency of their rental homes, and we’re currently on track to see 100 per cent of rental homes where an EPC A-C is viable reach that rating within a generation.
“To meet the government’s 2030 target, the same number of homes will need to see energy upgrades over the next five years as we’ve seen make improvements in the last 30 years.
“While a requirement for all rental homes to achieve an EPC A-C rating by 2030 is achievable at a stretch, landlords need adequate time and resources to meet it. It is essential landlords receive complete clarity on this target this year.”
An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) is a document that shows how energy-efficient a property is. The government requires an EPC for any property built, sold, or rented. EPCs are issued by qualified assessors and are valid for ten years, costing around £100.
An EPC register showing if a home has an EPC and energy efficiency information is available online.