Reported in LandlordZone, the research, carried out for property data platform LandTech, suggests that up to 64% of PRS homes will be non-compliant when new minimum energy efficiency standards come into force in 2025.

The new standards will require all non-exempt privately rented homes to have a minimum EPC rating of C without which it will be illegal to rent the property out. For new tenancies this requirement will come into force, on current plans, in 2025.

This will mean that a large number of older properties will need to be upgraded or retrofitted in order to become compliant with the regulations (known as MEES). Most recently built homes should be compliant by design.

The LandTech research mirrors research carried out by energy company EDF earlier in 2022. This showed that of 21 million homes in England and Wales, around 58 % had insulation that only met the standards of the 1970s. Though this latter study involved all tenure types it underlines how steep the hill is that the PRS in England will have to climb in order to be ready for the new regulations.

Government, the finance sector and local authorities all have their own parts to play in improving energy efficiency rates in PRS homes, just as much as landlords themselves, but the clock is ticking.

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