The NRLA has criticised the Government's private rented sector energy efficiency plans saying they "have no hope of being met following the Government's failure to respond to [its own consultation]" which closed in January 2021.

The criticism comes as mortgage broker Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB) is reported, in Property Investor Post, to have called on the Government to put in place a national awareness campaign to get private rented sector (PRS) landlords "on board" with upgrading their rental properties to EPC level C by 2025. The criticism also comes just after the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee recommended that Government make energy efficiency improvements in homes of all tenures "a national priority" and to put plans to increase domestic EPC ratings from D or below to a rating of at least C on a "war footing".

The NRLA is also calling on the Government to provide more clarity for PRS landlords by making the EPC level C target 2028 for all PRS tenancies rather than, currently, 2025 for new tenancies and 2028 for existing tenancies as, 2 years after the close of the consultation on PRS energy efficiency standards, the Government has failed to publish a consultation response thus "leading to uncertainty about what will be expected of the sector". The body says that in light of this failure, the 2025 EPC level target for new tenancies "is unrealistic" and (echoing the concerns of the House of Commons committee) that "certainty for the market [requires] a definitive timetable for publication of a response to the consultation and any required legislation thereafter".

Ben Beadle, NRLA Chief Executive, said "We all want to see properties as energy efficient as possible. However, the Government's delay ..... means its plans are dead in the water. The lack of clarity is playing a major part in holding back investment in the homes to rent [that] tenants desperately need ..... the Government needs to admit what we all know, namely that it has no hope of meeting its proposed energy targets for the [private] rental market".

These criticism come as the Resolution Foundation published its Living Standards Outlook 2023 report which suggests that typical after housing costs income of non pensioner households will have fallen by £2,100 in 2023 and that 25% of workers in poorer households have missed at least one priority bill payment in the last three months.

Local Authorities with selective licensing schemes will have data on which licensed properties within their licensing designation have EPC ratings below C and, if they haven't talked yet to their cohort of licensed landlords about the MEES (Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard) regulations and what those regulations mean for those PRS landlords who need to upgrade then they will need to do so in very short order.

The Mortgage Advice Bureau has, on its web pages, advice for landlords on the potential costs for upgrading a property to the right EPC standard as well as information on what "buy to let" landlords need to know about energy performance certificates.

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