New EPC minimum standards
With the confirmation of Labour’s plans to require all rented properties in England to have a minimum EPC rating of C by 2030, we look at what this means for the rental sector.
In the last 12 months, just 56% of property rentals were in homes meeting the requirement. A third of lets were in homes with a D rating, while 10% were E or below.
At a regional level, there were a higher proportion of homes rented in the North West. Scotland (where different rules apply) came out second highest. Greater London which achieved the higher ratings but a significant number will still need to be improved came in third.
Some improvements have been made. Back in 2019, less than half of rented homes (49.8%) met the standard. Still, large scale investment will be required. Reapit (https://www.reapit.com/) estimate the cost of retrofitting all PRS properties in England, Wales and Scotland to a C rating is over £24 billion. Source: Dataloft Rental Market Analytics by PriceHubble, MHCLG. August 2024.
What does this mean for the Harlow Rental Market?
Harlow has 39,710 dwellings within its boundaries. 15% of these are privately rented. Therefore, that means there are 5,957 properties that by 2030 will have to meet these new requirements.
There is no current data for regions, let alone towns, as to what the percentage of properties failing to meet this criteria is. However, Harlow consistently performs close to all national figures. Therefore, is is fairly safe to assume that around 45% will fail.
Jukes Estate Agents Harlow co owner Geoff Flewers is quick to have concerns about all this: “Whilst I agree that rented accommodation has to have higher standards than it currently does, I am concerned that many properties (especially the ex local authority non standard construction ones) will cost far too much to get to a ‘C’ rating. There are many non standard construction properties in Harlow. As Harlow Estate Agents, we see many EPC certificates. In many circumstances the cost to get in to a ‘C’ would run into thousands of pounds. I think many landlords will just sell up. This will be so bad for the rental market. There isn’t enough stock as it is. The only hope over the next 6 years is that the government actually hit their housing tarrgets!”
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