Energy performance certificate (EPC) reform keeps popping back up in conversations with landlords, and for good reason.
The original 2025/2028 plan may have paused but the February consultation came back with a new set of dates. Landlords must achieve an EPC rating of C or above for new private tenancies from 1 April 2028 and for all tenancies from 1 April 2030.
There is a proposed spending cap of £15,000 per property, with the possibility of a lower amount for less affordable homes, but the EPC regulation is now firmly back on landlords’ agenda.
There is still a continued lack of certainty. Landlords could choose not to part with cash until the EPC and MEES (Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards) consultations are final, but that leaves a narrow window between confirmation in 2026 and the 2028 cut-off.
Demand for heat pumps and scaffold boards could spike
The actual costs are also an issue. A £15,000 cap looks generous until you multiply it by 10 or 25 properties. Many portfolio clients will need additional borrowing rather than savings to cover the works.
They do have options. Buy-to-let lenders such as The Mortgage Works are already rewarding A-to-C stock with higher LTVs and lower rates. Green further advances, cashback for renovation and product transfer incentives are being introduced, and we expect that to increase once the regulations are confirmed.
Grants can stretch the budget further, so advisers can remind clients to look at these options while available. For example, ECO4 runs to March 2026 and can cover a significant share of fabric insulation or heating upgrade for low-income tenants.
Advisers should refresh their knowledge of available green products
On top of that, and working with the Green Finance Institute, the government is examining property-linked finance that would attach loan repayment to the dwelling rather than the borrower, potentially lowering risk premiums for lenders and interest costs for landlords. Keep an eye on that consultation!
Quick win
A quick win is to ensure that landlords understand their properties. Too many landlords have old EPCs that may not reflect recent changes.
Advisers should encourage a fresh assessment because the client may be closer to a C than they thought. The EPC will give guidance on the type of work that can be considered, and free portals such as Propflo can assist further.
Help landlords to consider grants and additional funding needs
Some landlords may decide that improvement isn’t worth the hassle and will exit instead. However, some property owners are putting tired stock on the market and re-investing in fresher properties with ratings of C or above.
Other professional landlords are buying and planning long-term investment, happy to spend £15,000 today for the longer-term benefits of improved rental income and capital appreciation. Advisers who can explain both the retrofit path and the acquisition opportunity will add value for their clients.
Penalties
The English Housing Survey suggests that just over 2.5 million privately rented homes still fall into EPC bands D to G, with proposed penalties of up to £30,000 per breach, per property once the higher standard comes into force.
Too many landlords have old EPCs that may not reflect recent changes
It’s proposed that only the costs of work carried out after the regulations come into force will count towards the spending cap, so waiting for full certainty on the regulation sounds sensible. However, demand for installers, heat pumps and even scaffold boards could spike once the rules are locked in. Starting to plan preparatory works now and locking in prices could be prudent, and may reduce the risk of a landlord becoming a mortgage prisoner when 2028 rolls around.
At the next portfolio review, advisers should ensure they are gathering the current EPC rating and pencilling in perhaps a notional amount of £10,000 per sub-C property. Help landlords to consider grants and additional funding needs. Link them to tools such as Propflo to map out the works.
Many portfolio clients will need additional borrowing rather than savings to cover the works
Advisers should also refresh their knowledge of available green products that give rewards of cashback and rate discounts for completing the work. At the time of writing there were nearly 350 products from around 17 buy-to-let lenders, across both specialist and mainstream, offering some form of green incentive. Tools such as Twenty7tec can help identify these lenders.
Advisers can add value by helping clients to treat energy improvement as part of their standard property management, not a last-minute compliance cost, to attract better tenants, increase property values and enjoy keener mortgage pricing.
Liz Syms is chief executive of Connect for Intermediaries
This article featured in the June 2025 edition of Mortgage Strategy.
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