Landlords will have to bring their rental properties up to an Energy Performance Certificate rating of C by 2030, the Warm Homes Plan confirmed.
Currently they only need to achieve an E rating to let out a property.
Commercial landlords are being hit harder, as there will be a minimum EPC requirement of B by 2030.
Timothy Douglas, head of policy and campaigns at Propertymark, said: “In the private rented sector, landlords are being asked to deliver, in many cases, substantial and costly upgrades to reach EPC C by 2030, yet this is being imposed without clear, long-term funding commitments, realistic delivery timescales, or sufficient flexibility for older, complex, and hard-to-treat properties.
“A phased and realistic approach would allow landlords to maintain the Decent Homes Standard, manage costs effectively, and contribute meaningfully to the UK government’s ambition to achieve net zero by 2050.”
He added: “Crucially, there remains no clarity on Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards for non-domestic property, despite expectations that commercial landlords will be required to meet EPC B by 2030.
“The absence of detail on interim targets, exemptions, enforcement, and financial support makes it impossible for landlords to plan responsibly or invest with confidence.”
There are likely to be changes to how the EPC score is calculated.
As it stands homes are ranked based on running costs, which means the score can be downgraded after heat pumps are installed, despite the government looking to push green energy.
Rob Wall, assistant director (sustainability), British Property Federation, said, “At last we have some clarity on the government’s plans for domestic EPC reform and for new minimum energy efficiency standards for the private rented sector.
“We still believe a compliance deadline of 2030 for all tenancies is unrealistic, but we welcome the proposed transitional measures and the recognition that more consultation is needed to understand how the new EPC regime will work in practice.
“However, the government’s Warm Homes Plan has left commercial buildings out in the cold. The failure to provide any clarity on future minimum energy efficiency standards for the non-domestic private rented sector will do little to arrest the growing sense that Ministers don’t understand or see the case for supporting commercial real estate in its transition to net zero.
“Further delays to clarifying EPC targets for commercial buildings will have a significant impact on investment and the UK’s competitiveness. While clarity on changes for domestic property will be welcome, the absence of a clear strategy to support the decarbonisation of commercial buildings risks undermining the government’s ability to deliver net zero by 2050.”