Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to encourage landlords of privately rented homes to increase the energy efficiency of their properties.

Since April 2020, all privately rented homes in England and Wales are required to meet a minimum energy efficiency standard of EPC band E. The Department is currently consulting on raising the minimum energy efficiency standards for privately rented homes in England and Wales to EPC band C. Under the Government’s recommended option, landlords would be required to reach EPC Band C for new tenancies from 1 April 2025 and all tenancies by 1 April 2028.

Landlords in England are encouraged to make use of the £2 billion Green Homes Grant funding scheme to improve their property stock to EPC Band C. Under this scheme, homeowners and landlords can receive at least two thirds of the cost of upgrading the energy performance of their homes up to a contribution of £5,000.

The consultation on improving the energy performance of privately rented homes can be accessed on GOV.UK?at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/improving-the-energy-performance-of-privately-rented-homes and will remain open until 30 December 2020.