The Labour government confirmed that private landlords renting homes in England and Wales must ensure their property is at the band C level according to the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating by 2030. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has been working on new ambitions to increase energy efficiency, which is reportedly part of efforts aimed at higher standards more broadly, according to under-secretary of state Miatta Fahnbulleh, who was responding to a question in parliament. These confirmations come years after debate on how to toughen up private and social housing regulations. The government will work directly with social housing providers and local councils to ensure improvements are accomplished.

Upgrading private and social housing regulations is expected to mainly occur through the Warm Homes Plan. This plan will aim to increase insulation and low-carbon heating systems for millions of homes. More information about the plan's implementation will be announced later. According to a spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, landlords who already maintain well-quality homes have nothing to worry about the new policy. The spokesman added that the government's plan to modernise rental regulations sensibly is intended for this area. It will boost investment in energy-efficient measures, the benefits of which will mainly be better insulation and low-carbon heating systems. Thus, homes will be better and more comfortable for tenants up and down the country.

The National Housing Federation has welcomed EPC C for this move. Kevin Garvey, head of member relations at the NHF, said that today's confirmation of a target is a step in the right direction, but it is worth remembering that social landlords are still not required to meet the level set.

He advised housing associations to collaborate with the government to speed up house retrofitting to achieve the energy efficiency target. Garvey also called for much more from the government but requested an increase in the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund. He pointed out that an additional £2 billion a year would be required to reach the goal over a longer timeframe. However, the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund has already received extra funding from the previous Conservative government, which allocated an additional £1.25 billion to the fund only last year. The £1.5 billion set aside in a heat pump upgrade scheme will reduce carbon emissions in homes around the country.

While welcoming the Labour government's announcement, Garvey pointed out that housing associations are already leading the way in energy efficiency. More than 70 per cent of current social housing properties achieve an EPC rating of C or higher. However, he said that the rate of retrofitting needed to be doubled in order to achieve the 2030 target, which means addressing houses that are more difficult to decarbonise because of structural challenges or location. Currently, privately rented homes must have a minimum EPC rating of E, which will be lifted with the new 2030 target. The announcement finally ends the earlier Conservative government policy that rescinded a 2028 goal for all private rental properties to have a C or better EPC rating in January.

In Wales, the housing ministry has also faced criticisms over targets based on energy efficiency.  Earlier this year, the cabinet secretary for housing confirmed that there is no minimum requirement for attaining an EPC A rating on social housing by 2030.  However, the long-term aim is to improve energy efficiency applied to social housing, and the Welsh government still stipulates a deadline for achieving this objective.

Social and private landlords will be the first to be called upon in a process that will lead to the whole of the UK turning greener as the government announces energy policies. The Labour government's confirmation of the 2030 EPC C target for landlords toward meeting the country's more profound environmental objectives is yet another giant step forward. However, the question remains of how much financial aid will be offered to private and social landlords to meet such high-sounding targets.