UK Finance has urged the government not to single out the private rented sector when updating its EPC framework.

The financial services industry body says homes in the PRS are more likely to have EPC ratings due to requirements for them to be updated on a regular basis.

In its response to the government’s consultation into Reforms to the Energy Performance of Buildings regime, it explains: “Given the need for EPCs across the entire housing stock and the larger data gap within the owner occupier sector, we support a balanced approach to address the data gap as a whole and to not disproportionately focus on the PRS".

It also warns against inadvertently penalising private landlords. “The greater complexity of the EPC must be balanced against rising costs,” says the body. “A benefit of the current EPC is its low (generally sub-£100) cost. Additional costs will be borne in particular by the PRS, which tends to have more EPC requirements and faces more acute penalties for non-compliance.”

Potential impacts

It is concerned by the potential impacts on cost for owners and landlords to attain an EPC, given the implication that more EPCs will be carried out by a limited number of surveyors, in addition to the impact of shorter validity periods. “Government will need to invest in increasing the number of energy consultants with a high standard of training to keep the cost of an EPC low," it adds.

UK Finance wants a range of relevant metrics used in EPCs, such as energy cost and heat retention, to make it clear to consumers what they can do to improve the energy efficiency of their property and how they can lower emissions.

As some improvements such as heat pumps don’t always translate to an updated EPC rating, UK Finance suggests that the government should explore ways to reflect energy efficiency improvements automatically or rapidly in the EPC rating of a property at the date of installation.