Labour has revealed plans to fund the upgrade of rented properties to meet its 2030 plan to have all rented homes reach an EPC band C or above.

The scheme will apply across approximately half of the UK within ‘eligible postcodes’ where older and usually pre-1919-built housing stock is the costliest to upgrade.

Landlords with one property will be able to access funds of up to £30,000 to complete property upgrades to get them to a minimum EPC band C level.

But those with more than one property will then have to 50% fund subsequent properties within their portfolios, with the Government putting in £15,000 and landlords topping this up to £30,000, although theses totals will vary significantly depending on the work needed.

The funding for each property will be split equally between two types of upgrade – improvements to energy efficiency and also the installation of low-carbon heating equipment such as solar panels or air-source heat pumps.

Postcode lottery

But the scheme is not blanket – it is postcode dependent covering around 440,000 six-digit postcode areas out of the UK’s total of 900,000. Also, it will only apply to landlords who have low-income tenants who are either on benefits or have incomes below £36,000 depending on family size, and properties that are currently EPC band D to G. But landlords must only meet one of the three 'pathways' to be eligible - i.e. postcode, benefits or below the maximum income level.

To stop fraudulent applications, landlords will have to agree to be included within a central database which will be used to monitor the number of fully funded upgrades a landlord has received under the scheme.

“This will ensure landlords are prevented from receiving fully funded upgrades to more than one property under the Warm Homes: Local Grant,” the lengthy guidance says.