As part of the Renters' Rights Bill, the UK government is extending the Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector to improve housing quality. Originally designed for social housing, this standard ensures all rented homes meet basic living conditions. This reform is further strengthened by Awaab’s Law that requires landlords to act more swiftly in addressing serious health hazards like damp and mould.

What Is the Decent Homes Standard?

In the first part of this article, we explored the proposed changes to minimum energy efficiency standards for rental properties in England and Wales, including the shift to a new EPC assessment system and key implementation dates.

Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) have long been a vital tool for homeowners and landlords, offering insight into how efficiently a property uses energy and where improvements can be made. With upcoming regulatory changes, EPCs are becoming even more crucial—not only for compliance but also for maintaining property value and reducing long-term running costs.

In this second part, we focus on what landlords need to know about penalties for non-compliance, cost caps for improvement works, and transition arrangements for properties with high current EPC ratings.

This is the first of a two-part article exploring the upcoming changes to minimum energy efficiency standards for rental properties. In this part, we focus on the proposed regulations and timeline, while the next article will cover penalties, cost caps, and transition arrangements. You can check your home’s current EPC rating and certificate status on the government’s register. Certificates are valid for 10 years.

For rental properties in England and Wales, both the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) assessment system and the minimum energy efficiency requirements are set to change as early as 2026.

Since April 2020, privately rented homes must have an EPC rating of at least E to be legally let. The government had initially proposed raising the minimum rating to C by 2025, but this policy was scrapped in favour of a revised timeline yet to be confirmed.