In an interview over the weekend with Michael Gove, the Sunday Telegraph revealed that the housing minister wants to relax the current rules that will ban landlords from renting out their homes unless they pay to increase the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of their properties by 2028, which could include spending thousands on fitting a heat pump, insulation or solar panels.

“My own strong view is that we’re asking too much too quickly”, Gove told the Telegraph. “We do want to move towards greater energy efficiency, but just at this point, when landlords face so much, I think that we should relax the pace that’s been set for people in the private rented sector, particularly because many of them are currently facing a big capital outlay in order to improve that efficiency.”

Responding to the housing secretary’s suggestion  National Residential Landlords Association(NRLA) chief executive  Ben Beadle comments:

“It is over two years since the government completed its consultation on energy efficiency standards in rented homes. As a result of the delay in responding to this, there was never any hope of meeting the originally proposed deadlines, as we told the Minister earlier this month”.

He adds: “The NRLA wants to see properties as energy efficient as possible, but the sector needs certainty about how and when this will happen. Ministers need to develop a proper plan that includes a fair financial package to support improvements in the private rented sector. We will continue to work with all parties to develop pragmatic and workable proposals.”