The body says it welcomes the focus property firms Residential Property, Paragon and Foundation Home Loans have put on energy performance certificates “as the tool to help buyers in their decision-making process”.

Property portal Residential Property has applied a filter that allows property hunters to specify what EPC rating they want in a new property, similar to stating the number of bedrooms they would like.

While Paragon and Foundation Home Loans offer bigger discounts on mortgage interest rates for properties with the three highest EPC ratings A, B or C.

The moves come as the government said in April it would pass legislation to cut carbon emissions by 78% by 2035 compared to 1990 levels, bringing the UK more than three-quarters of the way towards its net-zero target by 2050.

PEPA chairman Andrew Parkin says: “Improving the energy efficiency of homes is vitally important to achieving the carbon emission reduction target that the UK has set for 2035.

“The EPC is currently used for minimum energy efficiency standards within the private rented sector, and the remit of the EPC will expand over the coming years for similar and increasing standards in this sector and the owner-occupied sectors, so stakeholders and consumers need to have access to data and tools to better understand their assets.

“Trailblazing initiatives such as those introduced by Residential People, and Paragon and Foundation Home Loans are warmly welcomed. EPCs play a key role in helping homeowners and property purchasers identify the most energy-efficient properties, as well as the most cost-effective measures that they can take to improve the EPC rating of a property.

“PEPA is also working with government to continuously improve the EPC document, the underlying methodologies and the access to data, via the governments EPC Action Plan, to ensure that these are fit for future purposes.”