A government report has suggested that landlords should be made to include an ‘average bill cost’ alongside an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating by 2033.

Further suggestions in the report include mandating that all homes sold by 2033 have an EPC rating of at least ‘C’ and the creation of a ‘Net Zero Performance Certificate’, which would work as a current EPC does.

While stopping short of saying landlords should be made to include such a certificate, it is in this section that the report recommends legislation making landlords include average bill cost information.

These suggestions are a selection of many outlined in ‘Mission Zero’ – an ‘independent review of net zero’, published under the name of energy minister Chris Skidmore.

The document, which has been written to ‘outline the opportunities offered by net zero’ – the long-term policy designed to reduce UK greenhouse gas emissions to a net total of zero by 2050 – is wide-ranging, touching on the whole gamut that a country’s energy policy involves, from infrastructure to market futures.

Within the housing section of the report, the government says that making homes more energy efficient to run is vital, because the UK’s buildings make up approximately 30% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.

It marks heat pump installation as one of the main drivers of achieving this aim, citing a study that says 19 million such pumps will need to be installed by the net zero policy deadline.

The government, it recommends in its report, should therefore “create the conditions for sustained growth of new markets for low-carbon heat’ so that “at least” 600,000 heat pumps are installed a year by 2028 and 1.9 million a year by 2033.

The creation of a 10-year mission “to make heat pumps a widespread technology in the UK” is suggested, as well as the creation of rules for the “end of new and replacement gas boilers by 2033 at the latest”.

It says that investors need to have a clear date for a new and replacement gas boiler phase out demand by 2024 to provide confidence.

And the energy efficiency-focussed Future Homes Standard, which is currently set to come into action in 2025, should be mandated without delay, the report says, adding that a consultation on the requirement of all new homes being built with solar panels should be included.

Chair of the Grantham research institute on climate change at the London School of Economics and political science, Professor Lord Stern of Brentford, says: “[This] review has argued convincingly that the transition to a net-zero economy is the growth opportunity of the twenty-first century, and the UK is well-placed to benefit from the increasing demand for net-zero goods and services, if it makes the right public and private investments.

“It also correctly highlights the critical importance of government creating an environment that is conducive to this investment by providing clarity, certainty, consistency and continuity of policy.”

Meanwhile Propertymark head of policy and campaigns Timothy Douglas says: “We are pleased that… Chris Skidmore has recommended delivering more energy efficiency homes in his latest net zero review. However, we are disappointed that support remains unclear for existing homeowners and landlords in order to meet these standards and cover the large cost in doing so, as for many, this is unachievable without an incentive package.

“We recognise the important part that housing must play in reaching net zero, but continue to urge the UK government to move away from a one-size fits all policy and develop energy efficiency proposals that work with the different age, condition, and size of properties.

“[It] must also quickly deliver on publishing responses to consultations on improving home energy performance through lenders and minimum energy efficiency stanradds as landlords, agents and homeowners urgently need time to reach the new standards.”

And Finance and Leasing Association director general Stephen Haddrill comments: “We have said repeatedly that lender involvement is necessary if the UK is to achieve net zero.

“Homes and businesses need finance to invest in renewables, but pricing that finance at affordable levels requires consistency of approach from Government and a willingness to share some of the inherent risks of financing new technology.

“While Chris Skidmore’s review recognises those points, what we need to see now is action from government.”