Councils across England and Wales are failing to issue fines to wayward landlords who are flouting minimum energy efficiency laws, data has revealed.
Landlords of private rentals have been required to have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) of band E or above since April 2020, or they could be fined under law.
An EPC gives a property an energy efficiency rating from A (most efficient) to G (least efficient) and is valid for 10 years. Landlords must order a certificate before selling or renting a property.
Problems with heating, insulation, damp and mould would affect a home’s rating, such as leaky single glazed windows found in older properties and inefficient boilers.
There were almost 400 confirmed breaches of these regulations between April 2020 and early 2023, according to data from 24 councils obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by the Students Organising for Sustainability UK (SOS UK).
Only 26 breaches resulted in fines in that time period, according to the data provided, and 17 councils hadn’t issued a single fine to landlords breaking the guidelines.
Camden Council, the only London council included in the data, said it has carried out a review this year on the issue. It found that 99 properties in the borough currently did not comply with the EPC ratings.
A spokesperson told the Standard: “We have issued all 99 properties with compliance notices - they have 28 days to respond and should they fail to do so, a fine will be issued.”
Between April 2020 and earlier this year, only 11 councils had issued compliance notices to landlords, while just seven confirmed a breach of regulations and seven issued fines to landlords.
Nottingham, Newcastle and Exeter issued more than one fine, with twelve, eight and two, respectively, totalling £72,500. Coventry, Bristol and Cambridge issued one fine each, totalling £6,000.
Bristol and Bath recorded the most confirmed breaches of the law, with 177 and 161 respectively, but only issued one fine between them - a £3,000 fine issued by Bristol County Council.
Larissa Kennedy, President of SOS UK, said: “The Government needs to close the loophole and ensure all properties, including homes of multiple occupancy, require energy performance certificates.
“Upholding energy standards is crucial in the face of the cost of living crisis and the climate crisis. Councils need more support to enforce regulation.”
Students are among the worst affected by poorly insulated accommodation, because some multi-occupancy properties (HMOs) are exempt from the EPC requirements, SOS UK said.
A survey carried out by the charity revealed the extent of the problem.
More than half of student respondents reported damp or mould in their homes, and less than half, 48 per cent, had double glazing.
“The lack of light and lack of heating led to just a really, really difficult November through February,” a student, who did not want to be named, told the Standard.
Her radiator broke and spilled water into the lounge, bumping up already expensive energy bill.
“The radiator was replaced in early February so that’s a couple of months with no radiator,” she said.
A Liberal Democrats Members Bill proposed in the House of Commons last month seeks to outlaw rental properties that sit below the EPC rating of band C by 2033.
The party found that more than half of London properties would currently not meet this proposed higher standard.
The bill, proposed by MP for Richmond Park Sarah Olney, would require all buildings, including offices, to reach at least EPC Band C by 2033 “where practical, cost-effective and affordable”.
This week analysis by the Specialist Interest Group of Municipal Authorities (SIGOMA) revealed that 12.6 million properties in England have an EPC Rating of D or below.
Chair of SIGOMA, Councillor Sir Stephen Houghton, said an immediate investment of £10bn for retrofitting properties would help to improve the efficiency of 10 per cent of the most deprived households across England.
Currently, around 56 per cent of all dwellings in England have an EPC rating of D or below, SIGOMA said.
Across Yorkshire and Humber, the figure stands at 63 per cent, with the West Midlands at 61 per cent and the North West at 59 per cent.
In London the percentage of dwellings with EPC Band D or below is 50 per cent, while in the South East, it stands at 54 per cent.
