I recently attended an online presentation from a director one of the biggest EPC firms in the country. Some important points I noted are:
He estimated that the bill to retrofit homes to more energy efficient levels in order to comply with net zero targets would total £65 billion in present money and £345 billion if left until 2035 because of the increased costs. In April 2021 it was estimated that to bring a property up to a C rating would cost on average £8100 per property and considerably more for an F and G rating.
The housing stock in this country is the big obstacle towards the holy grail of net zero. Currently, 15 per cent of the of the UK’s total carbon emissions is from the housing stock.
The official EPC register (found here: https://www.gov.uk/find-energy-certificate) has only 50 per cent of the housing stock on there. That means we don’t know the energy rating of 50 per cent of all the domestic properties in the country.
60 per cent of the housing stock is currently rated D or below.
There is nothing definitive on this, but a government White Paper (details below) suggests that all properties need to be a C rating by 2035. Additionally:
Also all new lets should be a C rating by 2026 and 2028 all lets.
The problem is mortgage companies are lending to landlords when the property to be purchased is arguably non-compliant.
Will we get to point in 2030 where lenders will not lend money unless the rating is a C.
Landlords will need to spend £10,000 before they get an exemption.