Fifty-seven per cent of landlords who have undertaken energy efficiency upgrades to their properties haven’t commissioned new EPC assessments following work completion, Paragon Bank has found.

The bank said that many of these landlords could miss out on the preferential pricing on offer when mortgaging properties with EPC ratings of A to C.

Paragon's research also found just 28% of landlords had their properties reassessed after making energy efficiency upgrades, improving their EPC ratings.

A lower proportion (14%) found that their properties’ EPC rating stayed the same.

Managing director of mortgages at Paragon, Louisa Sedgwick, said: "We were one of the first lenders to launch green mortgages, offering lower rates for properties with EPC ratings of A-C, incentivising landlords to purchase homes with better energy efficiency.

"These rates are also available on remortgages so we’d encourage landlords to reassess their properties following any energy focused upgrades because they could be eligible to take advantage of lower pricing."

Separate research, undertaken on behalf of Paragon by Pegasus Insight, revealed that three in five landlords own a property with an EPC rating of D, while 25% have a property rated E, F or G.

The survey of 900 landlords revealed that 48% of an average landlord’s portfolio does not meet an EPC rating of C or above, which is the new standard proposed as part of a recent Government consultation on the private rented sector’s minimum energy efficiency standards.

Sedgwick added: "This research aligns with Government data highlighting how millions of properties will need to be upgraded to meet the proposed new minimum energy efficiency standards.

"As a result, we believe the 2030 target for all rental properties is unrealistic and could exacerbate the undersupply of homes for tenants. We’ve responded to the Improving the energy performance of privately rented homes consultation, calling on Government to abandon its 2030 target and instead adopt a phased implementation between 2030 and 2035."

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