Three in four landlords (74%) have said they welcome the Government’s decision to scrap the proposal that all rental properties must have an energy performance certificate (EPC) rating of at least C by 2028, Landbay has found.

In the firm’s latest landlord survey, it found that more than six in 10 (62%) with lower rated properties intended to upgrade them to a C rating.

Of those landlords, 42% said they would make changes in the future, with one in five (20%) intending to upgrade as soon as possible.

However, a quarter said they would only make changes if legislation required them to in the future, with 13% saying they would not do anything.

Before the minimum EPC requirements were scrapped, nearly three-quarters (73%) of landlords said they intended to bring their respective properties up to a C rating, with 39% waiting until the previously proposed 2028 deadline, and 34% planning to do it sooner.

Landbay said the main barrier for landlords to upgrading their EPC ratings to a C standard is the expense and difficulty of retro-fitting older properties.

On the other hand, one in four (26%) were not in favour of the removal of the EPC minimum requirements, stating that they support the need for energy efficient housing as a social and environmental duty.

Business development director at Landbay, Rob Stanton, said: "We applaud the sentiment around trying to improve the energy efficiency of buildings but we also need to be realistic. The UK has a vast amount of older housing that is difficult to retro-fit and will be expensive.

"Some landlords said they would be encouraged to update their property if there was more government help such as easy accessibility to grants. Over half of rental properties in the UK are D rated or lower so landlords now have some breathing space to plan without a looming deadline."

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