Thirty-seven per cent of portfolio landlords are continuing to upgrade their properties to an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) of C or above, despite proposed regulations being scrapped by the Government.

According to new Paragon Bank research, an additional 32% of portfolio landlords only hold properties with an EPC rating of C or above.

The findings were outlined in Paragon’s Portfolio Landlord Report 2024 and suggested that some landlords are more reluctant to upgrade their properties in the absence of direction from the Government, with 16% postponing undertaking any works until legislation mandating minimum EPC ratings is introduced. One in 10 landlords also stated that the proposed rule change has no bearing on their portfolio strategy.

Government data has shown that the energy performance of properties in the private rented sector (PRS) now outperforms owner-occupied homes.

The English Housing Survey revealed that 44.9% of PRS properties have an EPC of A to C, compared to 43.3% in owner-occupation. This data also revealed that 2.18 million PRS properties had and A to C rating in 2022, up from 830,000 a decade earlier.

“It’s encouraging to see portfolio landlords continuing to enhance their properties so they meet EPC C or higher, despite the proposed regulations being shelved,” managing director of mortgages at Paragon, Richard Rowntree, said.

“These landlords will join almost a third more who have carried out sustainability focused upgrades or purchased property already benefitting from energy saving technology, highlighting the commitment amongst portfolio landlords to improve the standard of privately rented homes for tenants.”

Paragon Bank commercial director of mortgages, Louisa Sedgwick, added: “We often see landlords release capital from existing properties in their portfolio to fund expansion or property upgrades. With mortgages rates lower than last year, we are seeing increased interest in remortgaging across the market to support landlord growth ambitions.”

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