Almost one in five in inner London, says Houseprice.AI
An estimated 161,000 rented homes can’t reach energy efficiency band C, no matter what improvements are made, according to analysis by Houseprice.AI.
Private landlords in England must bring their homes up to band C by 2030, but based on their energy certificates’ own recommendations, around 161,000 private lets can’t reach C even with every improvement made, the company says. That would leave one in eleven below the standard, and up to one in five in inner London (Tower Hamlets 19%, Southwark 18%, Lambeth, Westminster, Hackney and Haringey 16%).
Such landlords can register an exemption, leaving tenants in homes below band C after 2030.
53% of privately rented homes below band C
Analysis of the official certificate register for 21.2 million homes in England and Wales finds 53% of privately rented homes rated below band C, equating to 1.9 million private lets, against a third of social homes.
At today’s price cap, a renter in a band E home pays about £2,080 a year for heating, hot water and lighting, double the £1,020 for a band C home of the same size. The £1,060 gap will widen with January’s cap forecast to rise by around a fifth.
The analysis also found that 55,000 lets are below the legal minimum of E for letting, instead rated as F or G.
Houseprice.AI has produced council-by-council tables and regional figures which show that private renters fare worst in rural areas, where only one private let in four or five reaches band C.
| Region | Private rented, band C or better | Social, band C or better | Private rented homes below band C |
| Wales | 39% | 73% | 99,700 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 41% | 62% | 184,200 |
| East Midlands | 43% | 67% | 151,400 |
| West Midlands | 43% | 63% | 168,400 |
| South West | 45% | 68% | 192,200 |
| North West | 47% | 72% | 225,800 |
| East of England | 47% | 71% | 176,700 |
| South East | 49% | 72% | 251,300 |
| North East | 49% | 65% | 71,500 |
| London | 54% | 62% | 392,300 |
| England and Wales | 47% | 67% | 1,913,400 |
