Drivers of change

For some landlords, the push towards offering more sustainable buildings may be the impending prohibition on continuing to let a property with an EPC rating of below E, which comes into force on 1 April 2023, and the likely rise in the minimum energy efficiency standard to C in 2027 and then B in 2030. Others may be spurred on by a desire to reduce the percentage of greenhouse gas emissions for which the UK built environment is currently responsible – 25%.

Whilst the EPC will set out recommendations as to how you can improve the energy performance of the building, the EPC is not the whole story and you need to look beyond it. Even a property with a good energy performance rating can be used inefficiently, and unsustainably.