Campaigners at Generation Rent are calling for tenants to be given the power to claim rent refunds if their landlord fails to meet minimum energy efficiency standards from 2030.
The demand forms part of a new report funded by the European Climate Foundation, which argues that current enforcement mechanisms place too much pressure on overstretched council teams. The activists want Rent Repayment Orders to be available to tenants living in properties that do not meet EPC band C after the deadline – unless the home is exempt.
Pressure on council enforcement
The report claims that allowing tenants to pursue landlords directly would reduce reliance on local authority enforcement. Generation Rent argues this would help hold non-compliant landlords to account while councils manage stretched resources.
The campaign group claims that private renters are most likely to experience fuel poverty, with over 40 per cent regularly struggling to pay their energy bills.
Ben Twomey, chief executive of Generation Rent, said: “Getting this policy right will be crucial. Many powerful forces have criticised the push towards net zero in recent years, claiming it will cost those who can least afford to pay, while landlord lobbyists have long claimed that they will have no choice but to hike rents after retrofit work.”
Social justice and climate policy
Twomey added that improving energy efficiency sits at the intersection of social justice and climate change. He warned that if the government leaves tenants vulnerable to sudden, unaffordable rent increases following upgrades, it would add weight to criticism of net zero policies.
This follows Residential Landlord’s March analysis of EPC upgrade costs, which found landlords facing a combined bill of over £26 billion to meet new standards – with many upgrade costs exceeding annual rental income.
The Generation Rent report also suggests that the government should protect tenants from rent hikes after retrofit work, arguing this would show that climate and social justice policies can work together.
Opinion
The proposal to give tenants RRO powers for EPC non-compliance sounds dramatic, but the practical impact could be limited. Many landlords with properties near the borderline will upgrade before 2030 regardless. The real question is what happens to stock that cannot economically reach EPC C – and whether tenant-led enforcement simply accelerates the exit of marginal properties from the sector. For landlords already facing tight margins, this is another pressure point to factor into retention decisions.
