Energy Efficiency in Rented Homes — Your Rights as a Tenant

The Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard

Since April 2020, landlords in England have been prohibited from granting new tenancies (and since April 2023, continuing existing tenancies) for properties rated F or G on their Energy Performance Certificate, unless a valid exemption is registered. This is the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES), set out in the Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015.

In plain English: if your home is rated F or G, your landlord is almost certainly letting it unlawfully.

What Is an EPC?

An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rates the energy efficiency of a property on a scale from A (most efficient) to G (least efficient). EPCs are produced by accredited assessors and are valid for ten years. Every property that has been let, sold, or built in the past decade will have an EPC on the national register.

You can find your property's EPC by searching the EPC register at **find-energy-certificate.service.gov.uk**. All you need is your postcode.

Your Right to See the EPC

Your landlord must provide you with a valid EPC before you sign a tenancy agreement. If they have not done so, ask for it. A landlord who lets an F or G rated property without a registered exemption faces a civil penalty of up to £5,000 from the local authority.

Valid Exemptions

Landlords can register an exemption from MEES where:

• **High cost exemption:** The cheapest recommended improvement would cost more than £3,500 (including VAT) and the landlord has spent £3,500 without reaching E
• **All improvements made:** All cost-effective improvements have been made but the property still cannot reach E
• **Third-party consent refused:** The required improvement needs consent (from a freeholder, lender, or tenant) and that consent has been unreasonably refused
• **Property devaluation:** A surveyor has certified that improvements would reduce the property's market value

Exemptions must be registered on the PRS Exemptions Register (also publicly searchable). You can check whether an exemption has been registered for your property.

Your Right to Request Green Improvements

Tenants have the right to request energy efficiency improvements from their landlord. The request must be reasonable, and your landlord must give serious consideration to it. While landlords are not obliged to carry out every improvement requested, they cannot refuse unreasonably to install measures that would demonstrably improve the property's energy performance.

In practice, the most effective improvements for cold, draughty rented homes include:

• Loft insulation (cost-effective, minimally disruptive)
• Cavity wall insulation
• Draught proofing (doors, windows, letterboxes)
• Boiler replacement or upgrade

ECO4 — Free Insulation and Heating for Eligible Tenants

The Energy Company Obligation (ECO4) scheme provides **free** insulation, heating systems, and energy efficiency measures for eligible households in privately rented homes. Eligibility is based on income and benefit receipt — broadly, if you receive Universal Credit, Pension Credit, or certain other means-tested benefits, you may qualify.

Under ECO4, **your landlord must give consent** but you initiate the process. Check your eligibility and find installers at **simpleenergyadvice.org.uk** (the government's Simple Energy Advice service). Your energy supplier may also offer ECO4 measures directly.

Key point: ECO4 measures are at no cost to the landlord or tenant — they are funded by the energy companies as part of their regulatory obligations.

Smart Meters

If your energy supplier contacts you about installing a smart meter, your landlord cannot prevent you from having one installed. Smart meters are installed by your energy supplier, not the landlord, and you do not need landlord permission to accept a smart meter upgrade.

Your Landlord's Obligation to Provide Adequate Heating

Under Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, your landlord is legally required to maintain space heating and hot water installations in proper working order. A broken boiler or failed heating system must be repaired, and in winter this is an emergency.

If your home is persistently cold — whether due to a broken boiler, inadequate heating system, or structural problems — you have multiple avenues:

1. **Report in writing to your landlord** with a reasonable repair deadline

2. **Contact the council's environmental health team** — excess cold is a Category 1 hazard under HHSRS and the council must take enforcement action if identified

3. **Seek legal advice** from Shelter if the landlord refuses to act

Damp, Mould, and Energy Inefficiency

Cold homes and poor energy efficiency are closely linked to damp and mould problems. Inadequate insulation and heating leads to cold wall surfaces where moisture condenses. If your home suffers from condensation mould, report it to your landlord in writing and ask for both the underlying cause (ventilation, insulation, heating) and the visible mould to be addressed. Under the Awaab's Law principles extended to private renting, landlords must respond to damp and mould reports promptly.

Storing Energy Documents

Keep your EPC, any improvement correspondence, boiler service records, and gas safety certificates in Property Passport UK. Having a complete energy and maintenance history is useful both for disputes and if you ever need to demonstrate the property's condition to a council enforcement officer.