A new report from the National Retrofit Hub, developed in partnership with Impact on Urban Health, has revealed the “urgent need” to improve energy efficiency in the private rental sector (PRS).
According to a statement, there are 4.5m households renting privately in England and one in four renters living in fuel poverty.
Millions of renters in the private rental sector are living in substandard conditions, it noted, with poorly insulated homes leaving tenants exposed to the “harsh realities of fuel poverty and inequality”.
Cara Holmes, National Retrofit Hub’s technical programme manager, said: “This situation highlights a systemic issue. The private rental sector risks falling behind other housing tenures, leaving renters trapped in a cycle of inadequate housing and energy insecurity. Tackling this problem requires a coordinated effort to raise standards, improve living conditions and ensure fair outcomes for both tenants and landlords.”
The report also revealed the practical challenges that landlords face in balancing their financial goals with the need to improve their properties’ energy efficiency. Many landlords view their properties as long-term investments, it said.
One landlord said: “I got the property because it was the best investment compared to putting my money into a savings account.”
Another landlord added: “If I’ve had an EPC assessment on my property and it’s below the requirements, I’d want absolute clarity on what my options are to bridge the gap between where I am and where I need to be.”
According to the statement, the findings underline the importance of providing landlords with “practical, accessible solutions” to retrofit their properties effectively, ensuring they can balance their investment goals with the “urgent need” for energy efficiency improvements.
The report called for “immediate updates” to Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES), setting targets to drive retrofit activity, prevent the private rental sector from falling further behind other housing tenures and minimise exemptions.
The statement added that “raising standards alone is not enough”. Landlords need a “robust package of support” to enable change, including: tax incentives to ease the financial burden of upgrades, central role for agents in coordinating retrofit activity, reducing costs and aggregating demand, and full-service solutions, such as on-bill schemes, that integrate financing with retrofit works.
To ensure tenants are not left behind, the report also called for stronger compliance and enforcement measures.