A Green Party MP has expressed surprise that landlords will pass on costs of meeting new standards to their tenants.

In a Q&A session in the Commons, Carla Denyer MP – who is co-leader of the Green Party in England and Wales – asked housing minister Matthew Pennycook about the increased energy efficiency standards being imposed on the private rental sector.

Plans were announced last month to introduce a new requirement for rental homes to have a minimum Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of C, with an ultimate deadline of 2030 for compliance. To achieve this, landlords will be expected to pay up to £15,000 per property for improvements.  

Denyer appears to find it unacceptable that any of these costs are passed on to renters. 

She asks: “In response to the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards consultation for privately rented homes, landlord groups are saying that they would pass the cost of energy efficiency works on to tenants, despite that being the cost of bringing their properties up to basic minimum standards. 

“Relying on council guidance that that should not happen is too weak. What additional measures will the Minister take to enforce that and ensure that it is private tenants—who are already at the greatest risk of fuel poverty—who will benefit, and not landlords?”

Matthew Pennycook gave a cursory response, saying that the Renters Rights Bill – scheduled to become law this summer – would protect tenants generally from costs being passed on to them.