MORE than half of the private rental houses in the Test Valley would fail to meet a proposed new energy efficiency standard, a BBC investigation has found.

The Shared Data Unit analysed all the EPC ratings given to rental properties inspected in England and Wales over the past five full years of data.

Over that time there were 1.9 million inspections. Of these, 1.1 million received a rating below C.

In the UK, about six out of 10 recently inspected rental homes in the UK would fail to meet the standard. 

In the Test Valley, 58 per cent of private rental inspections between 2018 and 2022 rated the property below a C, while five per cent of properties did not have the potential to reach a grade C.

A total of 38 per cent of inspections in the borough found a portable heater was used as a secondary heating method and the most common recommendation was for wall insulation.

However, energy efficiency ratings have improved compared to the previous five-year period. Between 2018 and 2022, 58 per cent of inspections were below a C, which marks a 13 percentage point improvement on the previous five-year period (2013-17).  

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The government is considering proposals that would require landlords to hold at least a C-rating for all new tenancies from 2025.

EPCs measure efficiency by looking at how well a property is insulated, glazed and heated.

On average, private tenants inspected in the past five years could save a third on their current heating costs if their landlords made all the recommended improvements.

Rachelle Earwaker, senior economist at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said that improving the homes would have many benefits. 

She said: “On average, across the private rented sector, for properties that are currently below the C level that can make it into that C bracket, the government estimated savings of around £270 a year for private renters.

“But also it has a really great impact on your health as well, and knowing that you don't need to turn the heating on in order to stay warm and having that reassurance that your home is not harming you as well as is really important.”

However, the research found many landlords would not be able to bring their properties up to a grade C even if they wanted to. 

That is because one in 20 inspections in privately rented properties found the home would not be able to reach grade C because of structural limitations.

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Chris Norris, the director of policy at the National Residential Landlords Association, says the sector needs up to six years to get the majority of properties to grade C.

He said: “Realistically if we are still aiming at an EPC C, we probably need a leading time of at least five years to try and make sure that we're getting all of the properties through. 

“The alternative is you either have lots of properties leave the market, and that isn't helpful when you've got high demand, or you have to have a system that exempts properties because landlords haven't been able to carry out the work, and that's not really achieving the objective.”

He said the costs of improving the properties may see some landlords sell up or raise rents. 

He called for more help from the government. 

He said: “At the moment the government is doing very little to support landlords to make these changes. They've not even given us the target or the deadline for what we've got to do.”

The proportion of inspections where the property fell below a C-rating has fallen 19 percentage points since 2013-17. However, the Carbon Trust said change was not happening fast enough to hit net-zero carbon emission targets by 2050.

The situation in owner-occupied properties is broadly similar, with the average property grade in England and Wales for existing homes being a D, according to the Office for National Statistics.

However, in the government proposals, homeowners would not be required to bring their properties up to a grade C for at least another decade.

Jonathan Winston, occupier support manager at the Carbon Trust, said: “Across the housing sector, I would like to see more support for people to be able to undertake energy efficiency measures and a real drive towards reducing energy demand, particularly through the improvement of insulation.”

The government previously set a target to upgrade as many homes to grade C by 2035 "where practical, cost-effective and affordable".

A government spokeswoman for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said: “The government is improving energy efficiency, including across the private rented sector. Just this month we announced the allocation of £1.8bn worth of support to make homes more energy efficient and the number of homes in England with an energy efficiency rating of C or above has gone from 16 per cent in 2011 to 47 per cent in 2022.

“All privately rented homes in England and Wales are required to meet a minimum standard of energy performance before they can be let.

“We have consulted on this matter and will respond in due course, after careful consideration of ways to make sure improvements are fair and proportionate to both landlords and tenants.”