What energy improvements could improve my EPC in a flat?

Flats score poorly for structural reasons more often than behavioural ones. The rating is built from the fabric of the building, the heating system and running costs, and a flat in a converted house may share walls, a roof and a heating system it does not control. Where the freeholder or management company owns the structure, the measures with the largest effect on the model are frequently outside a leaseholder's or tenant's gift.

The measures that remain within reach are real but smaller: draught-proofing, heating controls, lighting, and in rented flats the route of asking the landlord to act. The sections below set out what the certificate measures, what can be done without consent, what a landlord must do, and where minimum standards for rented flats are heading.

What an EPC rating measures, and why flats often score poorly

An EPC is an estimated, standardised rating (A to G) of a building's energy efficiency based on a model². It is not a meter reading and not a survey of your flat's actual performance. The Committee on Climate Change has said the ratings are an important policy tool, used to define standards and targets for reducing emissions from homes, but poorly suited to this role⁸. That tension matters for flats: the rating drives legal obligations even though it is a modelled estimate.

The metrics behind the rating are being reformed. The proposal is that domestic EPCs should include four primary metrics, using real-world units and clear simple names: Energy, meaning total energy use intensity in kWh/m2/yr; Fabric, meaning space heating demand intensity in kWh/m2/yr; Heating, meaning the heating system type, with categories ranked from 1 to 6; and Cost, meaning energy cost intensity in £/m2/yr⁹. In Scotland, domestic EPCs will show ratings for heat retention, heating system and energy costs¹⁰. Reforms to the rating metrics should be applied alongside wider improvements to the EPC system to improve the quality of assessments and use of data⁹.

Flats sit awkwardly against all of this. A flat's heat loss depends on the building envelope, the position of the flat within the block, and whether neighbouring flats are heated, none of which the occupier controls. The heating system is often communal or shared. The cost metric reflects a tariff the occupier may or may not choose. So a low rating in a flat is often a statement about the building and the services serving it, not about how the household lives.

Low-cost measures that need no consent

Draught-proofing is one of the most cost-effective ways to keep your energy bills low, and one of the cheapest and most effective ways to improve comfort in your home¹¹. For a flat it is also the measure least likely to require anyone's permission, because it works on the flat's own windows, doors and service penetrations rather than the structure.

The measures that appear in EPC improvement reports include installing loft or wall insulation, upgrading to energy-efficient windows and doors, switching to a condensing boiler or a renewable energy source, adding hot water cylinder insulation, and using smart heating controls and low-energy LEDs³. In a flat, the first two usually belong to the building rather than the flat, and the third may be communal. The last three are more often within reach.

Local authority programmes have funded simple measures directly. One council scheme lists free simple home energy measures including LED lighting and draught proofing¹³. Availability varies by area and by scheme year, and eligibility is set locally.

For a flat, the practical order is usually: close the draughts you can reach, fit low-energy lighting, set heating controls so the flat is heated when occupied rather than continuously, and then look at what the building itself needs. The last of those is a conversation with the landlord or the freeholder, covered below.

Smart meters in a flat: who can get one and what it costs

Smart meters are already being successfully installed in many flats¹⁴. Many homes can upgrade right now, but where you live, the type of home you live in, and the age and type of your existing meter may mean your energy supplier will take a little longer to get yours to you¹⁵. Blocks of flats are specifically named among the homes where installation can take longer¹⁶. The constraint is usually technical: meter position, signal, and the way services are arranged in the block.

The cost position is clear. Smart meters are free to install in both homes and businesses by the energy companies⁶, and you can get one installed by your energy supplier at no extra cost¹⁷. There is no legal obligation to have one¹⁷.

For renters, eligibility turns on who holds the account. If you are a private renter, and the energy bills are in your name or you prepay for your energy, you can choose to have a smart meter, after checking the tenancy agreement and letting the landlord know¹⁸. If your lease says you need your landlord's permission to change the meter, Ofgem, the energy regulator, says they should not unreasonably prevent this¹⁹. Smart Energy GB recommends you tell your landlord before you get one¹⁵, and its renter guidance says it is recommended that you let your landlord know before you make the change¹⁹.

Switching from an existing gas or electricity prepay meter to a smart credit meter is straightforward for customers who meet the supplier's conditions²⁰. That route matters in flats where a prepayment meter was inherited from a previous occupier.

What your landlord is responsible for, and what you can ask for

The division of responsibility in a rented flat is set by law and by the tenancy. The landlord must have an EPC, make it available to potential tenants, and give a copy to the new owner when selling¹. If a property is being rented, it is the landlord's responsibility to provide the EPC to the potential tenant²¹. In Scotland, a landlord who does not provide an EPC can be fined £500 or more⁷.

On gas, your landlord is responsible for servicing boilers and appliances annually and must provide an up-to-date gas safety record, which is a legal requirement²². That is a duty, not a favour to be requested.

On improvements, the position depends on the rating. If your EPC says your home is rated in band F or G, your landlord normally has to make some improvements²³. In Wales the same trigger applies: if your EPC says your home is rated in band F or G, your landlord normally has to make some improvements²⁴. If your landlord will not make improvements, you can complain to the council, which can give your landlord a fine²⁴.

Where a tenant wants to go further, the rules constrain the landlord's refusal. Landlords must not unreasonably refuse tenant requests for energy efficiency improvements funded at no cost to the landlord, for example through grants or third-party funding²⁵. That is the lever for a flat rated D or E where the household wants work done but cannot fund it.

Two further points shape what is realistic in a flat. First, the freeholder or management company may control the structure, so consent can be needed from more than one party. Second, some measures carry exemptions: where a recommended wall insulation measure would have a negative impact on the property, the landlord must register a written opinion from the relevant expert stating that the property cannot be improved to an EPC E rating because of it²⁶. Exemptions are registered, evidenced and time-limited.

Grants and efficiency upgrades: raising it with your landlord

The practical advice for renters is to talk to your landlord about grants or efficiency upgrades, and to use simple steps like draught-proofing or a portable dehumidifier in the meantime²⁷. That framing works because it separates the measures a household can take unilaterally from the ones that need the owner's involvement.

Where a grant exists, the landlord's refusal becomes harder to justify. The no-cost funding rule means a landlord must not unreasonably refuse a request for improvements funded at no cost to them²⁵. Council schemes have funded simple measures such as LED lighting and draught proofing¹³. In Northern Ireland, the Affordable Warmth Scheme requires a private landlord to pay 50% of the total cost of the energy efficiency measures to improve their property²⁸. In Scotland, there is a Private Rented Sector Landlord Loan; where it is used to replace an existing heat pump, the applicant must provide a letter from an installer detailing why a replacement is the most suitable option, including details of the existing system's faults²⁹.

Exemptions do not last indefinitely. After the exemption period expires, the landlord must try again to improve the property's EPC rating to meet the minimum level of energy efficiency, and if this still cannot be achieved, a further exemption may be registered²⁶. That gives a tenant a legitimate question to ask: whether an exemption is registered, when it expires, and what was tried.

Councils also set their own targets. One council strategy sets a target that every Council property achieves an EPC rating of C or better by 2030³⁰. Targets of that kind apply to council stock rather than private lets, but they show the direction of travel for the rented sector as a whole.

Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards: where rented flats are heading

The current legal basis in England and Wales is the 2018 Minimum Level of Energy Efficiency standard, band E, for domestic private rented property³¹. The minimum standard of energy efficiency for certain domestic rented property is a rating of E or above²⁵. Properties let with an EPC rating of F or G must be improved to a minimum rating of E, or an exemption registered where applicable³¹.

The direction of travel is higher. The Heat in Buildings strategy proposes requiring all private rented sector properties to reach a minimum standard equivalent to EPC C by 2028 where technically feasible and cost-effective at change of tenancy, with a backstop of 2028 for all remaining existing properties⁵. In Scotland, EPC reform is being taken forward with a role for the new rating system in supporting proposed regulations such as a private rented sector minimum energy efficiency standard³².

The most recent official position goes further still. Landlords will be required to ensure their properties meet a minimum score of EPC C against the fabric performance metric and either the heating system or the smart readiness metric, from 1 October 2030³³.

For a flat, the 2030 framing is the one to watch, because it splits the rating into a fabric component and a systems component. A flat in a solid-walled conversion may struggle on fabric while doing well on heating system or smart readiness, and the two-part test reflects that. The unresolved question is how a leaseholder or tenant influences a fabric score that depends on a building they do not own. That is a matter for the freeholder, the management company and, ultimately, the regulations.

Where a flat's independence ends

A flat can reach a good degree of control over its own running costs: draught-proofing, lighting, heating controls and a smart meter with an in-home display all sit within the household's gift, and the smart meter is installed at no extra cost⁶. Switching supplier or tariff is available at any time where the tenant pays the bills³⁴, and residents with their own contract may be able to switch their business energy supplier³⁵.

What remains outside that control is substantial. The fabric of the building, the roof, the external walls and often the heating system belong to someone else. The EPC rating itself is a modelled estimate rather than a measurement², and the metrics behind it are under reform⁹. Where the flat is rented, the legal minimum is currently band E²⁵, with EPC C proposed for 2028 in Scotland⁵ and required against a two-part test from 1 October 2030³³. Where the flat is leasehold, structural work needs consent from the freeholder or management company as well as the landlord.

The honest summary is that a flat household can improve comfort and cut waste without asking anyone, can require a landlord to meet existing duties on the EPC and the annual gas safety record¹, and can press for grant-funded improvements that the landlord must not unreasonably refuse²⁵. Anything that changes the building itself depends on other people, and the timescale for that is set by regulation rather than by the household.