Proposed EPC C by 2025 rental standard increases scrapped

Further increases to EPC C by 2025 proposed within the Minimum Energy Performance of Buildings Bill were scrapped in September 2023, according to the Welsh Government's Heat Strategy for Wales, published in July 2024¹. The strategy records the change in a timeline of key policies and does not set out the reasons for it, nor which provisions of the Bill were affected¹.

The same document sets out the wider policy landscape for EPC regulations and the reform of energy performance certificates and for the minimum energy efficiency standards that apply to rented homes. It states that the Energy Act 2023 has been passed, and that the UK Government has confirmed the Clean Heat Market Mechanism will launch in April 2025¹. On hydrogen, it notes that the UK Government's decision on hydrogen in the gas network is expected in 2026¹.

The strategy describes heat as accounting for approximately 50 per cent of total energy use in Wales, with industrial users accounting for the majority of heat emissions, followed by emissions from heating homes¹. It states that the most recent energy crisis is estimated to have put 45 per cent of Welsh households at risk of fuel poverty¹.

"Further increases (EPC C by 2025) proposed within the Minimum Energy Performance of Buildings Bill were scrapped in September 2023"

The document also lists measures that remain in place or are planned. The latest iteration of the Nest scheme, launched on 1 April 2024, is explicitly focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from homes as well as addressing fuel poverty, and the Welsh Government was to introduce a new relief scheme for heat networks in April 2024¹. Project Equinox, which ran its first trials in early 2023, is testing commercial models for domestic flexibility from heat pumps¹. The Net Zero Skills Action Plan was published in February 2023 and was followed by a public consultation¹.

Why it matters for households

For a household in a rented home, the removal of the proposed EPC C by 2025 requirement means no new statutory deadline of that kind is in place from that Bill. The strategy does not say what standard now applies in its place, and no replacement date for privately rented homes is given in the document¹. The government target for EPC C homes is therefore the relevant reference point for anyone tracking what is required, and the energy performance certificates page explains what an EPC measures.

Energy independence for a home rests on the fabric of the building and the heating system in it. The strategy's own framing is that heat is used across Wales and affects all aspects of daily life, and that secure and affordable heat is vital to the safety and comfort of Welsh residents¹. Where a home is poorly insulated or heated by a fossil fuel system, its exposure to volatile prices is greater, and the document links improving the performance of homes to lower energy bills and healthier, more comfortable households¹.

The strategy also states that the Welsh Government does not hold all the essential levers, and that it will work with the UK Government on wider market reforms, including reform of how electricity prices are determined¹. For households, that means the price relationship between gas and electricity, and the standards that apply to rented property, are set through a mix of devolved and reserved powers. The document does not quantify the effect of the September 2023 change on household bills or on the number of homes affected¹.

What happens next

The strategy sets out a long-term pathway to net zero heat in Wales by 2050, with interim decarbonisation targets for 2030 and 2040 and a series of five-year carbon budgets¹. It states that the UK Government's decision on hydrogen in the gas network is due in 2026, and that the Clean Heat Market Mechanism will launch in April 2025¹. No date is given for any replacement rental standard following the September 2023 decision¹.

Sources1 cited

1. Heat strategy for Wales, gov.wales