The Energy Secretary announced a plan to ensure warm homes for all renters, in both private and social rented housing, in a speech to Labour's annual conference on 1 September 2024. Under the plans, landlords will be banned from renting out properties that do not meet stricter energy efficiency standards1. The announcement follows the Deputy Prime Minister's confirmation of a raft of measures intended to ensure good quality homes for all1. Ministers describe the package as the "biggest boost to home energy standards in history"1.
The End Fuel Poverty Coalition said people in rented accommodation are almost twice as likely to live in cold damp homes as people who own their own properties1. Research by Opinium for the Warm This Winter campaign, among a representative sample of 2,000 UK adults in November 2023, found that 25% of private rented households, 23% of those renting from a local authority and 19% of those renting from a housing association live in cold damp homes, compared with 13% of outright owners and 12% of owners with a mortgage1.
| Tenure | Share in cold damp homes |
|---|---|
| Private rented | 25% |
| Local authority rented | 23% |
| Housing association rented | 19% |
| Own outright | 13% |
| Own with a mortgage | 12% |
Caroline Simpson, a Warm This Winter campaign spokesperson, said UK properties are some of the worst insulated in Europe and that home insulation is the quickest way to bring down bills, but is seldom prioritised by landlords1. The coalition said the government should not delay with further consultations, noting the issue has been consulted on widely in the past1.
"The Energy Secretary is to be congratulated for recognising the importance of the need for better energy efficiency standards in rented homes, but the Government shouldn't drag their heels with more consultations."
The same conference period saw the Chancellor decline to reverse cuts to Winter Fuel Payments. The coalition said Rachel Reeves refused to back down on plans to cut Winter Fuel Payments from 1.2 million pensioners in absolute poverty and for 1.6 million older people with disabilities1. It added that the budgetary black hole cited is, according to reports, £10 billion less than was initially claimed, and that this is before the government takes receipt of £3 billion it is recovering from the collapse of an energy firm1. The coalition also said the state pension rise starts next April, when pensioners face an energy bills crisis now, that up to 800,000 of the poorest pensioners get less than the full state pension and do not get Pension Credit, and that the full rise only applies to the one in four pensioners who get the "new" state pension1. Energy bills remain 65% more than they were at the start of the energy crisis, according to the coalition1.
Why it matters for households
For renters, the practical effect of the proposal turns on the standard a property must meet before it can lawfully be let. The Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards for Rented Homes set the current legal baseline, and the announced ban would tighten it. Tenants in cold, damp homes face higher heating costs and poorer health outcomes, and the tenure breakdown above shows the problem is concentrated in the rented sectors. Because tenants cannot usually commission structural upgrades themselves, the condition of the building sits with the landlord, which is why landlord duties on energy, heating and home safety and the rules on what tenants can and cannot change determine how much control a household has over its own bills. For social tenants, the housing quality standards for social and rented homes and energy in social housing cover the equivalent ground. The coalition's point about local authority funding bears on whether insulation in rented and social housing is actually installed, since enforcement and upgrade programmes depend on council capacity. The wider context is set out in the energy efficiency of the UK housing stock and the size and performance of the private rented sector. The Winter Fuel Payment changes affect owner occupiers and renters alike, and are separate from the rented standards plan.
What happens next
The coalition said improvements will take months or years to be felt by tenants, and that the longer action takes, the more support households will need to stay warm in winter1. It called for the government to revoke this year's cuts to the Winter Fuel Payment and to commit to more support for vulnerable households1. The coalition also called for funding to be ring fenced for local authorities to deliver energy efficiency upgrades in social housing1. No date has been reported for the introduction of the stricter standards or for any legislation.