Citizens Advice published a report on 3 November 2025 on warmer homes for private renters in Wales, calling for UK Government action on minimum energy efficiency standards for rented homes and for the Welsh Government to expand the Nest scheme1.
The report states that energy prices remain 50 per cent higher than in 2021, that nearly half of private renters in Wales (49 per cent) are struggling to pay their energy bills, and that a quarter could not heat their homes to a comfortable temperature last winter1. It says almost two-thirds (60 per cent) of rented homes in Wales have poor energy ratings, meaning EPC D or below, and that homes at EPC E, the current minimum standard for rented homes, pay an average of £317 more a year than those at EPC C1.
On the standards themselves, the report notes that the previous UK Government first launched proposals to raise minimum energy efficiency standards in the private rented sector to EPC C in 2020, and that five years on private renters are still waiting for improvement1. Citizens Advice said it welcomed the recent consultation on progressing this1.
"To make homes warmer and safer for private renters, it is vital that we see regulation change from the UK Government to progress plans to raise MEES."
The report sets out three areas for Welsh Government action: improving tenant information through public awareness campaigns on renters' rights and available energy efficiency support; strengthening protections against unfair rent increases or evictions that might follow energy efficiency upgrades; and accelerating retrofit of inefficient homes in Wales by expanding funding for the Nest scheme, which it describes as providing trusted advice and fully funded energy efficiency upgrades for low-income households1.
Why it matters for households
For a private renter in Wales, the energy performance of the home is largely outside their control: the report's figures put 60 per cent of rented homes in Wales at EPC D or below, and the gap between an EPC E home and an EPC C home at an average of £317 a year1. That difference sits with the household paying the bill rather than the landlord making the improvement. The report also identifies a risk that upgrades could be followed by rent increases or evictions, which is why it asks for protections alongside any regulatory change1. For renters, the practical question of energy independence, meaning a home that holds heat and costs less to run, depends on decisions made by landlords and by governments rather than by the occupant. The report does not set out new funding figures for the Nest scheme or a timetable for MEES reform; those have not been reported1.
What happens next
The report calls for the UK Government to progress plans to raise MEES in the private rented sector to EPC C, following the recent consultation, and for the Welsh Government to act on tenant information, renter protections and Nest funding1. No dates for either are given in the report1.
Sources1 cited
- Delivering warmer homes for private renters in Wales - Citizens Advice, citizensadvice.org.uk