The Telegraph newspaper reports that landlords letting to students face the highest costs to meet proposed minimum Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) ratings.

The Government will require all privately rented homes to have an EPC rating of C for new tenancies by 2028 and existing tenancies by 2030.

Landlords must invest up to a cap of £15,000 per property to meet the proposed standards but the Government estimates that the average cost per household is between £6,100 and £6,800.

However, Telegraph analysis suggests many student landlords will pay the maximum amount.

Analysis of public EPC and census data found that small neighbourhoods with the highest rate of inefficient homes, those with an EPC score of D or lower, were in university towns and cities.

In the Hyde Park area of Leeds, one in six rental homes, around 1,600 properties, did not meet the future minimum energy standard required by the Government. The average EPC score in the neighbourhood is 57, which is in the D band. The analysis has found that it could cost between £13,700 and £28,700 to bring the average home in the area up to a C rating.

The situation is further complicated by proposed changes to the assessment methods and lifetime of EPCs due to be introduced by the Government in 2026.

Landlords and agents have warned that the high cost of upgrades, new EPC assessment methods and the short time to meet the targets could trigger a loss of student landlords.

Chris Norris, of the National Residential Landlord Association, warned that “almost all student landlords with property below an EPC C would have to work towards the 2028 deadline since most students only stay one academic year”.

Norris makes the point that the void period of summer 2027 could become a “cliff edge” due to the volume of work that will be required and the lack of tradesmen to complete the works.

He adds “Student landlords are looking at a very, very difficult period over the next few years as the combination of the Renters’ Rights Bill reforms and The Domestic Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard hits.”

A government spokesman said: “Everyone deserves to live in a warm, comfortable home. “Our plans for privately rented homes to achieve energy performance certificate C or equivalent by 2030, including those rented by students, will help deliver cheaper-to-heat homes, while potentially lifting up to half a million households out of fuel poverty by 2030.”