Councils failing to enforce minimum energy efficiency standards for rented properties

Data obtained from Freedom of Information Requests (FOI) has exposed 24 councils in England and Wales have left students living in dangerous conditions as they failed to ensure basic energy efficiency standards in homes.

Announced today, SOS-UK, a student-led charity, have published data obtained through FOI requests which reveals that the majority of local authorities in England and Wales that are failing to enforce legal minimum energy efficiency standards for rented accommodation. 

In April 2020, a government law came into effect which required landlords to assure that all rented properties have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rated at least E or better and give councils the power to fine landlords who fail to comply.

However, of the 24 councils that respond to the FOI request, only 11 were found to have issued compliance notices to landlords, seven confirmed a breach of the regulations and just seven issued fines to landlords as a result.

Despite 368 breaches across the country, just 26 resulted in fines. Nottingham, Newcastle and Exeter were the only councils to have issued more than one fine, with 12, eight and two, respectively, totalling £72,500.

Alongside this, Coventry, Bristol and Cambridge issued one fine each, totalling £6,000. Although, Bristol – as well as Bath – recorded the most confirmed breaches of the law, with 177, yet they only issued one fine worth £3,000.

Yet, if you thought it couldn’t proceed to get worse, 17 councils were found to not have distributed a single fine for breaking the guidelines, leaving renters trapped in cold, damp properties that are too expensive to heat adequately during an ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

‘The government needs to close the loophole and ensure all properties, including homes of multiple occupancy, require energy performance certificates,’ Larissa Kennedy, President of SOS-UK said. ‘Upholding energy standards is crucial in the face of the cost-of-living crisis and the climate crisis. Councils need more support to enforce regulation. Poor housing should not be a ‘rite of passage’ that anyone has to go through’. 

Against this backdrop, news of more than 10 councils across two countries failing to save tenants from unliveable conditions has come as more of a shock since the Awaab Ishak case came to light last year.

The publication of the FOI data also coincides with the release of SOS-UK’s student survey, known as ‘Homes Fir for Study’, which found:

• 54% of student respondents have damp/mould on the walls or ceilings in their current accommodation
• 56% said that feeling cold in their accommodation makes them feel miserable, wile 38% said it has a negative effect on their academic work
• Less than half of students have double glazing in their current accommodation
• 59% of students have felt uncomfortably cold in their home

Students are among the worst affected by poorly insulated accommodation, as some multi-occupancy properties (HMOs) are exempt from the EPC requirements under the law. The FOI request revealed that few councils are aware of how many HMOs are rented without EPC ratings within their region. Of 24 English and Welsh councils, 13 provided no information on this question, while just one –  situated in Nottingham – could state the number (27) of rooms rented without an EPC.

Connor Schwartz, Warm Homes campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: ‘Students are among the millions that have been suffering in cold, damp homes this past winter. A disproportionate number are living in some of the worst private-rented accommodation on the market, and most students aren’t able to insulate their own homes, which can drastically reduce bills and keep homes warmer.

‘Clearly landlords and local authorities need to be doing far more to ensure that no one goes cold, but this won’t happen without commitment and financial backing from the government.’

Image: Christian Erfurt