The Government is spending £2.5 million on a marketing campaign to instruct Landlords that it is very much in their interest to start planning now for the EPC regulations. Landlords are being urged to consider what work may have to be undertaken to make sure that their properties fall within the EPC ratings.

BPF and Energy Saving Trust have highlighted, in their research, that average costs of improving of an F-rated property to an E rating – the predicted minimum standard for private property rentals from 2018 – is between just £100 and up to £660.

Frighteningly enough, to improve a property to the highest possible EPC rating could cause the cost to rocket up to £20,000.

Home ownership has plummeted for the first time in countless years and with this landlords have now doubled their annual number of rented properties to 3.6 million homes. The Government is determined to meet their climate change obligations and placing a huge emphasis upon the private rented sector to improve their energy efficiency as key to help reach their targets.

The British Property Federation and the Energy Saving Trust have this week published a free guide explaining how landlords can plan and fund improvements to help ensure their investment will be lettable from 2018.

British Property Federation senior policy officer Thomas Younespour said: “The importance of a property’s EPC rating is likely to increase in the coming years.

“Not only have the rules been tightened over the provision and display of EPCs to prospective tenants and buyers, but regulations are planned for April 2018 to ban the letting of property with the poorest ratings – likely to mean F and G-rated property.

“The details of such regulation are yet to be set out, but nonetheless indicate clear intent. It is often during void periods that improvement works can best be undertaken and therefore landlords are advised to consider sooner rather than later the energy efficiency of their properties and prepare a forward plan for works.”