Ministers maintain tighter energy-efficiency rules shouldn’t force rent rises, even as the government’s own assessment warns some costs may still be passed to tenants.

Conservative MP Paul Holmes asked whether the Government had examined how new efficiency rules could influence rents. Minister Martin McCluskey replied that a consultation on raising minimum standards to EPC C by 2030 has recently taken place.

McCluskey said the Government had engaged with both landlord and tenant groups while shaping the policy and had outlined a range of proposals to help landlords meet the new standard.

He added: “Our proposed changes should not require landlords to increase rents. Instead, they will help tenants cut their energy bills by delivering more energy-efficient homes.”

But the Government’s “Improving the Energy Performance of Privately Rented Homes” assessment cautions that landlords may “exit the market” or attempt to “pass costs onto tenants via higher rents” if compliance proves too costly.

It also concedes that 32% of private renters were already finding their rent “fairly or very difficult to afford” in 2023–24, raising concerns about the impact of any further rise. McCluskey said the consultation has ended and the Government is now “analysing responses and reviewing evidence”, ahead of a formal reply “in due course”.