In the report, the government said it expected this to “lift hundreds of thousands of households out of fuel poverty” by 2030.
The report said landlords will be able to choose between the smart or heat metric or what will work best for their property, and the spending cap will be limited to £10,000.
It added that it expected the average predicted cost of upgrades to be around half of the £10,000 limit.
The government is also introducing a low-value property exemption, which cuts the spending cap where £10,000 would be 10% or more of the property’s value.
It reiterated that it was consulting on the band boundaries for new EPCs in England and Wales, which would give “greater clarity on the sorts of upgrades that renters can expect to see”.
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This includes fabric, heating and energy system measures such as solar PV, home batteries and smart technologies.
The government said a “range of financing options” would be available to landlords.
This includes Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) grants, which will remain available, and personal investments would be eligible as an “allowable expense” and can be tax-deductible.
“We are also announcing that landlords can start upgrading homes immediately, as improvements made from October 2025 will count towards the property’s cost cap in 2030, and EPCs commissioned in their current format will count towards compliance until they expire,” it said.
The report added that it had consulted on introducing Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) at an EPC rating of C to the social rented sector for the first time, noting that it would help cut fuel poverty and benefit residents in terms of finances and health.
It said this would complement wider reforms with the Decent Homes Standard and Awaab’s Law.
The report said it had consulted on the Decent Homes Standard and proposed that it would be brought into force for the private rented sector in either 2035 or 2037, and it was consulting on timescales for implementing Awaab’s Law in due course.
The Warm Homes Plan was one of Labour’s manifesto commitments, with the party saying at the time that it would offer grants and low-interest loans to “support investment in insulation and other improvements such as solar panels, batteries and low-carbon heating to cut bills”.
The plan will deliver £15bn of public investment and roll out upgrades to up to five million homes.
