According to Special Interest Group of Municipal Authorities (SIGOMA), around 12.6 million properties in the UK have an EPC rating of D or below.
It added that there is a higher concentration of poorly rated properties in more typically deprived areas.
Over half of all dwellings in England have an EPC rating of D or below. In Yorkshire and the Humber, this stands at 63 per cent, West Midlands comes to 61 per cent and North West is 59 per cent.
SIGOMA’s chair Councillor Stephen Houghton said an immediate investment of £10bn should be made to offer retrofit solutions to improve the energy efficiency of 10 per cent of the most deprived households in the UK.
The government should also create a net zero goal funding pot to help councils fund net zero projects, offer block funding to combined authorities and devolved bodies to avoid costly and lengthy bidding processes and commit adequate funding to lift all housing to C by 2035 and 2028 for private rented accommodation.
SIGOMA also called for increased funding through the Air Quality Grant Scheme.
The Conservative manifesto in 2019 promised £9.2bn to improve energy efficiency of homes in the UK, but research from Savills estimates decarbonization could reach £300bn.
SIGOMA: ‘The government needs to act quickly’
SIGOMA said that improving the energy efficiency of homes is vital to meet the government’s net zero target and alleviate cost of living.
Houghton added: “The government needs to act quickly if we have any hope of reaching the EPC target, which is now just five years away.
“Our proposal today sets out a clear strategy that can give our members the tools and support to uplift housing in some of the most deprived areas of the UK and put us on a clear path to achieving our net-zero objectives, while also helping to ease the cost of living crisis for the most deprived households and communities.”
