Earlier this month, the government confirmed that it would be introducing a mandatory EPC C standard for landlords, so they would have to make property improvements to reach this rating by 2030.

A recent report from Hamptons found that privately rented homes will not be improved to the minimum EPC rating of C until 2042, more than a decade longer than the government’s deadline.

Charlotte Harrison (pictured), CEO of home financing at Skipton Group, said that landlords “play an integral part in the UK’s housing provision” and “face significant challenges in greening their homes from an awareness, cost, and access to appropriate guidance and skills perspective”.

She continued: “We believe that when it comes to the decarbonisation of our housing stock, the government needs to consider ways to incentivise and support landlords in forthcoming Budgets to enable them to reach the new proposed target.

“Making the necessary improvements to their properties is critical to helping the country meet its net zero target and, importantly, will help to address some of the challenges that the cost-of-living, energy and climate crises have had on people living in the UK.”

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Harrison said that support should include making energy improvement costs tax-deductible, offering government grants and matching energy home improvement spending pound for pound, for instance.

“To date, there have been more incentives for homeowners and social tenants to green their homes than there have been for landlords, offering an opportunity for this government to equalise that imbalance,” she noted.

Harrison said that Skipton Group’s EPC Plus offering, in partnership with Vibrant, is an “important part of our support for landlords”.

The company is offering a free EPC Plus assessment to all of Skipton’s 1.26 million members, and buy-to-let (BTL) members can have up to 10 free EPC Plus assessments and reports for property portfolios irrespective of whether they have one rental property with the lender.

It offers advice on the best upgrade options, including a bespoke guide on how to achieve a higher EPC rating, how much it would cost, how much it would lower tenant bills and signposts to sources of funding.