Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he has taken to (a) identify at-risk and vulnerable groups in unlawful F- and G-rated homes for energy and (b) ensure that the landlords of those homes comply with minimum energy efficiency standards regulations.

This Government is committed to ensuring that everyone has a decent home, which is why minimum energy efficiency standards apply to all privately rented homes which are required to have an EPC, not just those occupied by vulnerable people.

As of April 2020, privately rented homes in England and Wales must have a minimum energy performance rating of EPC Band E, unless a valid exemption has been registered, but we are currently consulting on raising the minimum energy standard to EPC C by 2028.

Key to the effective delivery of minimum energy efficiency standards is their enforcement, which is the responsibility of local authorities. If a breach is confirmed, a local authority can issue a publication penalty and/or a total financial penalty of up to £5000 per breach per property.

To support local authorities, my colleagues at BEIS are conducting a Private Rented Sector Enforcement Pilot Study. The first phase of the study, which involved seven local authorities in England, explored and tested bottom-up, local authority-generated solutions to monitoring, compliance and enforcement of minimum energy efficiency standards.