Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the new Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards for the private rented sector on the number of empty homes.

The Government is consulting on increasing minimum energy efficiency standards in the domestic private rented sector. The consultation includes proposals for rented homes to achieve EPC C or equivalent by 2030, unless a valid exemption applies, and is accompanied by the Department’s impact assessment. The assessment makes clear that we are unable to quantify the extent to which this will impact the supply of properties as landlords may take different approaches. We encourage stakeholders to feed in views and evidence on the potential impact of these proposals. Following the consultation process, a government response and full impact assessment will be published.