Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) 

Energy performance certificates (EPCs) tell renters how energy efficient their homes are. Renting a property with a good EPC rating could save you thousands of pounds in energy bills every year. We ask why it is so hard for prospective renters to find energy efficient homes and put forward recommendations for the private rental sector.

Why is it easier to find a property with a kitchen island than an energy-efficient home?

Renting is expensive for thousands of people in Wales. When combined with rising energy costs, this is plunging people into further poverty. 
Did you know that the energy efficiency of your home makes a massive difference when it comes to affordability of your home?

When renting a simple flat should you be told upfront that your energy bill could be either £500 or £4,500, Wouldn’t you want to know?

Popular online rental portals allow users to filter by bedrooms, budget, and even if it has a kitchen island, or a swimming pool and that much needed period fireplace, but not by EPC rating! EPC, otherwise known as an energy performance certificate, measures the energy efficiency of homes. A rating of A is the most efficient with very low energy bills and G being very inefficient.  According to Rent Smart Wales data, most rental properties in Wales are classified as an EPC D, whereas only 0.4% of rental properties across Wales have achieved a EPC A.

Average energy bill estimates above are based on energy consumption data from the EPCs of all homes for sale on Rightmove in April 2026, combined with the latest energy meter data, factoring in the 13% energy price cap increase for July to Sept 2026.

We need better standards in the rental market. A homeowner has the privilege of making improvements to their home whilst a tenant can be stuck in an inefficient flat where the landlord has no obligation to improve the EPC!

As part of our work with tenants, TPAS Cymru have co-produced a demand that all rental properties with a very poor energy efficiency rating (E and below) should have their rents frozen until the landlord makes the required improvements to the property. Currently, 15% of the rental sector in Wales is made up of properties with an E or below rating. In times of energy crisis and soaring costs this is simply not good enough.

If energy efficiency rating can save you thousands of pounds in bills then surely that is key information that should be accessible to the renter?

We explored popular rental sites such as Rightmove, Zoopla, OnTheMarket, Openrent and found that there is no way for a renter to filter by the EPC rating of a property. When looking at properties for Newport in South Wales there were 161 properties available on Rightmove. We could not find any properties with an EPC A available to rent and found only five properties with an EPC B. Shockingly, many of the lettings’ agents had not provided the EPC certificate which is a legal requirement in a property advertisement,  and means they could be liable for a £200 fine per listing by Trading Standards.

We have heard stories from letting agents that it’s easier to file a ‘EPC to follow’ for a very energy inefficient property which will cost a rent thousands in energy costs, than post the really poor EPC upfront. The number of lettings agents using this ‘loophole’ is absolutely astounding and in a highly competitive rental market where properties are snapped up, tenants may be signing rental contracts without having any information on how much their bills could cost.

Considering how important EPC rating is, you would think platforms such as Rightmove would allow you to filter by energy efficiency. Whilst Zoopla allows renters to apply filters for kitchen islands and period properties, no rental platforms allow you to filter by EPC rating. Onthemarket allows users to apply a ‘greener choice’ filter but it can be misleading as it is not clear what it is filtering on and it brings up properties where the agent has not even uploaded an EPC!

Tenants are expected to keep their rental homes clean and maintained, they often forfeit many freedoms enjoyed by homeowners such as the ability to keep pets and decorate the property. It is unfair that landlords can rent out highly inefficient properties for years without reinvesting money into making improvements that could save their tenants thousands of pounds.

We are calling for property listings websites to improve their search systems and create filters for EPC ratings. It is deceptive that EPC is not displayed until the very bottom of the advert and websites such as Rightmove and Zoopla should not allow listings to be published without a proper EPC certificate being uploaded first. EPC visibility rules need to be strictly enforced, and it is clear this is not currently happening. We believe that clearly publishing EPC ratings is important so that renters fully understand the agreement they are entering into and are not hit by surprise bills. By 2030, all rental properties are expected to be at least an EPC C but until this point, tenants are losing out on possibly thousands of pounds whilst their rents continue to increase.

Wondering what your EPC is? Follow the link below to look it up! https://www.gov.uk/find-energy-certificate

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/guides/energy-efficiency/energy-bills/average-uk-energy-bills-how-to-save-money/

https://rentsmart.gov.wales/en/energyperformance/