Efforts to prepare the UK’s housing stock for the future appear to be falling on deaf ears, as home owners and landlords do little to improve the energy efficiency of homes.
Property portal Rightmove has analysed 17 million EPC certificates and almost 30 million property listings from over the last decade. In 2015, 29% of resale properties and 41% of rental properties in Great Britain were rated with an EPC of C or above. In 2025, 46% of homes currently for sale and 58% of homes for rent are rated EPC C or above.
However, Rightmove points out that the majority of progress was between 2015 and 2020, when the pace of change was almost double that in 2021 to 2025.
In 2025, both markets have seen an increase of 3% compared to the previous year. However, legislation introduced in 2020 requires rental homes to have a minimum EPC rating of E – which Rightmove says should have triggered a faster pace of progress in the rental market.
“This suggests short-term schemes and proposals alone aren’t enough to overcome cost and complexity barriers,” the company said in its report.
“Policy ambition hasn’t translated into real-world acceleration,” Rightmove’s property expert Colleen Babcock added.
“We might have expected green improvements to speed up in the rental sector following policy pushes, but the data shows progress over the past five years has been slower than the previous five.”
With the analysis finding just 50% of home owners and 37% of renters are aware of the EPC rating of their own home, the company is calling for better education on energy efficiency. “It’s concerning that half of homeowners are in the dark about their EPC rating, especially when it directly impacts energy bills and could have an impact on their property value,” Babcock said.
Rightmove’s report reveals that homes for sale with EPC A ratings spend £571 in average annual energy bills – compared with £6,368 for an EPC G rated home. And despite the availability of government grants, 63% of those Rightmove spoke to for the report said they had no plans to make upgrades in the next 12 months, with just 11% intending to make green improvements to their home to access available grants.
Of those who are making greener changes, 58% said it was for a better quality of life, 42% wanted to reduce their carbon fooprint and 30% wanted to add value to their home. “The motivations are clear, but not always compelling enough to drive change,” Rightmove said.
“These figures show that while financial and lifestyle benefits are strong motivators, they don’t always translate into action, especially when the perceived effort or cost is high.”
Despite the lack of take-up, green credentials are increasingly being used as selling points and mentions of green technology in property listings are climbing: the portal has seen a 46% rise in listings mentioning heat pumps over the last year, with mentions of solar panels up by 37%.
One of the key challenges facing the UK housing market is the age of its stock: analysis by the Office for National Statistics on the 2021 census data identified the age of the property as the biggest single factor in the energy efficiency of homes. Almost all homes built since 2012 in England and Wales have a high energy efficiency rating, the ONS noted, compared with just 12% of homes built before 1900 in England, and 8% of homes built before 1900 in Wales.
According to Valuation Office Agency data from 2022, 15% of the homes in England and 23% of homes in Wales were built before 1900. The majority of homes in England and Wales were built between 1930 and 1982 (46% and 39% respectively). Only 7% of homes in England were built after 2012, and just 5% in Wales.
Rightmove’s report also confirms an exodus of landlords from the housing market, with 64% of landlords questioned for the research saying renting out property is now harder than a decade ago. The sentiment translates to a rise in the number of homes for sale that were previously rental properties: in 2025, 26% of all Rightmove listings in London were ex-rental (up from 18% in 2020 and 15% in 2015), with 16% across Britain (up from 11% in 2020 and 12% in 2015).
“For landlords, the challenge is balancing compliance with cost and potential value appreciation, and for renters, it’s about finding homes that deliver real savings,” said Babcock.
“Energy efficiency isn’t just good for the planet, it’s good for the pocket too, and making it easier to achieve will be key to unlocking faster change.”
Rightmove 2025 Greener Homes Report
