Private Registered Providers (PRPs), including housing associations, charities and some for-profit companies, won’t complete upgrading all their homes to an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of C or above until 2032, according to the latest figures from the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) and analysis by global real estate company JLL.
RSH data show the rate at which homes are being upgraded to an EPC C, indicating a property is between 69-80% efficient, is increasing, but not at the rate required. In the year to March 2024, an average of 220 homes per day reached EPC C, rising to 320 per day in the year to March 2025. However, to meet the government’s 2030 deadline, the rate at which homes are upgraded would need to improve further to 450 a day, according to JLL.
With over 820,000 homes currently falling short of the EPC C target, the figures reveal that 80% are currently EPC D rated, with an energy efficiency score between 55-68%.
The English Housing Survey, which is commissioned by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), puts the average cost to a PRP of upgrading a single home to EPC C at £5,752. Based on the number of homes currently below EPC C, providers would need to budget more than £4.7bn.
However, costings from JLL suggest the actual cost of upgrading properties could be even greater, with providers spending up to £12,000 per property. Applying this higher figure, the upgrade bill could be as high as £10bn.
As the rate at which PRPs upgrade properties needs to reach 450 homes per day, the total daily cost will rise from £2.6m to £5.4m a day from now until 2030, says JLL.
The analysis assumes all non-compliant properties need to be upgraded and that any new acquisitions will be EPC C or above. However, not all properties are capable of being upgraded to EPC C, either physically or due to excessive costs.
Marcus Dixon, UK head of living and residential research, JLL, said:
“PRPs are committing significant time and investment to improve their housing stock and to meet the government’s 2030 target. But there will need to be an even more significant effort as we approach the deadline to go even further and faster.
“This will come at an immense cost, which JLL estimates could be as high as £10bn, but one that is necessary as another step towards UK net zero ambitions and ensuring people’s homes cost less to heat. We also anticipate that a significant proportion of the homes remaining could present a greater challenge to upgrade than those that have come before.”
