"In reality, there is very little new in this latest plan. It seems to be mainly building on existing schemes and past pledges"
- Kevin Shaw - Romans
After years of shifting deadlines and mixed signals, landlords in England finally have a firm date to work toward.
The Government's Warm Homes Plan has confirmed that both private and social rented homes must meet a minimum EPC C rating for all tenancies by 1 October 2030, bringing long-awaited clarity to UK landlord EPC requirements.
The broader plan, backed by £15bn of public investment, aims to cut energy bills, accelerate home upgrades, and shift the UK toward cleaner heating. While much of it builds on existing schemes, the confirmation of the EPC deadline is the piece that matters most for landlords and property investors.
Kevin Shaw, national sales managing director at Romans, an LRG company, has outlined the key elements of the plan and what they mean in practice.
What the plan includes
The boiler upgrade scheme receives £2.7bn in new funding, offering £7,500 toward the upfront cost of installing hydronic heat pumps and up to £5,000 for biomass boilers. The investment is expected to support 360,000 additional heat pump installations, with average annual savings of up to £130 for owner-occupied homes that make the switch.
A separate £2bn has been set aside for government loans to help homeowners install solar panels, batteries, and heat pumps. The government is also working with lenders to broaden the range of green financing products available for home upgrades, expanding access beyond grant-funded routes.
The zero rate of VAT currently applied to eligible energy-saving technologies, covering heat pumps, solar panels, electrical storage batteries, and biomass boilers for whole-house heating, will be extended to at least the end of March 2027. From April 2026, an average of £150 will be removed from annual energy bills, a measure announced in the 2025 Autumn Budget.
For new-build homes, the full specification for the Future Homes Standard will be published by the end of the month. New properties will, by default, be built with low-carbon heating, high energy efficiency, and solar panels.
What changes for landlords
Beyond the confirmed 2030 EPC deadline, the plan also sets out reforms to the EPC rating system itself. Properties will be assessed across four metrics rather than a single score: fabric performance, reflecting how well a building retains heat; heating system efficiency and effectiveness; smart readiness, covering technology that helps occupants manage electricity use; and energy cost.
For landlords with older stock or lower-rated properties, the 2030 deadline leaves a meaningful window to plan upgrades, but the revised rating framework means it's worth assessing properties against the new criteria sooner rather than later. A property that currently achieves a C under the existing methodology may not automatically meet the standard once the reformed EPC is in place.
Shaw notes that while the Warm Homes Plan introduces little that is entirely new, it does consolidate existing commitments and, critically, gives landlords a confirmed timeline.
"In reality, there is very little new in this latest plan," he said. "It seems to be mainly building on existing schemes and past pledges. However, it does at least provide landlords with clarity over EPC standards and give homeowners some reassurance that there will be continuing financial support for upgrades and retrofits."
Further detail is expected throughout the year as the Government confirms new standards and progresses its green finance partnerships.
