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Royal duchies face scrutiny after 1 in 5 rentals fail EPC rules
The analysis found that since 2020 landlords generally cannot rent homes rated below E without an exemption, yet most failing properties had none cited.
The Guardian reports that an analysis of domestic lets on the duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall and the Sandringham estate found that one in five properties have Energy Performance Certificate ratings of F or G, failing England and Wales’ legal minimum energy standards for landlords.
Under rules introduced in 2020, it is illegal to rent properties with EPC ratings below E unless the landlord can demonstrate an exemption, but the outlet says that in most of the failing royal rentals, no formal exemption has been cited.
The report also says some homes appear to have been kept in the rental market by using regulatory gaps, including farmhouses leased by dozens of farmers and certain older tenancies that fall outside current coverage.
According to the Guardian, properties with the lowest ratings have been associated with problems including black mould, draughty single-glazed windows, and some tenants reportedly relying on coal fires or costly electric heaters, with Fuel Poverty Action describing the conditions as Dickensian.