Some social housing stock is woefully inefficient, according to findings by non-profit organisation Climate Emergency UK.
Less than half of homes have minimum EPC rating of C in around 40 local authorities, with some of the worst performers being the London borough of Barking and Dagenham, at 42%; Harlow, at 41%; and Birmingham, at 32%. However Mansfield was exceptionally bad, where just 2% of homes have an EPC level of C or above.
The news comes after Rishi Sunak controversially scrapped proposals to in bring minimum EPC ratings of C for landlords by 2028.
Isaac Beevor, co-director of Climate Emergency UK, said: “If the UK government and Rishi Sunak cared about providing warm homes, and saving consumers money they would provide a fully funded programme for all council homes to reach a minimum requirement of EPC C by 2028.”
Around a fifth of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions come from buildings.
Mansfield executive mayor Andrew Abrahams responded to the study, saying upgrading “thousands of homes is a huge task that needs long-term funding”, adding that the council was “committed to doing everything we can to reduce energy bills and provide energy-efficient homes”.
Among 18 councils over 90% of its stock has an EPC rating above C, with Manchester having a strong supply of efficient homes.
The charity compiled the data from freedom of information responses from 200 of the 300 local authorities that own or manage social housing.
