A cross-party group of MPs and peers has suggested that landlords who don’t upgrade their properties should be liable for mortgage penalties.

The All-Party Group on a Green New Deal believes there should be a 1% mortgage interest rate premium levied on all buy-to-let properties with an EPC below band C which would be fully refundable if the standard was reached within three years.

Its new report – Local Edge, an inquiry into climate politics and the economics of recovery – argues for a combination of robust, top-down policies on green issues including localised power generation, food and transport schemes to help the UK meet the first of its major net zero targets: reducing carbon emissions by 68% below 1990 levels by 2030.

The group also suggests that the government’s proposals for a minimum standard of EPC C for new tenancies from 2025, and existing tenancies from 2028, should be introduced through the Energy Bill and turned into law.

Among others, HSBC warn that properties with a low EPC rating can be difficult to mortgage.  See more details here.