Private Landlords in Nottingham could be fined £5,000 if their property’s EPC rating is below E. As part of the council’s ‘Carbon Neutral Nottingham 2020-2028 Action Plan’, the council is hoping to reduce fuel poverty in the city and eliminate properties with E, F or G banded EPC ratings.

The move, confirmed in a delegated decision by the authority, comes as households across Nottinghamshire continue to face rising bills. An EPC rating is valid for 10 years and gives a property an energy efficiency rating, with A being the best and G the worst.

The decision notice states: “Nottingham City Council remains committed to improving housing conditions within the private rented sector and has most recently secured funding from the Department of Levelling Up Housing and Communities (DLUHC) to undertake the identification of those properties that have an EPC rating below E, which are being privately rented to tenants. This has enabled Nottingham City to undertake the ‘Ask and Warn’ stages within the Safer Housing Enforcement Policy, however, Nottingham City Council has been unable to undertake all steps of this policy.

“Where properties have an EPC rating below E, it is highly likely that the property has poor thermal efficiency and it is expensive to heat the property. This can lead to those within the private rented sector entering into ‘fuel poverty’ where 10% of the household income is spent on energy and heating the home.

“With the current energy crisis and the increase in the cost of living, the number of households that will be considered to be fuel poor will increase.” The Energy Efficiency Regulations 2015 would allow the city council to service Compliance Notices to landlords who are operating a property without the appropriate EPC banding of E and above.

The document also states: “Nottingham City Council may impose a financial penalty of up to £5,000 under Regulation 37 of the Energy Efficiency Regulations 2015 upon those landlords who fail to comply with the Compliance Notice. As local authorities are able to impose a financial penalty of up to £5,000, Nottingham City Council proposes that a graduated approach to this is adopted and both culpability and harm factors are taken into consideration with a potential financial penalty ranging between£800 to £5,000.

“Income received from financial penalties will be retained by the local housing authority, provided it is used solely to further the local authority’s statutory functions in relation to their enforcement actions taken against landlords within the private rented sector.” The move has been welcomed in Nottingham.