James Kent, chief innovation officer at NRLA and founder of Safe2, has warned ministers to go back to the drawing board over new minimum energy efficiency standards (MEES).
This comes after more than 30,000 households were left with sub-standard insulation work under Government-funded schemes, putting properties at risk of damp and mould.
An audit of 60,000 homes insulated under ECO4 and the Great British Insulation Scheme found half had not been fitted to standard.
Earlier this year, 39 businesses were suspended from installing new solid wall insulation after failing TrustMark checks.
The Government is planning to require all private rented homes to have an energy performance certificate (EPC) rating of C or above by 2028 for new tenancies and 2030 for existing ones.
There are concerns about the timetable, with 2.5 million homes needing upgrades and a shortage of qualified tradespeople.
The sector is short by an estimated 160,000 workers, rising to 250,000 by 2030, according to data.
Kent said: “Now, looking at the scale of the insulation scandal, it seems that even if you can find what you think is a trusted firm – Government approved at that – there is still no guarantee that the work will be carried out to the appropriate standard. It could even make things worse.”
Kent noted that as demand rises ahead of the MEES deadline, remedial work will also be needed on thousands of homes where insulation was botched, adding more pressure on landlords to find trusted tradespeople.
Kent added: “In short, we believe the MEES proposals as laid out earlier this year, are unworkable, and the Government needs to go back to the drawing board now, before it is too late.
“We are calling for the introduction of the new rules to be pushed back to 2030 across the board, to give landlords time to timetable the works, and source the funding – with landlords expected to fork out up to £15,000 a property for improvements (something we are challenging, with alternative proposals for a graduated cap.
“Without this we risk compounding the existing supply crisis in the private rented sector, as homes are taking off the rental market, with a potentially devasting impact on both tenant choice and rent levels.”
