Two in five renters forced to ration gas and electricity to afford energy bills, Citizens Advice warns
A third of renters struggle to heat homes to a comfortable temperature
People in homes with the current minimum energy efficiency rating spent an extra £317 on energy bills last winter
Government urged to deliver promised new rules requiring landlords to upgrade excessively leaky homes by 2030
New research from Citizens Advice finds more than two in five private renters (41%, equivalent to 4.5 million people) in England and Wales had to ration gas and electricity to afford their energy bills last winter. Meanwhile a third (32%, equivalent to 3.5 million) struggled to heat their home to a comfortable temperature. The charity says this forced people to take drastic measures like skip hot meals, wear gloves inside, and limit heating to just one room.
With winter fast approaching and bills 50% higher than they were before 2021’s energy crisis, Citizens Advice warns heat leaking from shoddy homes is burning a hole in renters’ pockets - something they have no power to fix. This comes weeks after the charity warned poor quality housing is also making homes unbearably hot to live in during summer.
Trapped in leaky homes
Most renters (57%) live in properties with an energy efficiency rating below EPC C*. The lower a home’s energy efficiency, the harder and more expensive it is to heat.
People in homes with the current minimum E rating spent an extra £317 on energy bills last winter - a cost they would have avoided if their homes had been upgraded to C.
Citizens Advice says the government must urgently deliver promised new rules requiring landlords to upgrade properties to a minimum of EPC C by 2030. With key decisions on energy efficiency standards in the private rented sector expected soon, the charity warns delaying these reforms would unfairly trap renters in uncomfortable and unaffordable homes for longer.
Renters fear retaliation
Renters are currently at the mercy of landlords for essential maintenance like installing effective insulation or fixing draughty windows and doors. But concerningly, nearly a third (29%) of renters avoid asking for repairs or renovations because they fear rent hikes or creating tension with their landlord. Of the 30% who have asked, 13% said their landlord imposed conditions, like higher rent, while 7% said their landlord outright refused.
The charity is calling for strong enforcement of the Renters’ Rights Bill so that tenants have the security they need to ask for upgrades and repairs. It adds that landlords must have access to appropriate financial support to ensure this vital work gets done.
Emily Wise, Energy Adviser at Citizens Advice North Lancashire, said:
“Sadly, this is an all too familiar story. Many of the renters we help day-to-day say their landlords are hesitant to fix the substandard conditions they live in.
“Leaky, cold and damp housing is a huge problem in our local area, as many homes are particularly deteriorated due to salty sea air and high winds.
“Too often, this is forcing renters to spend disproportionately on gas and electricity in an attempt to achieve basic levels of comfort, as well as having to regularly choose between eating and heating their homes. Despite this, many of those we help are reluctant to raise these issues with their landlords because they fear putting their tenancy at risk.”
Dame Clare Moriarty, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice said:
“Our advisers are bracing for more calls this winter from renters trapped in cold, leaky homes.
“It’s unacceptable that so many tenants are afraid to ask for the very basics - like fixing draughty doors, or replacing poor quality single-glazed windows.
“By 2030, the government must ensure no renter lives in a home that is excessively difficult and expensive to heat. And renters must urgently be given the security they deserve so they can ask landlords to fix substandard housing without fear of retaliation.”
ENDS
Notes to editors:
Citizens Advice’s new report ‘Window of Opportunity: Delivering warmer homes to private renters’ will be available on the charity’s website.
Survey figures from a nationally representative online survey of 2,430 private renters in England and Wales, conducted by Yonder Data Solutions between 13th- 26th February 2025.
Citizens Advice also commissioned Yonder Data Solutions to carry out qualitative research with private renters on low incomes living in England and Wales. This was a blend of focus groups and in-depth interviews carried out between 3rd-17th April.
Citizens Advice analysis of energy consumption by EPC rating is based on publicly available data on household energy usage by EPC and on Ofgem's energy price cap. We multiplied the average gas and electricity consumption figures by the relevant unit rates for the period of October 2024 to March 2025 to calculate the average energy cost for each EPC rating last winter.
*Based on ONS data about EPC certificates in England and Wales, available on the ONS website. Citizens Advice calculated the proportion of privately rented homes in England and Wales that do not meet EPC C by first working out the number of such homes in each country. These figures were then combined and divided by the total number of privately rented homes across both countries, giving a weighted percentage for England and Wales together.
Research with private landlords in England found that the majority (71%) believe they have a responsibility to make sure their properties are energy efficient. And private landlords largely believed it was their responsibility to fund any energy efficiency improvements (39% saying it was mainly or entirely the landlord’s responsibility, compared to only 14% who saw it as mainly or entirely the Government’s responsibility).
Citizens Advice is made up of the national charity Citizens Advice; the network of independent local Citizens Advice charities across England and Wales; the Citizens Advice consumer service; and the Witness Service.
Our network of charities offers impartial advice online, over the phone, and in person, for free.
Citizens Advice helped 2.68 million people face to face, over the phone, by email and webchat in 2023-24. And we had 51.7 million visits to our website. For full service statistics see our monthly publication Advice trends.
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You can get consumer advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133 or 0808 223 1144 for Welsh language speakers.