Alistair Handyside MBE, Chair of the South West Tourism Alliance
The government’s well-intentioned crusade to tackle climate change risks becoming a wrecking ball through the heart of rural and coastal tourism, and all in the name of Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs). Yes, EPCs those colourful bar charts designed to help renters understand energy efficiency, may soon become the reason your favourite Cornish cottage or Lake District barn conversion goes dark permanently.
In its current consultation, the government proposes extending EPC requirements to short-term holiday lets, demanding they meet a minimum C rating by 2028. It’s a noble aim, framed in the language of sustainability, green jobs, and cleaner living. But in practice, it will wreak havoc on a vital part of our domestic tourism sector. The policy, as it stands, is not progressive. It is perverse.
Let’s start with the obvious: EPCs are designed for long-term rentals where the tenant pays the energy bill. That makes sense. Holiday lets, however, are short stays, usually booked during milder months, where the owner, not the guest, foots the energy bill. Fuel poverty, the rationale behind EPC legislation, is irrelevant here. No family ever chose to holiday in a coastal cottage to escape winter heating bills.
The government’s plan would mean spending up to £15,000 per property to meet EPC C standards. Now imagine you’re a small family business running a couple of converted barns on a working farm — a scenario that makes up over a quarter of UK holiday lets. That’s not investment; that’s a closure notice disguised as eco-policy.
The absurdity deepens. Almost three-quarters of traditional holiday lets fall below EPC C. Why? Because a recent survey of 1,300 operators showed 63% are over 100 years old, and a great many are nestled in off-grid, hard-to-reach spots where heat pumps are more fiction than fix. Ripping out period features or adding insulation that risks damaging stonework isn’t retrofitting, yet in the letter of the law it would be so.
Even the supposed environmental benefit doesn’t stack up. Spend £15,000 on these properties and many still won’t hit a C rating. Meanwhile, if those holidaymakers jet off to Spain instead (which they will if we hollow out domestic options), they’ll each clock up around 2.5 tonnes more CO₂ than they would staying in the UK. That’s the equivalent of heating a gas-powered home for a year — per family, per holiday. In a bid to cut emissions, we’ll have achieved the opposite.
And let’s not forget what’s really at stake here: people’s livelihoods. In rural and coastal areas, tourism isn’t a “nice-to-have.” It’s the backbone of local economies. Hospitality, cleaning, food supply chains, all of this hinge on a thriving visitor economy. Lose the holiday lets, and it’s not just quaint cottages sitting empty. It’s entire communities facing decline.
Then there’s the planning paradox. Some 43% of holiday lets are legally restricted from becoming full-time homes. So even if owners wanted to switch to long-term lets, which many can’t or don’t, those properties wouldn’t return to the general housing stock. And since they still wouldn’t meet EPC standards for permanent occupancy, they risk becoming what no one wants: uninhabitable.
Of course, we support the government’s net zero ambitions. But this must be done with nuance, not a one-size-fits-all sledgehammer. Historic exemptions must stay. Properties legally bound to short-term use must be treated differently. A £15,000 cap is fantasy economics for a sector already reeling from the withdrawal of the Furnished Holiday Lettings regime and spiralling costs.
If this policy is forced through as-is, we won’t see a wave of green renovation. We’ll see a wave of closures, boarded-up windows, and out-of-work locals. Ironically, we’ll also see more emissions, not less.
We sincerely hope the Government listens. Reflects on the consultation responses. And adjusts course.
