If they are banned from renting out their properties by this rule, landlords like me will sell up, creating a crisis in the rental sector that even this buy-to-let-bashing Government wouldn’t want. Right now, he advised, is not the time to make expensive changes, but to save and wait.

I think this is wise advice. The horizon for changes is fuzzy; we know there will be upgrades demanded at some stage, but how much this will cost is unknown given the talk of exemptions, caps and grants. 

It’s likely that some of these improvements will be classed as “capital”, meaning the investment cannot be offset against revenue profits, but can be recouped on sale. Telegraph Money has reported how the EPC assessment criteria is flawed, and if it changes it may produce different results. 

I’ve discovered around 60pc of my portfolio is below C. The investments I need to make to bring them up to standard vary, but those that require substantial amounts of more than £10,000 I’ve earmarked to sell. 

The most surprising thing to come out of this exercise is my new found love of the 1970s and 1980s built properties – who knew in 2021 cavity walls would be so trendy.