Landlords will be given an extra year to make their properties more eco-friendly or face a huge fine.

The Government will push back the proposed deadline for all newly let rentals to have a band C Energy Performance Certificate from 2025 to 2026, Telegraph Money understands.

The planned deadline for existing lets to be upgraded to band C will stay at 2028. Landlords who miss these deadlines will be fined up to £30,000.

The consultation on rental sector energy performance upgrades, which included the 2025 deadline for new lets and a recommended £10,000 cap on the cost of upgrades, closed in January 2021. But the Government has still not published its response.

Landlords are still in the dark about exactly what upgrades will be needed and what funding or reliefs might become available. More than half of private rental properties in England will need to be upgraded to meet the band C requirement, according to Hamptons estate agents.

Chris Norris of the National Residential Landlords Association, a trade body, said: “It is getting really tight for time, especially considering the amounts of money involved. We desperately need to see what we’re expected to do.”

The supply chain crisis, rising cost of materials and shortage of labour has put extra pressure on the timeline for works, added Mr Norris. There is also confusion over what upgrades are best.

Telegraph Money has previously reported on the energy sector’s damning assessment of the “not fit for purpose” EPC rating system, which penalises the installation of certain types of eco measure, including favouring gas over electricity.