Improving home energy efficiency is a key strategy in the Government’s Climate Action Plan, aimed at reducing carbon emissions. The costs of upgrading vary substantially depending on the property’s current rating.

For G-rated properties, the average cost is estimated at €43,000, while upgrades for C-rated homes are just under €30,000. In addition, the report also indicates that retrofitting only those rated E1 or lower, which are the least efficient, would require between €1.7 billion and €2.3 billion.

The ESRI report evaluates both the necessary investment and the financial capacity of private rental sector stakeholders to cover these costs. Conor O’Toole, ESRI Associate Professor, described retrofitting the rental sector as a “major challenge”, and explained that property owners would initially bear the cost, which would likely be reflected in rental price increases.

There are an estimated 240,000 to 260,000 rental properties requiring upgrades, costing between €30,000 and 45,000 per property, and “in particular those household landlords, the one to two or three property owners, wouldn’t have a huge amount of their own funds to invest”, he said.

The Irish Property Owners Association (IPOA) has raised concerns that large-scale retrofitting could exacerbate the rental crisis, arguing that private landlords are already improving energy efficiency but face restrictive policies. It said that 8.9 percent of RTB-registered rental properties have a BER of F or G, compared to the 15 percent of owner-occupies homes, citing data from the Central Statistics Office.

The IPOA warned that retrofitting requirements might lead to landlords temporarily withdrawing from the market, worsening housing shortages, and cautioned that such policies could deter potential landlords from making properties available for rent.