Proposals to amend the Energy Bill would mean landlords across the country will have to refurbish their properties or face being prevented from renting.

The 680,000 houses that fit into the lower two bands, F and G, would otherwise be taken off the market by 2018.

The government’s ‘green deal’ is expected to help landlords source funding for such changes. The cost of the loans will be paid for in installments on the energy bills, which the Department of Energy and Climate Change say will give tenants cheaper bills and a warmer house.

Critics have said the scheme will take too long to be put in place, by 2018.