King Charles owns dozens of homes for rent that don't meet vital minimum energy standards

After examining Energy Performance Certificates for scores on the West Norfolk estate, we have found more than 30 properties owned by the King fail to meet minimum requirements

The King owns dozens of rental properties on his Sandringham Estate that fail minimum energy efficiency standards for landlords.

We previously revealed that the Duchy of Cornwall is leaving vulnerable tenants at risk of fuel poverty, and some are living in cold, damp and mouldy homes. Now, after examining Energy Performance Certificates for scores on the West Norfolk estate, we have found more than 30 properties fail to meet minimum requirements.

One tenant said: “It is very cold and the main problem is the single glazing. It lets out all the heat. Some tenants have single glazed windows that are completely rotten. We think it is because King Charles does not like the look of double glazing, but you have to be careful what you say because they are so powerful.

“Many of these properties were built under Queen Victoria and they need to be modernised.” A Sandringham spokesperson would not comment on individual properties but said it "invests in an ongoing programme of improvement" and that "energy efficiency was prioritised".

Since 2020, it has been illegal for landlords to rent out homes rated below E under the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards regulations. Of more than 30 rated F or G at Sandringham, eight were rated G with one getting the lowest possible score of one point out of 100.

Three were exempt from the regulations – one because the work would cost over £3,500 to carry out, another because insulation would “have a negative impact on the building” and a third because “all relevant improvements have been made”. Loopholes in the regulations mean the rules do not apply to properties where the same tenant has lived there for many years and the EPC was done “voluntarily”.

It is not clear if the King has immunity from the regulations, which carry fines of up to £5,000 per property for breaches. A 2022 investigation by the Guardian found the monarch has personal exemption in his private capacity written into more than 160 laws.

A Sandringham Estate spokesman said: “The Sandringham Estate has a mixture of tenancy types, which include a number of older properties and properties of different construction types and heat supplies. The estate continues to invest in an ongoing programme of maintenance and improvement works, with energy efficiency prioritised so that all properties comply with standards contained in the regulations.

“While we do not comment on individual properties, exemptions often exist on the small number that may not fall within the MEES legislation.” In 2020 – the year the energy efficiency rules came into force – the government found that 4.4% of rental properties did not comply. The latest stats show just over 1.5% are rated an F or a G.

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “Everyone should have a decent and safe place to call home. Too often, tenants are forced to endure poor conditions in draughty, freezing homes that aren’t up to standard, unable to challenge landlords for fear of being slapped with a rent hike or being pushed out altogether.

"A chronic shortage of genuinely affordable social homes combined with record high private rents and years of under-regulation has created a huge power imbalance in private renting and left tenants at the mercy of landlords.” Earlier this month we revealed that up to one in seven of Prince William’s residential homes have F and G ratings for energy efficiency.

Reacting to the joint investigation with Channel 4 s Dispatches, housing activist Kwajo Tweneboa said: “The Duchy has clearly failed its tenants, allowing people paying rent to endure unsafe, uninhabitable conditions instead of the safe, warm and habitable homes they are owed.”