More than ۱۰۰ homes on the inherited royal estates of King Charles and Prince William fail to meet the legal minimum energy standards for landlords, the Guardian can reveal.
An analysis of a large sample of domestic lets on the duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall and the Sandringham estate found that one in five have Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) ratings of F or G.
EPCs are documents that provide an energy efficiency score for properties, in relation to their running costs. Introduced in England and Wales in ۲۰۰۷ as concern grew about carbon emissions, they help to estimate energy bills and environmental impact. The most energy-efficient properties are awarded an A rating and the worst are given a G.
The revelations are likely to be embarrassing for Charles and William, both of whom have cultivated reputations as environmental advocates. Since ۲۰۲۰, it has been illegal to rent out properties with EPC ratings below E, unless the landlord can demonstrate that it is exempt. In the majority of failing royal rentals, no formal exemption has been cited.
However, in some cases, the royal estates appear to be using gaps in the regulations to continue letting properties out.
This includes the homes of dozens of farmers, who are living in poorly insulated and hard-to-heat farmhouses they lease from the two duchies. Some farmhouses are not subject to current regulations, depending on the type of tenancy in place.
Other homes rented out by the royals are not covered by the rules, as they apply only to tenancies that began after October ۲۰۰۸. These older tenancies often house elderly and vulnerable people with health conditions, with some living without central heating and reliant on unhealthy coal fires or expensive electric heaters.
The Guardian has visited a number of the worst F and G-rated duchy properties, and found many were affected by black mould, with draughty single-glazed windows.
The pressure group Fuel Poverty Action said the conditions in some properties were “Dickensian”. It accused the royals of “putting profits above the health and welfare of their tenants”.
It is not known how much money the king receives from his private Sandringham estate, which was bought by Queen Victoria in ۱۸۶۲ and is set over ۸,۰۰۰ hectares (۱۹,۰۰۰ acres) in Norfolk.
However, the duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall, sprawling property portfolios that date back to feudal times, are exempt from most business taxes, allowing them to maximise their profits. They have paid out more than £۴۰۰m to the king and his family since ۲۰۱۸.
That is when the minimum energy efficiency standards (MEES) regulations came into force, designed to ensure a minimum EPC rating of E for all new private tenancies, which was extended to existing tenancies from ۲۰۲۰.
Landlords must spend up to £۳,۵۰۰ on each property to bring them up to standard or cite one of the exemptions allowed under the rules. If they fail to do so, but continue to rent out the property, they can be fined up to £۵,۰۰۰.
Fewer than one in ۱۲ of the F and G-rated properties on the royal estates that the Guardian analysed had registered exemptions. The duchy of Lancaster had recorded exemptions for eight properties, while the duchy of Cornwall had logged four and the Sandringham estate five.
The most common exemption, used in nine royal-owned properties, is that consent to improve the property “has been refused, or given conditions that cannot reasonably be met”. In four other properties, it is stated that “wall insulation is not appropriate for the property”.
In three properties, improvements that would help obtain an E rating have not been carried out as they would exceed the £۳,۵۰۰ cap. None of those three properties have central heating or full double glazing. All rely on electric heaters rated “very poor” by the energy assessors and solid-fuel fires or burners.
The estates do not publish lists of their land holdings, meaning it is difficult to conduct a comprehensive analysis of all of their rental properties. In the case of the two duchies, aides have gone to great lengths in the past to obscure their property portfolios, withholding the information even from parliament.
However, the Guardian has examined the EPCs of more than ۷۰۰ domestic properties listed as being owned by one of the three royal estates on the Land Registry. This audit found that about one-fifth have been rated F or G.
The analysis excluded properties that had been converted into holiday lets, where the MEES regulations do not apply. It also disregarded those with leasehold titles recorded by the Land Registry where the landlord’s responsibility is less straightforward.
It is unclear how many of the ۱۴۳ properties rated F or G are unoccupied while they are being renovated or sold. However, the Guardian spoke to the tenants living in a significant number of them.
The duchy of Lancaster, established in ۱۲۶۵ to provide the monarch with a private income, is the only royal estate to publish details of how it is complying with the MEES regulations.
There are more than ۳۰۰ rental properties on the ۱۸,۰۰۰-hectare (۴۴,۰۰۰-acre) estate, which stretches from the north of England to London. Most of its domestic lets are in the north-west and the Midlands.
In its most recent annual report, it said: “The duchy continues to invest in improving energy efficiency across its rental properties, with ۹۷% of the let properties for which minimum energy efficiency standards are applicable being rated A+ to E.”
It added: “Making improvements can often be challenging due to the listed or historical status of some of our buildings; of the ۱۰ properties that are rated F and G (۱۲ in ۲۰۲۵), seven meet the criteria for registered exemptions and three have ongoing works to improve the EPCs.”
However, the problem is far more extensive. Of more than ۲۰۰ duchy of Lancaster properties identified, nearly ۴۰ have domestic EPC ratings of F or G.
About half of the substandard properties are farmhouses, which, depending on the type of agricultural tenancy in place, could be considered exempt from the MEES regulations. Of these, ۱۵ were rated F and another six were rated G, including two with the lowest possible EPC score of one point.
The duchy’s own lawyers, Farrer & Co, have argued that landowners should do more. Elizabeth Earle, Farrer’s “knowledge lawyer” for rural property, wrote on the firm’s website: “Farmhouses are not referred to in the MEES regulations and this causes a problem.
“Although it might be tempting to try and exploit what may look like a loophole now, the more prudent position is to treat farmhouses as though they must comply with MEES. Doing so will be consistent with the overall intention of public policy and less likely to create a problem for the future.”
One duchy of Lancaster tenant farmer, whose home was given a very low EPC score, said: “When I’m at the post office and they see my council tax, they think: you must live in a nice house. But I wouldn’t live here unless I had to.
“We have no central heating and almost no double glazing. Our only heating is from coal fires. It’s very cold in the winter and very hot in the summer.
“When they came to do the EPC, the man said we were one of the worst he had ever done. They would need to spend a lot of money on this place but the duchy told us we are exempt. It doesn’t seem fair that we don’t get anything.”
When EPCs were introduced in England and Wales in ۲۰۰۷, they initially applied only to homes with more than four bedrooms. The rules were extended the next year to cover rental properties.
However, the regulations do not apply to tenancies that started before this point. In these cases, an EPC is only required if there is a change of tenant, or if a property is sold.
In these cases, if a landlord carries out an EPC without a change of tenant, it is considered “voluntary” and does not trigger the regulations. The Guardian has spoken to duchy tenants in this situation, finding a terrace of duchy of Lancaster cottages in Cheshire where several were rated F and G.
A local parish councillor said: “The tenants are all elderly and have been there for many decades. They complain about the duchy. They don’t like to spend any money on repairs.
“Because they have been there so long they have low rents compared to the market locally. If they complain too much they are reminded that the duchy can put up their rent. They are terrified of that and keep quiet.”
The Guardian visited another cottage that had, according to the new owner, been home to a man in his ۹۰s before it was sold by the duchy.
It was rated G and, according to the estate agent, required “a full programme of renovation, modernisation and extension”. The decrepit property had single-glazed windows, little insulation and an oil-fired boiler. It had black mould spots, crumbling paintwork from apparent damp and peeling wallpaper.
“Poor man, he lived there for more than ۶۰ years and barely moved for the last ۲۰,” the new owner said. “The conditions were appalling. I wouldn’t let my dog stay in there, let alone a ۹۰-year-old.”
Another duchy of Lancaster tenant, who has lived for decades in a property that is now rated F, said: “They do no repairs. My windows are so rotten I am scared they will fall out.
“I can’t believe how bad it is, it really gets me down. I do complain but nothing ever gets done. I need to step away from it. Hearing how much money they have makes me sick. People are scared to take them on.”
The duchy of Lancaster said it placed “great importance” on “being a responsible landlord”. “Any tenant with concerns is encouraged to contact us directly and can be assured we will address these issues promptly and constructively,” a spokesperson added.
“Over the last year, the duchy of Lancaster has invested more than £۳m in residential property repairs and upgrades as part of our ongoing commitment to provide well-maintained homes compliant with all legislation.
“Whilst improving the energy efficiency of some historic buildings is challenging, we continue to work to improve their EPC ratings.”
King Charles inherited the duchy of Lancaster and the Sandringham estate from his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, after her death in ۲۰۲۲. Assets transferred from one monarch to another are exempt from inheritance tax. On the Sandringham estate, ۱۸ out of nearly ۱۷۰ properties with EPCs were rated F or G.
A spokesperson said Sandringham “has a mixture of property and tenancy types, which are fully compliant with MEES regulations”.
“We continue to invest significantly in an ongoing programme of maintenance and improvement works on all properties, including those out of scope of the regulations, to upgrade energy efficiency across the estate,” they added.
“While we do not comment on individual cases, these regulations do not apply to every property on the estate and exemptions are necessary on a small number of properties.”
For many years, the king controlled the duchy of Cornwall, a vast royal estate concentrated mainly in the south-west of England, covering about ۵۵,۰۰۰ hectares (۱۳۵,۰۰۰ acres). When he ascended the throne, responsibility for the estate was passed to Prince William.
It recently announced it would sell ۲۰% of its property in the next ۱۰ years and invest £۵۰۰m in local communities. On top of the £۵۰۰m investment, the duchy of Cornwall told the Guardian that “an additional £۵۰m is planned for improving the condition and efficiency of our existing properties”.
The Guardian found that the estate, founded in ۱۳۳۷ to provide an income for male heirs to the throne, owned about ۳۴۰ domestic properties with EPCs. More than ۸۰ received F or G ratings on their most recent assessments.
This includes more than ۲۰ farms and numerous properties with longstanding tenants where the EPCs were done “voluntarily”. However, in some cases, the rules appear not to have been followed.
One tenant, who did not want to be identified, moved into her duchy of Cornwall property after the rules requiring EPCs came into force. Her property was never advertised on the open market, where an estate agent would ask for a valid EPC, and there is no evidence that one was done at the time. A subsequent EPC has given the property an F, and no exemption from MEES regulations has been registered.
“It can be cold,” she said. “We are in the middle of nowhere. We have oil central heating but we don’t like to use it because it is so expensive. We use the log burners but they are hard work. We are both pensioners.
“The duchy doesn’t like to spend money on these properties but the rent is expensive and goes up every couple of years.”
The duchy of Cornwall said it had a “unique portfolio, including many historic buildings located in isolated rural and island locations”.
“Whilst this confers a special character, it also brings some unique challenges which we have started to address systematically through our retrofit programme,” a spokesperson said.
“We recognise that these challenges mean work does not always happen as fast as we would like, but we will continue to work closely with our tenants to identify effective and practical energy efficiency improvements as quickly as possible.”
The duchy added that it had spent £۱۱m on home improvements since ۲۰۲۲, and in the past year had delivered ۱۵۰ “modern, energy-efficient homes, all of which are EPC A or B”.
However, in response to follow-up questions from the Guardian, it confirmed that only six of the new properties were duchy private rents, with most having been sold.
Jonathan Bean, of Fuel Poverty Action, said: “Vulnerable people are suffering in Dickensian conditions while the royals enjoy vast profits from the duchies.
“Using loopholes instead of making these homes safe is immoral and negligent, especially given the age and vulnerabilities of many of the tenants. Mould and damp can seriously damage their health and potentially be fatal.
“Forcing elderly residents with health conditions to rely on coal burners for heating endangers their health and damages the environment. Wealthy royal estates are putting profits above the health and welfare of their tenants.”
