Freedom of Information requests by Generation Rent revealed that just 13 out of 101 councils had issued enforcement notices following MEES enforcement work in 2020-21, a total of 359. Barnsley Council issued the most notices with 181, followed by Bristol (35) and Thanet (30). LandlordZONE has previously reported that some landlords who can’t or won’t spend on retrofitting are capitalising on the lax way property listings are regulated by using gaps in EPC and other regulatory systems to make their properties appear legitimate online – simply by declaring that they hold a valid EPC instead of providing physical copies. Growing financial pressures, particularly the unequal burden of retrofitting in parts of the UK, could also be adding to some landlords’ reluctance to spend money.