The Duchy of Cornwall and the Duchy of Lancaster, owned by King Charles and Prince William, rent out homes that do not meet legal energy efficiency standards, according to a Guardian investigation. Tenants report struggling to heat poorly insulated properties, with one describing the conditions as "archaic."
Tenant struggles with cold homes
One tenant, in failing health, heats a mostly uninsulated home with coal-fired stoves. "This place is not up to the standards of the 20th century, let alone the 21st. It's archaic. It needs to be upgraded but I don't think they want to spend the money," they said.
The Duchy of Cornwall, established in 1337, enjoys profit margins of about 60% and pays out more than £20m a year to the monarch's eldest son. It is unburdened by corporation tax, capital gains tax, and inheritance tax.
Plans for investment and sale
The duchy announced earlier this year it would sell 20% of the estate over the next decade and invest £500m in local communities, housing, and environmental projects. Prince William, the 25th duke of Cornwall, has promised to transform his inheritance, saying: "There is so much good we can do. I'm trying to make sure I'm prioritising stuff that's going to make people's lives, living in those areas, better."
However, the tenant is not convinced. "I'm sure this is one of the properties that he will sell and I don't know what will happen to me after that," they said. "Will they have to find somewhere else for me or will I just be turfed out?"
Challenges of historic properties
Many properties in these areas, including those owned by the duchies, have been turned into holiday lets. Combined with an abundance of second homes, there are few other rental properties available. The older cottages are stone, while relatively newer ones are typically a single skin of brick, often clustered around farms or in towns and villages across Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly, and Dartmoor.
In response to the investigation, the Duchy of Cornwall said it had a "unique portfolio, including many historic buildings located in isolated rural and island locations." A spokesperson added: "Whilst this confers a special character, it also brings some unique challenges which we have started to address systematically through our retrofit programme."
The duchy told the Guardian that "an additional £50m is planned for improving the condition and efficiency of our existing properties," on top of the previously announced £500m investment. It said it had spent £11m on home improvements since 2022 and delivered 150 "modern, energy-efficient homes, all of which are EPC A or B" in the past year. However, only six of these were duchy private rents, with most sold.
Duchy of Lancaster and Sandringham
The Duchy of Lancaster, covering 18,000 hectares from northern England to Northamptonshire and parts of London, said it placed great importance on "being a responsible landlord." A spokesperson said: "Any tenant with concerns is encouraged to contact us directly and can be assured we will address these issues promptly and constructively." They added that the duchy had invested more than £3m in residential property repairs and upgrades over the last year.
Sandringham, which does not publish its accounts, said it has "a mixture of property and tenancy types, which are fully compliant with MEES regulations." A spokesperson said: "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."
The three estates, collectively worth well over £2bn, have more than 1,000 rental homes between them. Elizabeth Earle, a knowledge lawyer at Farrer & Co, which acts for the duchies, noted that changes in legislation "may feel unduly hard on owners of older, rural and often energy-inefficient properties." She added: "The irony is that, while these are precisely the sort of properties in which people dream of living, it is becoming increasingly hard to let them – and nigh-on impossible to make them comply with modern standards."
