MEES regulations were introduced to promote improvements to domestic private rented properties by applying a minimum energy efficiency rating. The regulation came into force for private rented properties in England and Wales on 1st April 2016 and covers both residential and commercial properties. In this article we will be focusing on what this means for domestic private rented properties.
The essence of the regulation is that private rental properties need to achieve an E rating or higher on their Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) in order to be let.
There are a few reasons why these regulations have been introduced, the top two are:
Fuel poverty is a separate issue. According to reports published in April 2020 by BEIS (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) around 1 in 10 properties (10.3% of all households) in England are living in fuel poverty as of 2018. The report also highlights that 17.7% of private rental tenants are living in fuel poverty.
BEIS recently released a new consultation on the MEES regulations looking at the future changes that they would like to make to the legislation. The consultation ‘Improving the energy performance of privately rented homes’ outlines the next steps in MEES with the preferred scenario from BEIS being for all new tenancies (and changes to tenancy such as moving to a rolling contract) to have an EPC at Band C from 1st April 2025 and for all new tenancies to have an EPC Band C from 1st April 2028.
All Landlords are required to ensure that their property has an EPC rating of E or higher unless they have met the requirements for exemption. The implementation has been spread over a few years to make the process smoother:
From the 1st April 2018, any new lease for a property had to have an EPC rating of an E or above. This includes contract renewals, extensions or moving from a fixed term into a rolling contract.
From 1st April 2019 the regulation was amended to remove the ‘no upfront cost’ provision, meaning that if third party funding is not available then landlords need to self-fund the improvements.
From 1st April 2020 all privately rented properties are required to meet Band E or higher, regardless of whether there is a change in tenancy.
As with any regulation there are always going to be exceptions to the rule. If you feel you qualify for a MEES exemption, you can apply online through the PRS Register site here. You will need to submit evidence of the reason for exemption, copies of reports from experts as well as a copy of the property’s most recent EPC.
There are a number of reasons why a property can be exempt from the regulations, which include:
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