What are MEES?
Minimum energy efficiency standards (MEES).
The new law, which came into effect on 1 April 2018 applies to private rented residential and non-domestic properties. Landlords with properties that receive an Energy Performance Certificate rating of F or G will have limits imposed upon them when it comes time for tenancy approval in England & Wales; however those who maintain their MEES score at levels higher than E can still provide tenancies without any strings attached other than normal regulatory compliance requirements such as council tax bills etc..
Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
As of April 2018, all privately rented properties are required to have a minimum energy performance rating of ‘E’ on an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). Landlords will not be able to enter into any new tenancies unless the property is rated E or above unless there is an applicable exemption. A civil penalty of up to £5000 will be imposed for breaches.
This is likely to pose significant challenges given that privately rented homes are generally older and harder to make energy efficient – half a million homes in the UK fail to meet these standards.
As 10% of privately rented properties fail to meet these standards, this could leave landlords with a big headache, and a big bill.
Since April 2016 private residential landlords are not able to unreasonably refuse a tenant’s request for energy efficiency improvements if the property is rated F or G (but they may not have to pay for it yet). ECO4 Funding can help with this, subject to survey and the condition of the existing property.
Planning for the Future
As from 1st April 2020, all domestic properties with existing tenancies will need to satisfy the requirement of having an EPC rating above an ‘E’ or have a valid exemption. Non-domestic properties will need to satisfy the MEES by April 2023. These deadlines will approach quickly as the 2018 deadline did and therefore when undertaking works to properties the Energy Performance of the property should be kept in mind throughout. In addition, the Government has previously declared their proposals to raise the standards further, lifting the bands to band D by 2025, and band C by 2030.