Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) - What do they mean?

Launched on 1st April 2018, landlords must now comply with the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) which essentially stops landlords from letting out a building with a ‘substandard’ energy efficiency rating.

Buildings are currently required to have an EPC in order to be let, however landlords will now no longer be permitted to grant a new tenancy or renew an existing tenancy on a building with an EPC rating of F or G (termed ‘substandard’).

This may sound simple but the impact could be colossal! In order to raise a building’s EPC rating it is likely that physical changes will need to be made before a tenancy can be granted. This would require expenditure on the physical assets, the assessment and also entail a potential loss of revenue, or indeed a valued tenant due to the timescales required to effect the changes.

Act Now

There are a number of reasons why it is important that you act to ensure that you are compliant:

• You will need to assess your portfolio and collate lease expiry dates, establish which buildings have EPCs and which do not and check the ratings of any existing certificates.
• As mentioned above, the changes required to increase an EPC rating may take time to implement.
• Buildings may not achieve the rating you assume and the rating for buildings with an expiring EPC can drop significantly upon renewal due to changes in building regulations and the government approved software used to generate the certificates. Therefore, don’t assume that just because a building currently has a D rated EPC that it will not receive an F or G rating upon renewal.
• Landlords will incur financial penalties of up to £150,000 for non-compliance.