Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards were introduced on 1 April 2018.  Buildings cannot be leased with an EPC worse than an E rating since this date and if they were already in lease on this date, landlords have until April 2023 to meet this standard.

Following this, the Government’s 2019 consultation sought to map the future regulatory target for the Non-Domestic Private Rented Sector Regulations proposing a target of EPC B by 2030, which gained large support. As a result of this, the 2020 Energy white paper confirmed that the future trajectory for the non-domestic minimum energy efficiency standards (MEES) will be EPC B by 2030. (BEIS 17 March 2021)

Our own experiences of MEES, and that of many industry peers, has seen the performance gap exposed with ineffective EPC ratings being far from a measure of true performance.

As well as aiming for B by 2030, we hope the Government revises the EPC evaluation process to adopt in-use energy use and energy intensity as true measures of performance and importantly, of environmental impact. Low impact buildings, no matter what their EPC rating is, should be recognised and valued accordingly.

The consultation closed on 9 June 2021.

Online Survey and Full paper here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/non-domestic-private-rented-sector-minimum-energy-efficiency-standards-epc-b-implementation