In April 2018, amendments were made to the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) requirements for landlords under the Energy Act 2011, known as the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES). This legislation prohibits landlords from renting residential or commercial properties with an EPC rating of F or G until they have addressed the energy efficiency issues. Properties that fail to achieve at least an E rating must implement improvements to enhance their performance and meet the minimum standard. Landlords cannot let their properties without a compliant EPC or an approved exemption.

Based on our experience, Compliance365 has observed that without investment in buildings, ratings will continue to decline in comparison to the constantly improving target set by the SBEM calculation tool. We collaborate with clients who manage extensive property portfolios to assess the current EPC ratings across their assets and identify opportunities for straightforward improvements to ensure compliance.

It has been reported that there are about 75,000 commercial properties across England and Wales with F or G rated EPC’s, with a further 65,000 with an E ratin