What are Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards?
The Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) Legislation, came into force in April 2018, applies to both Domestic and Non Domestic properties.
This legislation bans landlords from granting a fresh tenancy to new or existing tenants unless the building has an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) in place showing the building has an energy efficiency rating of E or better.
While the legislation currently only applies to rentals, an increasing amount of banks and financial institutions are now insisting that buildings for sale also meet the same standards before they will provide finance or carry out property transactions.
What are the Proposed Changes?
From 1st April 2025, all new tenancies in England and Wales will need to have an EPC rating of C or higher.
For existing tenancies, landlords must ensure their property is a C or above by 1st April 2028.
From 1st April 2030, all commercial properties must achieve a B or above.
Currently, the proposal is in open consultation, so everyone can have a chance to have a say. But it may be best to start planning as if this is going to happen as energy efficiency continues to be a hot topic.
Properties exempt from MEES
There are several reasons why a property may be exempt from needing to comply with the MEES legislation. If your property falls into one of these categories, then you can apply to have it added to the MEES Exemptions Register.
For further information about MEES and the exemptions, please refer to our e-books page.
How can Assessment Hive help
Stage 1 – MEES Report
To start the process, we will produce the MEES report. One of our team of energy experts will first look through the data that was collected when we carried out your EPC survey. They will then consult with you to establish what type of energy saving measures are practical in your situation.
Once we have carried out this consultation process we will calculate what the EPC rating for your building would be if you carried out a variety of different sets of measures, focusing on establishing the most cost effective and least disruptive ways to increase your rating.
Stage 2 – Complete the works
Along with our MEES report, we will send you a quotation for the improvement works. If you would like to proceed with our quote, we will arrange for our maintenance team to attend your property and carry out the works. We have a range of finance options to suit everyone including interest free periods.
Stage 3 – Issue final Energy Performance Certificate
Once the works have been completed, we will re-attend the site and issue the final Energy Performance Certificate.
