Minimum Energy Efficiency
Standards (MEES) FAQS
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MEES legislation was first brought into effect in April 2018 and applied to both domestic and commercial rental properties when granting fresh tenancies. This was updated for domestic properties in April 2020 to also cover existing tenancies, meaning that all rental properties must comply regardless of when the tenancy was started. The same will apply for commercial properties from 2023.

MEES regulations require landlords to have a valid EPC with a minimum of an E rating before they can legally let a domestic property or, for commercial properties, grant a fresh tenancy or update/extend an existing one.

MEES regulations apply to both domestic and commercial rental properties.

MEES regulations are enforced by local authorities.

While there is currently no minimum rating requirement for properties that are for sale, since the introduction of MEES legislation many banks and financial institutions have refused to carry out sale transactions or provide finance for F or G rated properties.

There are several categories of property that are exempt from MEES legislation , so if your property falls into these then you can apply to have it added to the MEES Exemptions Register

• 'High cost' Exemption may apply in cases where the cheapest of the improvements recommended for the property would cost over £3500 to implement, as evidenced by official quotes from 3 separate installers. This exemption only applies to domestic property.
• '7 Year Payback' Exemption may apply where it can be demonstrated that the cost of energy efficiency measures required to bring the property up to standard will not pay for themselves through savings made on your energy bills within a 7 year timeframe. This exemption only applies to non-domestic property.
• 'All Improvements Made' Exemption may apply where it can be demonstrated that all relevant energy efficiency improvements that can be made to the property have been carried out, but the property still has an EPC rating of below an E. This exemption applies to domestic and non-domestic property.
• 'Wall Insulation' Exemption may apply where wall insulation is required to bring the property up to standard, but for technical reasons cavity, internal or external insulation systems are not suitable for the specific property in question. This exemption applies to domestic and non-domestic property.
• 'Consent' Exemption may apply where third party consent would be required to install recommended measures, such as in the case of planning permission being needed for the installation of solar panels, but consent has been refused. This exemption applies to domestic and non-domestic property.
• 'Devaluation' Exemption may apply where it can be demonstrated (through an independent valuation by a RICS surveyor) that installation of recommended energy efficiency measures will devalue the property by over 5%. This exemption applies to domestic and non-domestic property.
• 'New Landlord' Exemption may apply in specific circumstances where a person has become a landlord suddenly, such as when a new lease has been deemed created by operation of law, or a lease has been granted due to a contractual obligation. If applied for successfully this category of exemption is valid for a period of 6 months.

All categories of exemption except the 'New Landlord' Exemption are valid for a period of 5 years. After this period the landlord must endeavour to improve the property's EPC rating to meet the minimum standards. If this cannot be achieved then a further exemption may be able to be applied for.

The minimum rating for rental properties is an E rating.

The penalty for domestic landlords non-compliance with MEES legislation is a fine of approximately £5000, for commercial landlords it is a fine of up to £150,000.

No, however since the introduction of MEES legislation many banks and financial institutions have refused to carry out sale transactions or provide finance for F or G rated properties.