From 1 April 2023, commercial landlords will be in breach of the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) if they hold property that is subject to a continuing lease with an EPC rating of F or G. This follows the 2018 prohibition on granting leases of such premises. The expectation is that the minimum standard is then going to become C in 2027 and B in 2030.

Clearly the ultimate aim of MEES is to encourage land owners to undertake the work required to improve the energy-efficiency of a property, to get the EPC rating up to the required minimum standard. However, this may not be straight-forward where a tenant is in continuing occupation, in which case a landlord may want to rely on the 'consent' exemption (assuming the lease requires tenant consent before the landlord can do such works). Landlords should consider if this or any of the other exemptions which might apply, to relieve them of the need to improve the EPC rating.

Another solution might not be so obvious: get a new EPC. Not only do different EPC assessors take different views on rating, but also the rules for assessment change over time. Last summer, those rules were changed, so that a property heated by electricity is assessed more favourably than one heated by gas. This means that, where electricity is used, landlords might consider getting an updated EPC for their property; on the flip side, if gas is used, getting a new EPC might push the rating in the wrong direction. 

Rather than going ahead and obtaining a new EPC, it could be wise to get an EPC assessor to model the rating in line with the latest EPC rules, to see if a new EPC would create MEES problems, or get a property out of the MEES woods. This could prove to be a cost-effective way of avoiding breach of MEES - although it's not going to sort out the climate crisis.