Guide
MEES: the minimum EPC rating for letting commercial property
Updated
The rules below are stated only as far as the government's landlord guidance states them, and cited so you can check every line yourself.
The standard
The government's landlord guidance says that landlords of non-domestic rented properties "have only been permitted to grant a new tenancy, or to extend or renew an existing tenancy, if their property has at least an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) E rating, unless they have registered a valid exemption" (gov.uk, non-domestic MEES landlord guidance).
- 1 April 2018
- The requirement applied to the granting of new tenancies, and to extensions and renewals of existing tenancies.
- 1 April 2023
- The requirement extended to all privately rented non-domestic properties, "even where there has been no change in tenancy". This is the change that caught landlords who assumed a sitting tenant meant no obligation.
Do not rely on this page for any future tightening of the standard. Proposals to raise the non-domestic minimum above E have been consulted on at various points, and we deliberately do not state a future rating or date here, because the position that matters is the one in the current government guidance on the day you act. Read the landlord guidance linked above before you plan capital works around a target rating.
Which properties are in scope
- The property is non-domestic.
- It is legally required to have an EPC.
- It is let on a tenancy for a term certain of more than 6 months and less than 99 years. Tenancies of 6 months or less, and of 99 years or more, sit outside the regulations.
Note the second condition carefully. Some buildings are not required to have an EPC at all: government guidance on energy performance certificates gives "industrial sites, workshops and non-residential agricultural buildings that do not use a lot of energy" as examples of buildings that do not need one (gov.uk). If no EPC is required, the minimum standard has nothing to bite on, but that is a question to answer properly rather than assume.
Exemptions, and the register
Where a property cannot be improved to the standard, the guidance sets out exemptions that a landlord may register. Each has its own conditions and its own duration:
| Exemption | Duration |
|---|---|
| Seven year payback | 5 years |
| All improvements made | 5 years |
| Wall insulation | 5 years |
| Third party consent | 5 years, or until the tenancy ends |
| Property devaluation | 5 years |
| Recently became a landlord | 6 months |
- Exemptions must be registered on the PRS Exemptions Register before you rely on them. An unregistered exemption is not an exemption.
- Registration operates on a self-certification basis, which means the burden of getting it right, and of holding the evidence, sits with the landlord.
- Exemptions are time-limited. Diary the expiry date when you register one.
Enforcement
- Enforcement sits with Local Weights and Measures Authorities.
- They may serve a compliance notice up to 12 months after a suspected breach.
- Non-compliance can result in financial penalties. We do not state penalty amounts here because the guidance page we cite does not set them out; check the current guidance or take advice before assuming a figure you have read elsewhere.
This is a summary of published government guidance, not legal advice, and it addresses the position for England and Wales. Read the landlord guidance in full, and take professional advice before relying on an exemption or planning works around a compliance deadline.