Following our campaigning and consultation responses, we are very pleased to announce that the planned ‘EPC C by 2028’ has been delayed. The planned £15,000 spend cap has been reduced. Also the plan for EPC certificates to only be valid for 5 years is not happening. Finally some positive news for landlords.
Today’s Government announcement on new Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) for the Private Rented Sector (PRS) has confirmed the following;
- All privately rented properties to achieve EPC C (or register an exemption) by 01 October 2030
- Spend cap of £10,000 per property (with a lower spend cap for properties valued under £100,000) with a ten year validity period for exemptions
- All improvements made from October 2025 will be included within the spend cap
- Planned funding support through low interest loans
- EPCs will still last for 10 years
- Properties with a current EPC C to be recognised as compliant under the future standard until the EPC expires. This includes private rented homes graded C or above against the Energy Efficiency Rating (EER) on EPCs before 1 October 2029
- Increasing the number of exemptions available and amending current exemptions
Whilst the announcement is fairly good news, and could have been a lot worse, there is a lot of work to do. With a shortfall of skilled tradespeople and an estimated 2.5 million homes needing improvement, landlords have a big task ahead.
The way in which EPCs are calculated is also changing – bringing a little bit of uncertainty – a Government consultation has been launched HEM methodology for assessing existing dwellings and producing new EPC metrics
Further information on today’s Government response; Reforms to the Energy Performance of Buildings regime – partial government response – GOV.UK