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Earlier this week, the British Property Federation (BPF) rang a warning bell on Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) for non-domestic properties. These proposed rules remain stubbornly up in the air.
Lem Bingley, PW editor
We’ve all had ample time to consider them. A ban on letting commercial buildings with Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) ratings below ‘C’ from 2027, and ‘B’ from 2030, was consulted on in the first half of 2021. For your reference, that was when tousle-haired Boris Johnson was PM.
Hopes of a policy response have been repeatedly dashed, most recently with the launch of the Warm Homes Plan. Some thought work on that might jog ministerial memories of the need for a non-domestic equivalent. Alas, no.
“We have been waiting for five years for a decision,” said BPF assistant director Rob Wall. “It is beyond belief that ministers have kicked the can down the road once again.”
In December 2024, the government promised a response “early in 2025”. That pledge duly faded into memory.
Most of the dates set out in the consultation have slipped into the realm of fantasy
Last September, energy minister Michael Shanks gave a new deadline: “as early as possible”.
He clarified: “We recognise the delay has caused uncertainty in industry and [we] are working hard to deliver this policy at the earliest possible date, while ensuring we are providing sufficient lead-in time.”
A sufficient lead-in will be key. Most of the dates set out in the consultation have slipped into the realm of fantasy. Enacting the earliest part of the scheme on schedule, from 1 April 2025, would require a time machine.
By the government’s own estimate, the scope of the policy is about a million buildings. Not all will require an upgrade, but most will. And even that is not the end of it. The proposals called for continuous compliance, including existing lets, not just from the start of a new tenancy.
As the consultation acknowledged, landlords with sitting tenants may not have the contractual right to muscle in and update a building – meaning owners might be powerless to avoid penalties.
Back in 2021, the government said new primary legislation would be needed to give occupiers new duties to comply with MEES rules and to co-operate with building owners to reach that goal. There has been no progress on drafting that primary legislation, so far as I’m aware.
There is also another equally disappointing lack of response to a parallel 2021 consultation on using energy monitoring rather than EPC ratings for larger commercial buildings of 1,000 sq m or more. This is of real relevance to anyone concerned about actual emissions, measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide, rather than theoretical emissions, measured in brightly coloured bars on a certificate.
That consultation envisaged further duties of co-operation between owners and occupiers and asked for feedback on whether an annual measurement should replace or complement an EPC.
So, here is my humble suggestion for government: ditch the EPC-based schedule. Instead, push on with a new timeline, based on duties to measure, report and where necessary reduce actual emissions per square foot. That, finally, might be worth the wait.