The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) suggests there’s a surprisingly limited awareness of upcoming energy efficiency rule changes.
New Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) will require a minimum EPC C for all private rental homes.
But there are some exemptions and these remain little known to some landlords.
NRLA data shows that fewer than 2% of landlords had registered an exemption in the last two years – but 28% are in aware MEES exemptions exist at all.
And some 42% of landlords admit to being “not very” or “not at all” confident they understood exemptions.
The association is reminding landlords
That existing regulations mean a property must have an EPC E or higher to be legally let out, unless it is exempt.
With the UK government reforming MEES – raising the minimum rating for privately rented properties in England and Wales from E to C – it’s believed there will be substantially more exemptions.
Under the proposed system, EPCs will also be measured differently.
The Home Energy Model (HEM) will replace the current system and properties will need to meet:
- A fabric standard: required for all properties, and either
- Heating standards, favouring low carbon heating, or
- Smart readiness standards.
The NRLA points out that with nearly a third of privately rented homes in England built pre-1919, compared to a fifth of owner-occupied and less than 10% of social housing, homes in the sector are considerably more expensive to retrofit.
And it says: “If landlords are unaware that their older properties can be exempted from the new regulations, then this could incentivise them to sell up and focus on their properties that are already close to meeting the C target.”
Current exemptions include:
- A ‘cost cap’ exemption. This will be available where the landlord has spent up to the maximum amount required of £10,000, and the next cheapest measure cannot be installed within the cap. The cost cap takes into account work done from October 2025, as well as the cost of commissioning the EPC. Please note that works done to install fossil fuel heating systems do not count for the cost cap;
- A solid wall insulation exemption allows landlords to choose whether to install solid wall insulation;
• • Property value exemption. Where properties are worth less than £100,000 then the landlord will not have to spend more than 10% of the value of the property.
