The Centre for Sustainable Energy recently responded to ‘Improving the energy performance of privately rented homes’, welcoming the new tightened standards and the primary focus on energy efficiency. At the same time, we believe that the government can go further in protecting tenants and reducing fuel poverty. 

What are the proposals? 

One proposal from the consultation is to raise the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) for privately rented homes in England and Wales by 2030. The new standards will be determined using new metrics planned to be introduced to Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) following EPC reform in 2026. The consultation proposes that properties would be assessed against a primary standard measuring the fabric performance metric and against a secondary metric, either the smart readiness metric or heating system metric, with landlord discretion on which secondary metric their property meets. This is likely to require similar improvement measures as meeting an EPC C under the current system, raising the standard from the current EPC E. 

The proposed regulations would require landlords to invest up to a maximum of £15,000 per property on improvements to meet the new standards. After meeting that cost, landlords could register a 10-year exemption to continue to let the property even if it does not reach the standard. 

Alongside these larger changes, the consultation was also seeking feedback on: 

• Whether government should introduce an affordability exemption that lowers the cost cap to £10,000, reflecting the lower viability of rental homes in lower income areas. 

• Whether to increase the scope of the private rented sector (PRS) regulations to include short-term lets. 

• What regulatory measures could be used to drive the installation of smart meters in privately rented homes. 

• The existing exemptions for the PRS regulations. 

Raising the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES)

The reform of EPCs and the introduction of new metrics like “fabric efficiency” are an important building block in the drive to improve consumer awareness, knowledge, and trust. However, until we understand how EPC ratings will be calculated by the new household energy model it’s not clear which factors will drive higher EPC ratings.  

For example, at present the factors that drive lower bills have a significant impact on the EPC rating, meaning a switch from a gas boiler to a heat pump may not drive significant improvements in EPCs.  

We also highlighted that the MEES regulations should not be seen in isolation but should be complemented with wider reforms to the rental market, such as ending no-fault evictions to avoid unintended consequences.  

Exemptions to the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards

In our view, only one blanket exemption, the cost cap, should be in place. The risk of landlords using exemptions to evade their responsibilities is high and evidence indicates the existing enforcement register is misused or misunderstood by landlords.  Also, the more complex the exemptions scheme is the more challenging the regulations are to enforce.  

We share the views of the Fuel Poverty Coalition that the best approach for reducing fuel poverty is to have no affordability exemptions. Introducing affordability exemptions would tacitly allow homes in lower value areas to be rented out at lower standards than homes in higher value areas, thereby reinforcing inequality and the poverty premium.  

The government’s recent survey of landlords suggests most landlords can afford the costs of these upgrades and none of the exemption proposals means-test landlord businesses. 

In addition to this, all landlords should also be required to pay a fee to lodge an exemption request to fund enforcement, disincentivise unscrupulous behaviour and minimise chances of gaming the system. For the same reasons, we believe that short-term lets should be subject to the same regulations. 

It may be the case that in exceptional circumstances local housing professionals should be able to issue case-by-case exemptions in the interests of the tenant, for instance where there’s very vulnerable person in the house who would want to avoid disturbance from retrofitting work.  

It might also be necessary for case-by-case exemptions for listed buildings, where bringing the property up to standards would cause significant harm to the fabric or heritage significance of the property. 

Enforcing the new standards 

It’s also worth noting that local authorities must be sufficiently resourced to enforce these new standards and take action against landlords that fail to meet them.   

We strongly recommend that the government:  

• Provide local authorities with the funding they need to enforce the new standards.  

• Introduce a clear statutory duty and training on how to enforce MEES.  

• Encourage proactive enforcement to reduce the issue of landlord intimidation of tenants and combat the threat of retaliation.  

• Make the proposed Landlord Database mandatory, include EPC data, and be fully accessible for councils.  

• Allow local authorities to access public data to inform their enforcement efforts.  

• Expand the current rights for tenants to receive a Rent Repayment Order for other non-compliance issues to MEES regulations.  

• Ensure letting agents are highly regulated as they are likely to manage a substantial proportion of works on behalf of their landlord clients. 

Protecting Renters

Renters, particularly those living in fuel poverty, are at the heart of this cause. We are concerned that this consultation, existing legislation, and the new rights proposed by the Renters’ Rights Bill do not provide sufficient protection for renters. 

It is important that the government protects renters from eviction and rent increases after works to meet the MEES are complete.  

It’s also vital that renters are not left in the dark through the process. The government should provide clear guidance on the rights and expectations of tenants and landlords during the renovation process to ensure clear communication and fair outcomes.  

In order for the government to successfully lift millions of renters out of fuel poverty, a greater public awareness campaign is needed to raise the importance of these works and the benefits they will bring to renters and to reduce global heating. 

Supporting landlords

It’s also important that landlords should be given support to meet the standards, including green finance options or tax allowances, and an advice service to help plan and prioritise improvements.