Do your Properties meet Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards? They need to NOW.

The deadline for ensuring properties meet the minimum energy efficiency standards has now arrived. Beyond today, landlords will face prosecution for any properties not in line with the new regulations.

This change will mainly affect landlords who have had tenants in situ since April 2018 and have not yet ensure their properties meet the minimum EPC rating of E. EPC ratings can be a little difficult to understand but they set out how efficient a property must be to comply with law.

Properties with an EPC rating of F or G will no longer be acceptable and landlords will either need to remove their properties from the rental market or make the necessary improvements. Exemptions to the rule will be things such as tenants obstructing the landlords attempts to do the work and other similar conditions which are laid out in the regulations in full. The cost of improvements is capped at £3,500 including VAT so landlords don’t need to overextend themselves and it should be possible to easily make the changes required.

Tips for Improving your EPC Rating

While landlords can get professional help to see how to lift their EPC rating, there are some basic changes you can make too. Landlords who currently own properties with a rating of F or G need to make changes to be allowed to continue to rent. There are different ways of increasing homes efficiency and some ways you can try to do this include:

• Cavity wall insulation: if you don’t currently have cavity wall insulation installing it can considerably improve your rating
• Improve loft insulation: topping up and improving the quality of loft insulation will add points onto your rating
• Upgrade your heating: an old boiler could be the key reason your EPC rating is low, so consider upgrading to the newest possible model you can afford
• Install double glazing: not many houses are without double glazing these days but if it happens to be the case that you’ve not yet upgraded, now is the time to do it
• Invest in renewable energies: solar panels are the easiest way of adding a renewable energy source to your property but some property owners also consider small wind turbines or ground source heat pumps too
• Energy-efficient lightbulbs: the simplest change of all – if you swap all your lightbulbs for energy efficiency ones this will also give your rating a boost

Concerned about MEES legislation? We’re here to help, call one of our experts today.