Have your say!

After a tumultous year for the Private Rented Sector we were just beginning to think that the Government might be giving Landlords time to catch their breath, when up popped a notification regarding Energy Performance in Rented Properties.

Many of you will recall that the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) were introduced in 2018 requiring all properties to have an EPC rating of no lower than an ‘E’ and if this wasn’t the case you would not be able to grant a tenancy. Having navigated our way through this we were rather surprised to see that the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy announced last week a consultation to increase the minimum standards further by 2025 to a rating of ‘C’.

It was widely known that MEES would increase in the coming years but the suggestion was that the benchmarks would be ‘D’ by 2025 and then ‘C’ by 2030.

Whilst recognsiing the importance of energy effiency, for Landlords there are implications to these measures, particularly in older properties in conservation areas, where achieving these ratings is likely to be difficult. So it is important Landlords have their say in these proposals. The consultation is open to comment until 30th December 2020 and we would strongly recommend that you take their survey so that you can make your views known. You can access the survey by following this link.

This may also be a timely opportunity to take advantage of the Green Homes Grant recently launched by the Government. More information on this can be seen at https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/home-insulation/green-homes-grant-scheme