The Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales)
Regulations 2015 established the new Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards
(MEES) in the residential private rented sector. From 01 April 2018 it was
unlawful for a landlord in England or Wales to enter into a new letting (or
extend or renew an existing letting) of a residential property with an F or
G energy efficiency rating unless an exemption had been registered.
From 01 April 2020, all existing tenancies are now caught by the Act, and
it will be unlawful for landlords to rent out homes that are required to
have an energy efficiency rating of F or G unless an exemption has been
registered.
The Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales)
Regulations 2015 were amended in 2019 by The Energy Efficiency (Private
Rented Property) (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2019 which
imposed a requirement on landlords to contribute to the cost of improving
their sub-standard property (F or G rating) up to the value of £3,500
(inclusive of VAT) unless an exemption could be sought.
As a Landlord if you cannot improve your property to energy efficiency
rating of E for £3,500 (inclusive of VAT) or less, you should make all the
improvements which can be made up to that amount, then register an ‘all
improvements made’ exemption.
Landlords who let F or G-rated properties without having registered a valid
exemption will be liable to financial penalties of up to £4,000 as well as
“publication penalties”. A publication penalty means that the local
authority will publish details of the landlord’s breach on a publicly
accessible part of the National PRS Exemptions Register.
By now landlords should have taken steps to ensure that their properties
are up to standard or, alternatively, have claimed an exemption. Detailed
information can be found on the gov.uk website,
here.
Here at Simply-Docs the property templates were updated to reflect these
legislative changes and can be used for all existing tenancies from 01
April 2020.
The contents of this Newsletter are for reference purposes only and do not constitute
legal advice. Independent legal advice should be sought in relation to any specific
legal matter.