MEES regulations for commercial property, in plain English
The Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards decide whether you can lawfully let a commercial building. Today the floor is EPC E. On the government's interim response of 18 June 2026, let buildings over 1,000 square metres will need EPC B, where cost effective, from 2031, and the 2027 EPC C milestone has gone. This is the guide for landlords and asset managers: the rules, the ratings, and where solar PV sits among the measures.
Contents
What are the MEES regulations for commercial property?
The Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards are rules, made under the Energy Act 2011, that prohibit a landlord from letting privately rented property in England and Wales below a minimum Energy Performance Certificate rating unless a valid exemption is registered.
The legal instrument is the Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015, SI 2015/962, made on 26 March 2015. It sets separate energy efficiency standards for homes and for commercial properties. This page deals with non-domestic MEES: offices, shops, retail parks, hotels, leisure buildings, dealerships and multi-let commercial properties, whether let to small businesses or corporate occupiers. Domestic MEES for residential property runs to a different timetable.
The current minimum is EPC E
From 1 April 2018 a landlord could not grant, renew or extend a tenancy of a property rated F or G. From 1 April 2023 the same rule has applied to every let, including continuing tenancies where nothing has changed. If a property you let is rated F or G today and has no registered exemption, you are in breach.
Which lets are caught
The rules apply to a tenancy granted for a term of more than six months and less than 99 years, where the property is legally required to have an EPC. Lets of six months or less are outside, unless the tenancy can be renewed or extended beyond six months or the tenant has been in occupation for more than 12 months. Owner occupied properties are outside, although they still need an EPC when sold or let.
- in force
- June 2026 interim response, legislation to follow
- 2021 proposal, superseded
- dropped
The same timeline as a table
| Date | What happened | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 26 March 2015 | The Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015 made under the Energy Act 2011 | Law |
| 1 April 2018 | No new tenancy, renewal or extension of a property below EPC E without a registered exemption | Law |
| 17 March 2021 | Consultation proposes EPC B by 2030 for the non-domestic private rented sector | Superseded |
| 1 April 2023 | The EPC E minimum extends to every continuing let, with no change of tenancy needed | Law |
| 18 June 2026 | Interim government response published | Policy |
| 2027 | Interim EPC C milestone will not be taken forward | Dropped |
| 2031 | Let buildings over 1,000 m2 to reach EPC B, where cost effective; smaller buildings stay at EPC E | Proposed, legislation to follow |
What did the June 2026 interim response change?
The interim response is the government's decision, published on 18 June 2026, on how the non-domestic minimum standard will rise after EPC E, answering the government's proposals consulted on in 2019 and 2021.
- EPC B from 2031 for buildings over 1,000 square metres. The government proposes that from 2031 private rented buildings over 1,000 square metres in England and Wales reach EPC B, where cost effective.
- No EPC C milestone in 2027. The interim step will not be taken forward, to give landlords and tenants more time.
- Buildings below 1,000 square metres stay at EPC E. Smaller let properties remain subject to the current minimum.
- The 7-year payback test and the exemptions stay, so only improvements that are practical, affordable and cost effective will be required.
- Legislation to follow "at the earliest opportunity", with updated guidance and a full response to the consultations.
The 2021 proposals set one target for the whole sector; the government's response splits it by size. The first job for a portfolio is a list of which let buildings are over the threshold. The response does not yet say how floor area will be measured, or how a multi-let building of separately let units will be treated. And "where cost effective" does a lot of work: the payback test below is the mechanism, so it now matters more than it did.
How does a commercial EPC rating work?
A non-domestic Energy Performance Certificate is a rating of the building itself, its fabric and its fixed services, expressed as a CO2 based index and placed in a band from A+ to G.
Because it rates the building rather than the bills, it is called an asset rating. An accredited energy assessor records the construction, the zones and their uses, and the heating, cooling, ventilation, hot water and lighting, then models them in approved software: usually SBEM, the Simplified Building Energy Model. The model compares the building's carbon emissions with a reference building of the same size, shape and use, and produces the certificate plus a recommendation report of cost effective improvements.
The index is adjusted for floor area and a lower number is better. The bands printed on lodged certificates run from A+, below zero, to G, over 150 (fig. 2). The two MEES floors sit at the bottom of band E and the bottom of band B.
When a commercial property needs an EPC
On construction, sale or let. A certificate is valid for 10 years or until a newer one is lodged. Exceptions include places of worship, temporary buildings with a planned use of two years or less, and stand-alone buildings under 50 m2. Certificates can be looked up on Find an energy certificate.
Why an old certificate can mislead
When Part L changed on 15 June 2022, the software took new carbon factors: electricity improved to reflect a cleaner grid, gas rose slightly. Cushman and Wakefield's view was that electrically heated buildings could expect a better rating on reassessment and gas heated ones the same or worse. A certificate from before that date may not say what a new one would, which is the first thing to check before planning any costs.
Where does solar PV fit in an EPC asset rating?
Solar PV is one of several levers on a commercial EPC, because the CO2 rating is calculated from the energy the building uses for heating, hot water, ventilation and lighting, less any energy generated on site.
That is why a rooftop array can move a rating, and why nobody can say how far without modelling the building. Four things decide it.
- Array size against floor area. The rating is per square metre of floor. A single storey retail unit can carry an array that is large against its floor area; a six storey office on the same footprint cannot.
- What the building burns. Generation is credited at the grid electricity carbon factor, which fell sharply in 2022. It follows that each unit of solar now offsets less modelled CO2 than before, and differently in an all electric building and a gas heated one.
- Where it sits in its band. A building at the edge of C may cross into B with a modest improvement; one mid D may not change band at all.
- What else is on the list. Lighting and controls, heating and cooling plant and fabric measures compete for the same budget and payback test. Solar is sometimes the cheapest step, sometimes the last, and on some roofs not practical.
Ask the assessor to run the model with and without a specified array, sized from a roof survey, and report the rating both ways. Photovoltaics are on the list of improvements the Regulations draw on (the schedule to the Green Deal (Qualifying Energy Improvements) Order 2012), so a PV measure is tested for payback like any other.
The rating also misses something. Generation used in the building cuts the electricity bill, and in a let building that saving usually lands with the tenant. How landlord and tenant share it is covered on our solar for landlords page. The roof survey establishes what the roof can carry, and the calculator gives a first estimate.
How do the 7-year payback test and MEES exemptions work?
The 7-year payback test is the cost effectiveness rule in the MEES Regulations: a measure is only required if the energy bill savings it is expected to achieve over 7 years are at least equal to the cost of installing it.
Regulation 28 sets out the arithmetic. Costs are purchase and installation, labour included, VAT excluded. Savings are calculated over 7 years from completion using the energy prices on the last 12 months of actual bills where they exist. The measure must be a recommended improvement in a recommendation report, a green deal report or a surveyor's report.
Where every measure that passes has been made and the building is still below E, or another ground applies, the landlord can claim an exemption, but only by entering it on the PRS Exemptions Register with the evidence. Most are full exemptions for five years; the new landlord exemption is one of the temporary exemptions, for six months. Exemptions may not pass to a buyer, so on a purchase they are due diligence, not an asset.
| Exemption | When it applies | How long it lasts |
|---|---|---|
| 7-year payback | The cost of a relevant improvement is more than the energy bill savings it is expected to deliver over 7 years. Evidence: three quotes from qualified installers and the calculation. | 5 years |
| All improvements made | Every relevant energy efficiency improvement has been made, or none can be, and the property is still below EPC E. | 5 years |
| Wall insulation | Only wall insulation is recommended and written expert advice says it would harm the fabric or structure of the building. | 5 years |
| Third party consent | A tenant, superior landlord, lender, freeholder or the planning authority refuses consent, or attaches conditions you could not reasonably meet. | 5 years, or until the tenancy ends where tenant consent was refused |
| Devaluation | A report from an independent surveyor on the RICS valuer register shows the works would reduce the market value of the property by more than 5%. | 5 years |
| New landlord | You have recently become the landlord in specified circumstances, such as a purchase subject to an existing let. | 6 months from becoming the landlord |
Source: DESNZ, non-domestic private rented property minimum energy efficiency standard landlord guidance, checked 22 September 2026. Summarised; read the guidance for the evidence each exemption needs. Exemptions attach to the landlord and the property, so re-check them on any sale or change of landlord.
What are the penalties for breaching MEES on commercial property?
Non-domestic MEES penalties are civil penalties, set by reference to the property's rateable value, and imposed by the local weights and measures authority, which in practice is the council's trading standards team.
The authority can serve a compliance notice up to 12 months after a suspected breach, and issue a penalty notice if it confirms one. Regulation 41 sets the maximums below, each with a publication penalty: details of the breach can be published on the PRS Exemptions Register. For a listed fund or a landlord to corporate tenants, that public record can cost more than the fine. Paying does not cure the breach.
| Breach | Maximum financial penalty | Publication penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Letting a sub-standard property for less than 3 months | the greater of £5,000 or 10% of rateable value, up to £50,000 | yes |
| Letting a sub-standard property for 3 months or more | the greater of £10,000 or 20% of rateable value, up to £150,000 | yes |
| False or misleading information on the PRS Exemptions Register | up to £5,000 | yes |
| Failing to comply with a compliance notice | up to £5,000 | yes |
How does MEES interact with a commercial lease?
MEES puts the legal duty on the landlord, but the lease decides who pays for the works, who can get into the building to do them, and who keeps the savings.
Who pays
The Regulations do not say. Recovery depends on the repairing covenants, the service charge and any statutory compliance clause. Many leases predate MEES and are silent, so the costs usually sit with the landlord unless the lease clearly passes them on. In a multi-let property, recovering works to shared plant or the roof turns on the wording.
Access and consent
The landlord needs a right to enter and do works during the term. A tenant's refusal can support a consent exemption, but only until the tenancy ends. Works that disturb trading, in a hotel or a store, need programming whatever the lease says.
Green lease clauses
A green lease stops the rating going backwards and shares the data to improve it: fit-outs that must not worsen the EPC, landlord control over when a new EPC is commissioned, energy data sharing and cooperation on works. A rooftop array adds questions about roof access, ownership of the equipment and who buys the power, which our landlords page sets out. On a purchase, ask for the rating and its date, any exemptions (which may not transfer), and a costed route to B for any let building over 1,000 square metres, as part of the investment case.
What should a landlord do now with an E, D or C building over 1,000 m2?
A landlord with a let building over 1,000 m2 has a proposed target, a date and no legislation yet, which is the best position from which to plan the works rather than rush them.
- Sort the commercial properties by size and band. Floor area, band and certificate date for every let building. Those over 1,000 m2 rated C, D or E are the programme.
- Refresh old certificates. Anything lodged before June 2022 may be out of date, and a new assessment costs little against works aimed at the wrong target.
- Ask for a pathway, not a list. Packages of measures that reach B, with the rating after each step, including a PV scenario sized from a real roof survey.
- Test every measure for payback. The split between what pays back in 7 years and what does not is also the evidence for any exemption.
- Time works to lease events. Breaks, expiries and refurbishments are when access and cost recovery are easiest.
- Protect the result with green lease clauses in new lettings.
Step 1. Does MEES apply to this let? All three must be true.
- The property is in England or Wales and privately rented
- The tenancy was granted for a term of more than 6 months and less than 99 years
- The property is legally required to have an EPC
If any is false, the regulations do not bite on that let. Owner occupied buildings are outside MEES entirely.
Step 2. Read across from the band on the current EPC.
| Current EPC | Let building under 1,000 m2 | Let building over 1,000 m2 |
|---|---|---|
| F or G below the floor now | Letting is unlawful today unless a valid exemption is registered. Read the recommendation report, cost the measures, then either do the work or register the exemption that genuinely applies. | As for a smaller building, and more urgent: the proposed 2031 floor is four or five bands away. Plan the works to E now as the first stage of a route to B. |
| E three bands short of B | Compliant, and on the June 2026 position stays compliant. Watch the certificate expiry: a new assessment under the current methodology can move the band either way. | Compliant today but furthest from the proposed floor. Commission a costed pathway to B, test each measure for payback, and time the works to lease events. |
| D two bands short of B | Compliant, with no higher deadline proposed. Improvements are a letting and value question rather than a legal one. | Model the combination of measures that reaches B, and which of them pass the payback test. Lighting, controls and on-site generation are often the cheaper first steps. |
| C one band short of B | Compliant. The dropped 2027 milestone means there is no date for C either. | Often the case where a single measure decides the outcome. Ask the assessor to re-run the model with and without each candidate, solar PV included, before committing to any. |
| B or better meets the proposed floor | Compliant, with headroom. | Meets the proposed 2031 floor. Protect it: lease clauses that stop tenant fit-outs degrading the rating, and a reassessment plan before the certificate expires. |
What the planning record shows landlords doing
The Renewable Energy Planning Database lists rooftop solar schemes on commercial buildings, and our location pages flag the ones put through planning by a landlord or investment manager rather than an occupier. In the Q1 2026 release, 9 of the 189 commercial rooftop schemes on those pages are landlord led, including business park and office schemes by Tristan Capital Partners at Reading, Nuveen Real Estate at Harlow, Columbia Threadneedle at Marlow and abrdn at Biggleswade, and a retail park scheme by Invesco Real Estate at Filton. These are other organisations' projects, taken from public planning data. We do not know their reasons, and a planning entry does not say whether a scheme was driven by an EPC.
Lenzie Consulting Ltd arranges roof surveys, design and installation through our MCS-certified partner. We do not produce EPCs, give legal advice or advise on lease terms. An accredited energy assessor produces the rating; your solicitor advises on the lease.
Find out what the roof could do for the rating
Send the postcode and your interest in the building. We arrange a free roof survey that sizes the array the roof can actually carry, which is the figure your energy assessor needs to model a solar scenario against the EPC.
No survey fee and no obligation to proceed.
Questions about MEES and commercial EPC ratings
- What are the MEES regulations for commercial property in 2027?
- The MEES regulations for commercial property in 2027 are expected to be the same as today: a let non-domestic property in England and Wales must have an EPC of E or better, or a registered exemption. The earlier proposal for an interim EPC C milestone in 2027 will not be taken forward, as the government's interim response of 18 June 2026 confirms. The next proposed step is EPC B, where cost effective, from 2031 for let buildings over 1,000 square metres.
- What are the current MEES regulations?
- The current minimum energy efficiency standards for commercial property are set by the Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015. For non-domestic property, since 1 April 2023 a landlord may not continue to let a property with an EPC of F or G unless a valid exemption is registered on the PRS Exemptions Register. The rule applies to tenancies of more than 6 months and less than 99 years where the property is legally required to have an EPC.
- What is the difference between MEES and an EPC?
- An EPC is a certificate that rates the energy performance of a building from A+ to G. MEES, the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards, is a regulation that sets the minimum EPC rating a landlord needs before letting a property. The EPC is the measurement; MEES is the rule that uses the measurement. A building can have an EPC without MEES applying to it, for example when it is owner occupied.
- What are the MEES regulations for commercial property in 2030?
- The 2021 consultation proposed EPC B by 2030. The June 2026 interim response moves that to 2031 and narrows it to let buildings over 1,000 square metres, where cost effective; buildings below 1,000 square metres stay at EPC E. Legislation has not yet been laid.
- Does solar PV improve a commercial EPC rating?
- It can, because the asset rating is calculated from modelled CO2 emissions less energy generated on site. How much depends on the building: floor area against usable roof, heating fuel, and where the rating sits in its band. The interim response does not mention solar. An assessor can model the rating with and without an array before anything is bought.
- Is a commercial landlord responsible for electrical safety?
- It depends on the lease and on who controls the installation. There is no commercial equivalent of the rule requiring landlords of private rented homes in England to have the wiring inspected every five years. The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 place duties on whoever controls an electrical system used at work, which may be the tenant, the landlord for common parts, or both. Check the lease covenants and take advice. A rooftop array brings its own inspection regime, which the lease or a roof licence should allocate.
- Does MEES apply to owner occupied commercial buildings?
- No. MEES applies to privately rented property. An owner occupier is not caught, although the building will still need an EPC when it is sold or let, and a buyer or future tenant will read the rating.
- Does MEES apply in Scotland?
- No. The MEES Regulations cover England and Wales. Scotland has its own regime for non-domestic buildings over 1,000 m2: on a sale or a new let, the owner must commission an action plan under section 63 of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009. The Scottish Government publishes guidance on it.