GREENENVIRON

Low & Zero Carbon (LZC)

Providing  feasibility studies to identify opportunties for installing LZC technologies including solar  photo voltaic, LED lighting upgrade and Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHP).

Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards(MEES)

From April 2018, a new legal standard for minimum energy efficiency will apply to rented commercial buildings. The minimum energy efficiency standard (MEES) was introduced in March 2015 by the Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015. From 1 April 2018, landlords of buildings within the scope of the MEES Regulations must not renew existing tenancies or grant new tenancies if the building has less than the minimum energy performance certificate (EPC) rating of E unless the landlord registers an exemption.After 1 April 2023, landlords must not continue to let any buildings which have an EPC rating of less than E unless the landlord registers an exemption.

The built environment has been identified by government as a major contributor to Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and thus poses a threat to the UK meeting its carbon reduction targets for 2020 and 2050. Government estimates that 18% of commercial properties hold the lowest EPC ratings of F or G. While Building Regulations ensure that new properties meet current energy efficiency standards, MEES will tackle the UK's older buildings.

Working out if a building and tenancy are caught within the scope of MEES is not always straightforward. MEES does not apply to:

• buildings which are not required to have an EPC: such as industrial sites, workshops, non-residential agricultural buildings with a low energy demand, certain listed buildings, temporary properties and holidays lets
• buildings where the EPC is over 10 years old or where there is no EPC
• tenancies of less than 6 months (with no right of renewal)
• tenancies of over 99 years.

Determining whether a building and tenancy are within scope requires owners to look at two sets of regulations: Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) 2012 and the MEES Regulations. The interplay of the regulations is complex and creates some potential loopholes.

Landlords can let a building to which the MEES Regulations apply but which is below the minimum standard if any of the exemptions apply. These are:

• The ‘Golden Rule’: where an independent assessor determines that all relevant energy efficiency improvements have been made to the property or that improvements that could be made but have not been made would not pay for themselves through energy savings within seven years. There are numerous examples of "relevant" energy efficiency improvements which include double-glazing and pipework insulation which need to be considered; wall-insulation measures are not required where an expert determines that these would damage the fabric of the property.
• Devaluation: where an independent surveyor determines that the relevant energy efficiency improvements that could be made to the property are likely to reduce the market value of the property by more than 5%.
• Third Party Consent: where consent from persons such as a tenant, a superior landlord or planning authorities has been refused or has been given with conditions with which the landlord cannot reasonably comply.