iHowz call on Government to release MEES requirements

It is nearly 17 months since the Government’s consultation on improving the energy performance of privately rented homes closed.

On Friday, 29 April 2022, iHowz landlord association wrote to Kwasi Kwateng, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), to push for the publication of the findings of the EPC consultation together with the proposed changes to MEES (Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards).

 The letter is as follows:

Dear Minister,

Further to our letter of August 29th 2021, and your reply dated September 27th 2021 (both attached), we would still be pleased to know when it is proposed to publish the outcome of the consultation into a revised Minimum Efficiency Standards (MEES).

We also feel that the consultation into EPC’s must also be reported and before any new requirements for MEES are published.

Currently, EPC are driven by saving in cost, consequently, anyone installing a heat pump to replace an old gas boiler, as recommended by the Government, will probably see their EPC rating drop. This potentially could lead to properties not being able to be let under MEES rules.

This is clearly a contradiction, and one we feel urgently requires resolving.

Many landlords are unable/unwilling to carry out energy efficiency measures as they do not know:
– whether focus is on carbon or money savings
– when the current bias towards gas will switch towards electricity
– what the investment cap will be

The measures need to consider payback period and a formula should exist to take into account either the property value or expected rent for the area. Without this knowledge, they cannot order the works or raise the finance.

Also, without some funding support, many landlords are selling up and more will do so, exacerbating the cost-of-living crisis as displaced tenants will have less supply of rental homes.
We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely

Peter Littlewood
for iHowz Landlords Association.

This is the third letter to the Government sent by iHowz pushing for the release of the new required standards. It follows the original letter to Kwasi Kwateng on 29 August 2021, which produced a non-committal response from the BEIS on 27 September 2021,and our chaser to Alok Shama on 7 October 2021.

Landlords are right to expect the BEIS to publish the results of the EPC consultation and MEES requirements, so they can have the facts required to make the decisions and take appropriate action.

The government has allowed the press and the PRS to work on the assumption that a minimum EPC of C will be required for new tenancies from 2025 and for all tenancies from 2028, with an increased cost cap of £10,000 per property, but none of this has been confirmed.

Full details of the campaign are available here >>
https://ihowz.uk/the-anticipated-standards-for-the-minimum-energy-efficiency-standards-mees/

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