EPC Exemptions

Exemptions to MEES Legislation – Domestic Properties

The UK Government is currently reviewing the minimum rating required for rental properties as part of a consultation looking at reforming the ‘Energy Performance of Buildings’ (EPB) framework. This consultation is expected to be completed by the end of Feb 2025. 

Exemptions to MEES legislation allow landlords to let properties that do not comply with the legislation, i.e. where the properties energy rating is F or G. Exemptions only apply under certain circumstances and only when registered on the PRS Exemptions Register.

Exemptions are not transferable between property owners. If a property that has been given an exemption is sold, the new owner must apply for a new exemption if they plan to continue to let the property. Alternatively they must make improvements / changes to the property to raise the energy rating to the minimum or above. 

The list below provides a guide to each exemption summarising what it is, how to register and what documentation / evidence is required to support the application.

Supporting Documents

Please note. The following supporting documents are required for all exemption applications.

• The full address of the rental property
• Which exemption type the landlord is registering
• A valid EPC for the property

Some exemptions may require additional supporting documents. For more details please see each exemption below.

1. ‘High Cost’ Exemption

If there is a recommended improvement listed on the EPC that can be made for less than £3,500 inc VAT then this exemption cannot be made and the recommendation must be implemented.
If one or more of the recommended improvements can be made for a total cost of £3,500 or less, and these improvements fail to raise the energy rating to the required minimum or above, then the ‘All Improvements Made’ exemption should be registered (see 2. below).

To register this exemption for their property the landlord must upload supporting documents on to the PRS Exemptions Register.
This exemption lasts for 5 years and after it expires the landlord must either make improvements / changes to the property to raise the energy rating to the minimum required or above, or register for a new exemption if they wish to continue letting the property.

Additional Supporting Documents:

• Written confirmation that the landlord is satisfied that the cost of the cheapest recommended improvement listed on the EPC would exceed £3,500 inc VAT
• 3 quotes from qualified installers / builders for purchasing and installing the cheapest recommended improvement listed on the EPC, demonstrating that the cost would exceed £3,500 inc VAT

2. ‘All Improvements Made’ Exemption

To register this exemption for their property the landlord must upload supporting documents on to the PRS Exemptions Register.
This exemption lasts for 5 years and after it expires the landlord must either make improvements / changes to the property to raise the energy rating to the minimum required or above, or register for a new exemption if they wish to continue letting the property.

Additional Supporting Documents:

• Details of the recommended improvements listed on an EPC that have been made to the property
• Any report other than an EPC, for example a surveyors report, that demonstrates that there are no more improvements that can be made to the property

3. ‘Wall Insulation’ Exemption

• Cavity wall insulation – insulation is fixed or injected into the cavity that exists inside the wall
• External wall insulation systems – insulation is fixed to the walls of a property on the outside
• Internal wall insulation systems – insulation is fixed to the walls of a property on the inside

To register this exemption for their property the landlord must upload supporting documents on to the PRS Exemptions Register.
This exemption lasts for 5 years and after it expires the landlord must either make improvements / changes to the property to raise the energy rating to the minimum required or above, or register for a new exemption if they wish to continue letting the property.

The landlord must provide written expert advice stating adding these types of insulation could negatively impact the fabric or structure of the property or the building that the property is part of. This advice must be obtained from one of the following independent experts:

• An architect registered on the ‘Architect Accredited in Building Conservation’ register (AABC)
• A chartered engineer registered on the ‘Institution of Civil Engineers’ and the ”Institution of Structural Engineers Conservation Accreditation Register for Engineers’
• A chartered building surveyor registered on the ‘Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) – Building Conservation Accreditation register’
• A chartered architectural technologist registered on the ‘Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists (CIAT) Directory of Accredited Conservationists’

If the written expert advice cannot be obtained from one of the above experts, advice may be obtained from an independent installer of the specific wall insulation system (Cavity wall insulation, External wall insulation systems or Internal wall insulation systems), who is registered under the appropriate organisation or scheme for that system. For example, cavity wall installers registered with the ‘Cavity Insulation Guarantee Agency Limited (CIGA)’.

4. ‘Third Party Consent’ Exemption

Third parties that may be required to consent include:

• Tenants, depending on the provisions of the tenancy agreement
• Superior landlords, when the landlord is also a tenant and depending on the provisions of the tenancy agreement
• Freeholders
• Local authorities (Planning Departments)
• Mortgage lenders

To register for this exemption, landlords will need to upload copies of correspondence and/or relevant documentation to the PRS Exemptions Register. These documents must demonstrate that consent for a relevant energy efficiency measure was required and sought after but this consent was refused, or was granted subject to a condition that the landlord was not reasonably able to comply with.

This exemption lasts for 5 years and after it expires the landlord must either make improvements / changes to the property to raise the energy rating to the minimum required or above, or register for a new exemption if they wish to continue letting the property.
Please note however that where improvements cannot be made because consent could not be obtained from the current tenant of the property, the exemption will only remain valid for as long as that tenant remains the tenant. If the tenant leaves the property within the 5 year window, improvements should be made before a new tenancy is agreed.

5. ‘Property Devaluation’ Exemption

Landlords must obtain a report issued by an independent surveyor who is on the ‘Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) register of valuers’.
The report must clearly state all the recommended energy efficiency measures for the property that would lead to it being devalued.
Landlords will still be required to make any relevant improvements recommended on an EPC for their property that are not covered by the surveyor’s report (unless another exemption applies). They must implement these improvements before applying for the Property Devaluation exemption.

To register this exemption for their property the landlord must upload this report on to the PRS Exemptions Register.
This exemption lasts for 5 years and after it expires the landlord must either make improvements / changes to the property to raise the energy rating to the minimum required or above, or register for a new exemption if they wish to continue letting the property.

Additional Supporting Documents:

• A report issued by an independent surveyor who is on the ‘Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) register of valuers‘. The report must clearly state all the recommended energy efficiency measures for the property that would lead to it being devalued by more than 5%.

6. ‘New Landlord’ Exemption

To register this exemption for their property the landlord must upload supporting documents on to the PRS Exemptions Register.
This exemption lasts for 6 months from the date they become the landlord. Landlords are advised to obtain their own independent legal advice if they are unsure about whether any of these temporary ‘new landlord’ exemptions apply in their case.

The circumstances are:

• The grant of a lease due to a contractual obligation (this is intended to cover a situation where a contract was entered into on a contingent basis, regardless of whether it was entered into before or after the Regulations came into force)
• Where the tenant becomes insolvent and the landlord has been the tenant’s guarantor (in this situation, the tenant’s guarantor becomes a landlord when taking over the lease)
• The landlord has been a guarantor, or a former tenant, who has exercised the right to obtain an overriding lease of a property under section 19 of the Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995 (for the avoidance of doubt, a “guarantor” who exercises this right under the 1995 Act is the guarantor of a former tenant)
• A new lease has been deemed created by operation of law
• A new lease has been granted under Part 2 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954
• A new lease has been granted by a court order, other than under Part 2 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954
• A person becomes the landlord on purchasing an interest in a property and, on the date of the purchase, it was let on an existing tenancy

Additional Supporting Documents:

• The date on which they became the landlord of the property
• A written explanation of the circumstances under which they became the landlord

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