CPS Homes

Breaking news: New minimum energy efficiency standards confirmed

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The Government have today announced the long-awaited changes on Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) for the private rented sector (PRS).

The headlines:

  • To continue to legally let them out, landlords will need to upgrade their properties to meet EPC Band C across two* metrics by October 2030.
  • Properties which meet EPC Band C before October 2029 will be considered compliant with the regulations until that EPC expires, even after new* EPCs are introduced.
  • The spending cap (the maximum amount landlords will have to spend to reach the ‘C’ rating) will be £10,000 per property, and all improvements made from October 2025 onwards will count towards this cap.
  • If the maximum £10,000 has been spent and the property is still not a ‘C’, the property will be allowed an exemption – though it must be registered.
  • Funding will be available to landlords through low-interest loans.

*As we’ve written about previously, the Government intends to change the way EPCs look and are calculated in the near future. Rather than one overall energy efficiency rating, we expect there to be multiple headline metrics, including ‘fabric performance’, ‘heating system’ and ‘smart readiness’.

The Government is encouraging a fabric-first approach, e.g. installation of insulation or replacement windows. While this has not yet been formally confirmed, our understanding is that reaching Band C for ‘fabric performance’ will be mandatory, with landlords then able to choose whether their second Band C is achieved through improvements to the ‘heating system’ or ‘smart readiness’.

Your property’s existing energy rating

Not sure what your existing EPC rating is, or when it expires? Check on the online register.

More information to come

This information comes from the release of the Government’s Warm Homes Plan, which was published earlier today. It doesn’t go into much more detail than what we’ve covered above, so there will undoubtedly be further information released in the coming weeks and months.

How CPS Homes will be helping clients

As ever, we’ll be keeping a close eye on the detail that will be released in the near future, including the funding available to landlords in Wales. We’ll be sure digest it and provide advice to our clients in simple, practical terms. Watch this space.

21 January 2026

The information contained within this article was correct at the date of publishing and is not guaranteed to remain correct in the present day.

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