What is MEES and EPC?
MEES, the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards, bars landlords in England and Wales from letting non-domestic property with an Energy Performance Certificate rating below E unless an exemption is registered.
Landlords in scope
It applies to privately rented non-domestic property in England and Wales that is legally required to have an EPC. Office, retail and industrial landlords are affected, and so are their tenants, since a property rated F or G is sub-standard and cannot be let without a registered exemption.
Dates and exemptions
Per GOV.UK guidance, since 1 April 2018 a landlord may grant, extend or renew a tenancy only if the property rates at least E, and from 1 April 2023 the rule covers every privately rented non-domestic property even with no change of tenancy. Exemptions go on the PRS Exemptions Register; the main one applies where recommended measures fail a simple 7 year payback test, and it lasts 5 years. Government has consulted separately on an EPC B standard.
Operating data beside the asset rating
An EPC rates fabric and services under standard assumptions, not how the building actually runs. Aqueduct's sub-metered feeders show which plant draws the most kWh, and a before and after comparison against a weather-normalized baseline shows whether a funded upgrade, such as lighting or HVAC, cut real consumption. The assessor's next EPC remains the formal rating.