There’s a huge backlog of work required to be done across the private rental sector to meet the latest Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards or MEES.
That’s the view of one construction company, Ingleton Wood, which says lockdown temporarily halted work on improving energy efficiency.
MEES means that letting agents and private landlords have been banned from starting new leases or renewals for properties with an Energy Performance Certificate rating below band E since April 2018; in April this year, at the height of lockdown, this was expanded to cover all existing tenancies.
The same MEES regulations apply for commercial buildings such as offices, hotels and retail stores, but will not extend to existing leases until April 2023. Even so, this has added to the workload and backlog.
It is estimated that around six per cent of privately rented properties and 18 per cent of commercial buildings have the lowest EPC ratings of F or G nationally.
Rob Diamond, a sustainability expert at Ingleton Wood, says: “Action landlords can take right now to help those facing huge energy bills in such difficult circumstances ranges from installing new double glazed windows or adding new loft insulation, to upgrading to LED lighting.”
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