MEES: the minimum EPC rating you can legally let at

England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland operate different regimes.

What MEES requires

Since 1 April 2018 you have not been able to grant a new tenancy of a property rated F or G. Since 1 April 2020 you have not been able to continue letting one either — the standard bites on existing tenancies, not just new ones.

It applies to domestic private rented property that legally requires an EPC. That excludes some tenancies — lettings of six months or less with no security of tenure, and lettings of 99 years or more — and a property genuinely exempt from needing an EPC at all, such as certain listed buildings where the required measures would unacceptably alter character, sits outside the regime.

The cost cap

You are not required to spend without limit. The current cap is £3,500 including VAT per property. If you have spent that much on relevant energy efficiency improvements and the property still does not reach E, you can register an “all improvements made” exemption.

Note that this cap sits alongside the separate and larger £10,000 cap confirmed for the EPC C standard arriving in October 2030, under which qualifying spending counts from 1 October 2025. Two caps, two standards, two dates — keep your invoices for both.

The exemptions

Exemption	When it applies	Length
All improvements made	You have spent to the cap, or all relevant measures are installed, and the property is still below E	5 years
High cost	No relevant improvement can be made within the cap	5 years
Wall insulation	Cavity, external or internal wall insulation would damage the property, evidenced by a suitable expert report	5 years
Third-party consent	A freeholder, lender, planning authority or tenant has refused consent, or granted it on unreasonable conditions	5 years, or until the tenant leaves
Property devaluation	An independent RICS surveyor confirms the measures would reduce market value by more than 5%	5 years
New landlord	You have only recently become the landlord — for example on inheritance or purchase with a sitting tenant	6 months, once

The register is the whole point

An exemption has no legal effect until it is registered on the PRS Exemptions Register. Registration requires the property address, the exemption type, and the supporting evidence — the EPC, the quotes, the surveyor’s report, the refusal of consent.

Registrations are public. That is deliberate, and it means an enforcement officer can see at a glance whether you have one. It also means a landlord relying on an unregistered exemption is visible as a landlord with no exemption at all.

Enforcement and penalties

Breach	Penalty
Letting in breach for less than three months	Up to £2,000, plus publication penalty
Letting in breach for three months or more	Up to £4,000, plus publication penalty
Registering false or misleading information	Up to £1,000, plus publication penalty
Maximum per property	£5,000

Local authorities enforce, and they can require you to produce the EPC, the tenancy agreement and your evidence. A compliance notice can be issued up to twelve months after a suspected breach.

What to do

1. Check every property’s rating and EPC expiry. Ratings are searchable on the national EPC register by postcode.
2. If anything is F or G, get quotes for the recommended measures immediately. Most F and G properties reach E with loft insulation and a decent boiler.
3. If the work cannot get you to E within the cap, gather the evidence and register the exemption. Do not rely on it unregistered.
4. Diarise exemption expiry. Most last five years, and they do not renew themselves.
5. Keep invoices from 1 October 2025 for the separate 2030 cap.

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