The new Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) go live from October 2030. Landlords must ensure all rentals comply by this deadline. If a property scores A-C using a current EPC, that's OK. If a property scores A-C under the fabric metric of the new EPC (available from the end of 2026), that's OK. For properties with a D, E, F or G rating, the landlord must spend up to £10,000 making fabric and service improvements outlined in the EPC recommendations.

EPC certificates in England and Wales will be changing from October 2026. There will still be an A-G rating. But the single rating is being replaced with a dashboard of information, primarily focusing on fabric performance.

When a SAP calculation spits out unexpected results, the assessor can look through the worksheets and, 99% of the time, they can find the reason and fix it. The Home Energy Model doesn’t produce simple worksheets that assessors can scrutinise, and it doesn’t have a single methodology you can thumb through. So how will we troubleshoot in HEM?

When the FHS consultation was released in December 2023, there were two other consultations hidden in its shadow. This week's publication is the official response to one of those lesser-spotted policy proposals. In a nutshell, it confirms SAP is definitely going to be retired. HEM will take over as the method for complying with Approved Document Part L. It will also be used for calculating Energy Performance Certificates.

It was good to see Elmhurst's Stuart Fairlie in this article, raising the issue of outdated methodology that currently drives our EPC ratings. It's after a chap installed a heat pump and PV in his house, and was given a worse Energy Performance Certificate for his troubles.

This consultation gives details for what the new EPC metrics may prioritise when assessors switch to the Home Energy Model. Fabric performance is likely to become the primary metric. It's highly possible that the whole of the UK will adopt a similar strategy in the coming years.

Domestic Energy Assessors are expected to switch to rdSAP10 from June 2025. This will improve the accuracy of EPC assessments.

A summary of what is proposed in the UK Government's EPC Reform consultation.

The 2025 PRS MEES consultation suggests increasing the minimum energy performance of privately owned dwellings, and increasing the amount of

The 2025 PRS MEES consultation suggests using new-style EPCs to judge whether a privately rented home will need upgrading for better energy

The 2025 PRS MEES consultation suggests increasing the minimum energy efficiency standards of privately rented homes, forcing landlords to i

The construction industry is keen to plan ahead. With major changes on the way for Approved Document Part L, there's a growing appetite betw