Elmhurst Energy, a leading energy performance measurement specialist, has launched a series of courses to support the Government’s recent guidance on its new Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES), which are due to come into effect in April 2018.
The firm welcomes the new Government guidance, which sets out ways that landlords of private rental homes and non-domestic properties can meet their regulatory requirements, but also highlights possible exemptions.
These include, among others: those dwellings where the landlord has made all of the relevant energy efficiency measures and the property still remains sub-standard; and if a landlord has been unable to access relevant no-cost funding to fully cover the charges of installing the recommended improvement.
Elmhurst Energy believes that around a quarter of domestic properties are likely to be non-compliant with the MEES, which means that landlords will need experienced and informed specialists to advise them. To explain the legislation in detail and its implications for landlords, the firm is running a series of courses.
The Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards for Domestic Energy Assessors course covers the following:
- Tenants’ energy efficiency improvements
- Requests for consent
- Landlord duties
- Relevant improvements
- Temporary exemptions and enforcements
The Managing Director of Elmhurst Energy, Martyn Reed, says: “Our advice is simple; landlords need to understand what EPC [Energy Performance Certificate] rating their property is and, if it is F or G, then they need to speak to an Elmhurst member to get some good advice on how to get that property E or above. The 1st April 2018 will soon come round, and sensible landlords are already understanding their EPCs and making informed choices.”
Landlords, you must be aware that, from April next year, it will be illegal to grant a new lease on a property with an EPC rating below E – even to existing tenants. From April 2020, the MEES will apply to all rental properties.