The MEES, or the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard, has been under consultation for the last few months to establish new changes for both social housing and private housing.
The changes aim to encourage private and registered social landlords to renovate homes to improve energy efficiency as part of the government’s net-zero efforts.
Within this blog, we aim to cover the changes that are set to affect the housing stock.
What Are the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards for Housing?
The Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards for housing, or MEES, is a set of standards that cover what rented housing stock must achieve regarding energy efficiency.
These standards outline expectations for both private and registered social landlords or council-held housing stock, which must achieve government targets by a set date.
The current date set for most housing, including social housing, to be improved is 2030.
Minimal EPC Rating of C
A significant change to standards is that all properties should now have an EPC rating of C by 2030.
Previously, the minimum requirements for private housing were an E, and there was no set minimum for social housing.
The current government is set up to push more homes in the UK to have a higher energy efficiency standard via retrofit. E.g. installing technology such as Flutter Shutter’s window system in Liverpool homes, and beyond.
EPC Metrics Adjusted
New considerations are being made as part of the EPC rating process.
As the government has outlined, this is to improve the overall results for the end tenant/renters.
A secondary effect of this is to encourage these improvements to be made in other buildings. Whether that’s the social housing in Liverpool, such as in our area, or the wider UK.
Changes to Exemptions
There have been several changes to exemptions, with tighter control over what EPC standards can be accepted.
One significant change is an increase to the renovation price cap for private landlords. Previously, the cap was £3,500, whereas the new planned cap is £15,000.
This is the maximum amount of money renovation work can cost to raise a household to the new standard EPC rating. Past this, a landlord can apply for an exemption to the standards.
Social housing faces a similar cost increase. However, what is more important for social housing here is the review of prior exemptions.
All current exemptions are now subject to review and possibly withdrawal. Future exemptions will have a maximum duration of five years.
This means that these previously off-target homes in the social stock could be under greater scrutiny.
Increased Fines for Non-compliance
Landlords may find that failing to bring their properties up to the new standards will lead to increased fines. With an increased amount depending on the offence and the nature of the property.
There are differences between private housing and social housing.
For instance, those living in social housing in Liverpool wouldn’t be directly charged. Instead, the fine would go to the registered social landlord or council managing the property.
That is, if there isn’t an established exemption for those properties.
Grant Schemes Tied to Ratings
This is most important for councils seeking grants to improve housing stock; these standards are being interwoven with access to said grants.
Such as the Warm Homes Grant, which is meant to help reduce the prevalence of fuel poverty.
If a region’s housing stock is found to be lacking, it can risk losing grants meant to fund other improvements.
How Does Our Social Housing Windows System Help?
Flutter Shutter can be used as an energy-efficient window system in Liverpool and around the northwest of England to improve the EPC rating of housing stock.
With U-values of 0.77 to 1.6 and an SAP rating of 2 to 4.5, our window system can improve the energy efficiency of any household or building in which it is implemented, reducing monthly bills and helping properties meet higher standards.
Are You Interested in Your Installation?
As the standards continue to increase, it’s important to consider measures such as Flutter Shutter to keep in line with them!
You can find more about our work on our website, where we have various resources, including our brochure, sections on heritage retrofit and registered social landlords regarding our social housing window system.
You can also get in touch with us via our contact form or by email at contact@fluttershutter.org.
