These changes will have an impact on a large proportion of residential rental stock over the next few years, and early planning will be very beneficial.
Below is a concise breakdown of what’s changing and how Bidwells can help you can prepare.
Key Changes You Need to Be Aware Of
A Firm Deadline: 2030
MEES is back with a clear compliance deadline. All rental properties will need to meet upgraded efficiency standards by 2030, giving landlords several years to organise surveys, works and budgets.
A £10,000 Cost Cap
To create clarity around financial exposure, the reforms include a £10,000 cap on the total investment required per property. This helps ensure landlords aren’t expected to undertake unlimited spend to meet the new thresholds. According to government data, private rented dwellings will need an average of £6,864-worth of investment to comply.
A New EPC Structure
Perhaps the most significant change is the replacement of the traditional single EPC rating with a new four metric performance system:
• Fabric performance - how well the building retains heat.
• Heating system performance - the carbon impact and efficiency of heating.
• Smart readiness - the building’s capacity to support smart energy technologies.
• Energy cost - shown as an estimated annual energy bill rather than a rating.
This is designed to give a more accurate and detailed measure of a property’s energy efficiency and is expected to reshape how improvements are assessed and prioritised.
While EPCs are changing, ratings commissioned before October 2029 will remain compliant until that EPC expires, even after new EPCs are introduced.
What this means for you as a landlord
These regulatory changes shouldn’t be seen purely as compliance challenges. They are opportunities to improve the long term resilience, desirability and value of your assets.
Upgrading the efficiency of your property can deliver:
• Better tenant retention through lower running costs
• Increased rental appeal as sustainability becomes a priority
• Future proofing against upcoming regulations and market expectations
• Enhanced long term capital value
Planning ahead now will put you in a stronger position, helping to avoid future contractor shortages and allowing improvement costs to be phased sensibly over several years.
There are also lots of affordable upgrades that can make a high impact on your ratings. For example going from no roof insulation to 270mm insulation can improve your rating by 10-15 points. Even just switching to low-energy LEDs could increase the rating by 1-2 points.
Any improvements made from October 2025 will count towards the 2030 cap, meaning the ability to costs over a longer period of time.
How Bidwells can Support you
We are here to help guide you through the process and ensure you remain compliant alongside maximising your property’s performance. Over the coming months, for our fully-managed clients, we will be:
• Reviewing landlord portfolios to identify properties at risk
• Helping to plan improvements in line with your budget and tenancy cycles
• Advising on cost effective upgrade strategies
• Coordinating EPC ‘re-assessments’
As always, we’re here to support you through every step, so if you would like an early review of any of your properties, please get in touch.
