Last month we issued an alert detailing proposed changes to energy performance certificates and minimum energy efficiency standards, which can be found here. 

Based on the government’s update, of 9 March, to its partial response to the consultation on reforms to the energy performance of buildings regime, the answer to the question we posed - ‘is 2026 the year for reform?’- appears to be No, at least in respect of EPCs.

The government has, ‘following engagement with industry on the delivery timeline… decided to move the launch of the reforms’ to residential EPCs ‘to the second half of 2027’. It intends to ‘work with industry and the devolved administrations to agree a new launch date and shared implementation plan by the summer of this year’. Whilst no new metrics were proposed in the partial response for commercial EPCs, this shift seems likely to impact timescales for other proposed changes to the energy performance of buildings framework.

It is unclear whether the delay will affect the timing for the implementation of increased minimum energy efficiency standards set out in the response to the consultation on MEES for residential properties which we reported on in our alert. There has still been no update on the position relating to MEES in the commercial sector. Landlords continue to face the challenge of planning for future changes that have not been fully determined, within uncertain timescales.