The Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015 passed into law on 26th March 2015 and will impose minimum energy efficiency standards on the domestic and non-domestic rented property sector from 1st April 2018.

These regulations arise as a result of the Energy Act 2011 which requires Government to set minimum energy performance standards. The legislative target is that emissions from all buildings are to be close to zero by 2050. This means that, whilst the regulations do not impose any incremental increase in the minimum EPC level required to legally let property beyond the E rating as was originally envisaged, it is clear that they are a step to towards more onerous obligations on property owners in relation to energy efficiency in the not too distant future.

Only the very limited classes of building which are excluded from the current EPC obligations and tenancies of less than six months or more than 99 years are outside the scope of the regulations.