Renewing a commercial lease: the EPC and MEES rules
Updated 23 October 2026 · SEO Dons Editorial
Does renewing a commercial lease need a new EPC?
Not for the renewal itself. The government's guide to EPCs for non-dwellings says an EPC is required when a building is constructed, sold or rented out, but that not all transactions count as a sale or let. It lists "lease renewals or extensions" and lease surrenders among those that do not. Existing tenants need an EPC only if they sell, assign or sublet.
The same guide says an EPC is required for the assignment of a lease, and for a sub-letting. A new lease to a different tenant is a new letting. So the EPC regulations do not call for a new certificate on a renewal, but the rating on the existing one still decides whether the landlord can renew under MEES.
Does MEES apply when a lease is renewed, extended or continued?
Yes, for a covered letting in England and Wales. The landlord guidance says that since 1 April 2018 landlords of non-domestic rented properties have only been permitted to grant a new tenancy, or to extend or renew an existing one, if the property has at least an EPC E rating, unless they have registered a valid exemption. Since 1 April 2023 that applies "even where there has been no change in tenancy". Regulation 27 writes both limbs into its definition of letting.
The test is the valid EPC. Under regulation 22 a property is sub-standard where its valid EPC is below band E, and an EPC is valid if it was entered on the register no more than 10 years before it is relied on and no later EPC has been entered since.
| Lease event | EPC position | MEES position |
|---|---|---|
| New lease to a new tenant | EPC required on a rental | Caught: granting a new tenancy (regulation 27(2)(a)) |
| Renewal or extension, same tenant | Not treated as a sale or let | Caught: letting "as a result of an extension or renewal" (regulation 27(2)(a)) |
| Tenancy continuing unchanged | No new trigger for an existing tenant | Caught since 1 April 2023: continuing to let (regulation 27(2)(b)) |
| Assignment by the tenant | EPC required | Not a new grant, but the landlord is still letting the property |
| Sub-letting by the tenant | EPC required | The tenant becomes a landlord for that letting (regulation 21) |
Which renewals fall outside MEES?
Regulation 20 takes three groups out of the rules: a property that is not required to have an EPC, a tenancy granted for a term certain "not exceeding six months", and a tenancy granted for a term certain of 99 years or more. An out-of-scope letting needs no exemption; the guidance says that where a property is not covered, "an exemption will not be required".
The six-month carve-out has two renewal traps. It does not apply where the agreement provides for renewing the term or extending it beyond six months, or where the tenant has been in occupation for a continuous period exceeding 12 months when the tenancy is granted. A series of short lettings to one occupier can therefore sit inside the rules. Regulation 20(3) speaks only of tenancies "granted for a term certain", so periodic tenancies and holding over are points for legal advice; the department says it "cannot provide legal advice or a definitive interpretation of the law".
How do 1954 Act renewals and renewal options work for MEES?
Many business tenancies are protected by Part 2 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. Under section 24(1) such a tenancy "shall not come to an end unless terminated in accordance with" that Part, and either side may apply to the court for a new tenancy once a section 25 notice or a section 26 request has been made. A lease can therefore run past its contractual end date, and while it does the continuing-let limb of regulation 27 is the one to read.
When a new lease is granted, regulation 33 gives the landlord a temporary exemption. Its listed circumstances include "the grant of a lease pursuant to a contractual obligation", which can cover a renewal under an option in the lease, "the grant of a new lease pursuant to the provisions of Part 2 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954", and a lease granted by order of the court outside the Part 2 case. The landlord is not caught until six months after the later of the date of the grant and, for a court order, the date the order is made.
For example, a new five-year lease is granted under the 1954 Act on a unit whose valid EPC is F. If the landlord registers the temporary exemption, the ban does not apply for six months from the grant, and the unit must then be at E or covered by another exemption.
The exemption works only if registered. The Schedule asks for the landlord's details, the property address, which paragraph of regulation 33 applies, "a copy of any valid energy performance certificate" and the date the landlord became, or continued to be, the landlord. The steps are in how to register a commercial MEES exemption.
What if the EPC has expired during the lease?
An EPC is valid for 10 years, and neither set of regulations says it must be renewed when it expires. Regulation 22 defines a sub-standard property by its valid EPC, so a certificate more than 10 years old is not valid in that sense. How that works at a renewal is a matter of interpretation. The department's worked examples are summarised in how long a commercial EPC is valid, and the commercial EPC checker works through the dates.
The guidance says a let property that has been marketed or modified in the past 10 years "will probably be legally required to have an EPC", which is the test for whether the regulations cover it. Government is also reconsidering the point: its EPC reform response is "working to refine the position on requiring a new EPC when an existing one expires for all private rented buildings". The further response, which will update the position on valid EPCs "throughout private rented tenancies", had not appeared by 22 October 2026.
What happens if a renewal breaches MEES?
Under regulation 41, a breach of regulation 27 lasting under three months can bring a financial penalty of up to the greater of £5,000 and 10% of the rateable value, capped at £50,000, plus a publication penalty. From three months it is the greater of £10,000 and 20% of rateable value, capped at £150,000. The tenancy survives: the breach "does not affect the validity or enforceability of any provision of the tenancy".
A compliance notice can ask for the EPC "which was valid at the time the property was let", so keep the EPC reference and any exemption with the lease file. The lease still governs works, because regulation 2(4) leaves duties imposed by a tenancy agreement untouched. Who pays for the EPC itself is covered in who pays for a commercial EPC, and exemptions are covered on the MEES compliance page. A reader who needs a current rating before agreeing renewal terms can send an enquiry through the form on this site.
Sources
- Guide to EPCs for the construction, sale and let of non-dwellings, MHCLG, GOV.UK, updated 11 December 2017, checked 22 October 2026.
- Non-domestic private rented property: landlord guidance, DESNZ, GOV.UK, last updated 5 May 2026, checked 22 October 2026.
- Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015, regulations 2, 20, 21, 22, 27, 30, 33, 37, 41 and Schedule, legislation.gov.uk, checked 22 October 2026.
- Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, section 24, legislation.gov.uk, checked 22 October 2026.
- Energy Performance Certificates for your business premises, GOV.UK, checked 22 October 2026.
- EPB reform: partial government response, MHCLG, and its consultation page, GOV.UK, last updated 9 March 2026, checked 22 October 2026.
- MEES in the non-domestic private rented sector: interim response, DESNZ, GOV.UK, updated 18 June 2026, checked 22 October 2026.
Common questions
Can a landlord avoid MEES by granting a six-month lease?
Only in a narrow case. Regulation 20 leaves out a tenancy granted for a term certain not exceeding six months, but not where the agreement allows renewal or extension beyond six months, or where the tenant has already been in continuous occupation for more than 12 months. Repeated short lettings to one occupier can fall back inside the rules.
Does the tenant have any MEES duty on a renewal?
The duty falls on the landlord: regulation 27 says a landlord of a sub-standard property must not let it. A tenant who sub-lets becomes a landlord for that letting under regulation 21, which defines a landlord as a person who lets, or proposes to let, a non-domestic property. The lease still decides who does the works.
Do I need to register an exemption if the unit is already rated E?
No. The landlord guidance says properties covered by the Regulations that have been improved to a minimum of EPC E will not need to be registered.
Should a long renewal allow for the proposed EPC B standard?
It is worth noting, but it is only a proposal. The interim response of 18 June 2026 proposes EPC B from 2031 for private rented buildings over 1,000 square metres, where cost effective, and says dropping the 2027 milestone gives landlords and tenants more time to improve buildings in a way that suits their lease agreements.