MEES audits and reports: what they cover and when you need one
Updated 23 October 2026 · SEO Dons Editorial
What do people mean by a MEES audit or MEES report?
In the market, both phrases describe a property-by-property review of whether each letting meets the minimum energy efficiency standard (MEES) and what it would take to fix one that does not. They are commercial labels, not statutory documents. The documents the 2015 Regulations do name are the EPC, the recommendation report, a surveyor's report, the evidence behind an exemption and the papers an authority can ask for in a compliance notice.
A MEES review is also a different job from an ESOS assessment or a general energy audit. ESOS is a mandatory energy assessment scheme for organisations in the UK that meet the qualification criteria, repeated every four years. Neither replaces the other.
What does the law actually require?
Three duties sit behind any MEES review. The MEES compliance page sets out the full rules, and the table pairs each duty with the check a review makes.
| What the law requires | Where it comes from | What a review checks |
|---|---|---|
| A valid EPC where the building needs one. Valid means lodged on the register no more than 10 years ago, with no later EPC for the property. | GOV.UK business premises guidance; regulation 22 | Certificate number, rating, lodgement and valid-until dates, and whether it covers the space let. |
| A rating of at least E to grant, renew, extend or continue a covered letting. | Regulations 22 and 27 | Whether the tenancy is in scope (tenancies of six months or less, with two exceptions, and of 99 years or more are outside) and whether the valid EPC is below E. |
| A registered exemption if a covered property is below E. | Regulations 27(1) and 36(2); landlord guidance | Exemption type, registration date, end date and the evidence held. |
Anything else an audit adds sits on top of those three and is not a legal requirement in itself.
What does a MEES audit typically cover?
A sensible scope follows the three duties and ends in a schedule of dated actions.
- Lettings. List every let unit with its start date, term, renewal and break dates, to test whether it is in scope.
- Certificates. Pull each unit's EPC from the register and record the rating, lodgement date, valid-until date and whether the certificate matches the space let.
- Ratings against E. Flag F and G units, and units at E with no headroom. When a certificate lapses, a new EPC replaces the old one whatever its rating.
- Exemptions. Record the type, registration date, end date and evidence for each. Most last five years, the new-landlord exemption lasts six months, and the guidance says an exemption may not pass to a new owner on a sale.
- Improvement options. For each F or G unit, read the recommendation report, because a relevant improvement is one identified in a recommendation report, green deal report or surveyor's report. The seven-year payback exemption needs three installer quotes and the cost calculations. The guide to reading a recommendation report covers the format.
- Evidence file. Check the landlord can produce what a compliance notice may ask for: the EPC valid when the property was let, other EPCs, the tenancy agreement and any other relevant document.
The useful output is a dated schedule that sorts units into three groups: no action, action on a date (an expiry, an exemption end or a lease event) and action now.
When is an audit worth commissioning?
- Taking on or reviewing a portfolio. Inherited records can look complete and be out of date, so each certificate is worth checking against the register. The page for managing agents covers the portfolio version.
- Before a lease event. Granting a renewal or extension counts as letting, so the rating test applies again (regulation 27(2)(a)).
- Buying or selling let property. The guidance says registered exemptions may not pass to a new owner on sale. A buyer that becomes the landlord of an already-let property can register a temporary exemption lasting six months from that date.
- Refinancing or a sale process. Where a third party wants the position of each let unit set out, a dated schedule answers the question.
- After a compliance notice. The evidence file shows what can be produced by the deadline. How MEES is enforced explains the notices, and the MEES penalty calculator shows the maximums.
- Planning for a proposed standard. The government proposes EPC B from 2031 for private rented buildings over 1,000 square metres, where cost effective, and says the change will only take effect after secondary legislation. A review can record the gap to B, but it is a proposal, not law.
When is a register check enough?
For a single building let on a tenancy in scope, with a valid EPC rated E or better, the letting ban does not bite, because a property is sub-standard only where its valid EPC is below E. Noting the valid-until date and the lease dates may then be all that is needed. The guide to finding a commercial EPC on the register explains the lookup, and Commercial EPC rated E covers what an E rating allows. If you want a review of a specific building or portfolio, you can send an enquiry through the form on this site.
Sources
- Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015, regulations 20, 22, 27, 28, 29, 32, 33, 36 and 37, legislation.gov.uk, checked 22 October 2026.
- Non-domestic private rented property: minimum energy efficiency standard, landlord guidance, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, updated 5 May 2026, checked 22 October 2026.
- Energy Performance Certificates for your business premises, GOV.UK, checked 22 October 2026.
- Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards in the non-domestic private rented sector: interim response, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, updated 18 June 2026, checked 22 October 2026.
- Energy savings opportunity scheme (ESOS), Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, updated 2 September 2026, checked 22 October 2026.
- How the data is produced, Get energy performance of buildings data, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, checked 22 October 2026.
Common questions
Does the law require a MEES audit?
The duties in the Regulations are to hold a valid EPC where one is needed, to meet the E minimum on covered lettings and to register an exemption where a covered property is below E. An audit is one way of checking all three across several properties, not a duty in itself.
Who can produce the documents an audit relies on?
An EPC must come from an assessor accredited by an energy assessment scheme. The report behind the devaluation exemption must come from an independent surveyor, and the landlord guidance says that surveyor must be on the RICS register of valuers.
Is a MEES report the same as the EPC recommendation report?
No. The recommendation report is produced with the EPC and lists improvements for that building. A MEES review uses it, because a relevant improvement must be identified in a recommendation report, green deal report or surveyor's report, and adds the lease, expiry and exemption position.
Can an audit change a property's rating?
No. A property is sub-standard where its valid EPC is below E, so the rating that counts is the one on the valid certificate. Only a new EPC lodged after works or a reassessment replaces it.