Propertymark urges clarity on commercial energy efficiency rules

Propertymark has urged the government to set out clear plans for future energy efficiency standards in commercial property.

It warns that agents are being left to operate without direction as major investment decisions loom.

The professional body has written to Martin McCluskey, the minister for energy consumers, calling for immediate guidance on Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) for non-domestic buildings.

The intervention follows publication of the Warm Homes Plan, which confirmed that privately rented homes must reach an EPC rating of C by 2030.

Serious landlord challenges

While backing the drive to improve efficiency and address fuel poverty, Propertymark says the proposals raise serious challenges for landlords and agents across residential and commercial markets.

In the private rented sector, the organisation says many owners face extensive and expensive retrofit work within a tight window, often involving complex stock that is difficult to upgrade.

It argues these expectations arrive without firm long-term funding, workable delivery timetables, or enough flexibility to prevent pressure on supply.

Propertymark says it has repeatedly warned that progress must be phased so landlords can meet the Decent Homes Standard, control costs and still support net zero goals.

Agents have been preparing

Although domestic rules are becoming clearer, the body says government silence on non-domestic standards is increasingly damaging to the sector.

Commercial agents have been preparing for the possibility that buildings could be required to achieve an EPC B rating by 2030, but no formal framework has been published.

As a result, advisers are being asked to guide landlords and occupiers on leases, investment horizons and asset management with no certainty over future obligations.

Propertymark warns this uncertainty risks stalling spending, particularly on high streets and in town centres, as owners hesitate over upgrades, refurbishments and regeneration schemes.

Upward only rent reviews

Concerns are heightened by other policy developments, including measures proposed in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill.

Changes such as limits on upward only rent reviews or revised end of lease arrangements could interact with energy rules in ways that are difficult to predict.

Propertymark says the lack of detail on interim milestones, exemptions, enforcement and financial support makes responsible planning impossible.

Agents are already reporting anxiety among clients facing large retrofit bills, disputes over who pays, and fears that premises could become unlettable if standards arrive without adequate notice or backing.

Urgent meeting needed

The organisation says it has asked to meet ministers and officials to examine the technical detail behind the Warm Homes Plan and to ensure the day-to-day realities faced by agents managing mixed portfolios are properly understood.

It is calling for a clear roadmap for commercial MEES, alongside a more flexible and achievable approach for private renting.

Without prompt guidance, Propertymark warns that prolonged uncertainty could see properties pulled from both housing and business markets, shrinking supply, driving up costs, and undermining aims around affordability, energy performance and growth.