EPC B by 2031: what landlords need to know

What is expected, and how firm it is

What is proposed is EPC B from 2031 for privately rented non-domestic buildings over 1,000 square metres in England and Wales, where it is cost effective. Treat the detail as a direction rather than a settled rule: the threshold, the nations covered and the date have each shifted during consultation, and anyone quoting you a single unambiguous deadline is being more confident than the position justifies.

What has not shifted is the direction. The minimum standard for letting commercial property has risen before and is expected to rise again, and the buildings affected are the ones furthest from the standard today. Planning against the direction is sound even while the detail moves.

Why the lead time is longer than it looks

A compliance date years away sounds comfortable until you work backwards through it. An upgrade in a let building generally waits for a lease event, because that is when the landlord can act and when the access is cheapest. Lease events do not arrive on demand.

So the real question is not how long until the deadline. It is how many lease events you have between now and then, in each building, and whether the work can be fitted to them. On a multi-let estate that is the entire plan.

Identify which buildings are furthest below the expected standard.
Map the lease events between now and the end of the decade.
Do the cheap measures where you can act today, including anything in landlord-retained areas.
Hold the expensive measures for a void or a planned refurbishment rather than doing them under deadline pressure.

A detail of a commercial building facade, showing cladding and glazing in grey overcast light. — Illustrative image generated with AI. Not a photograph of a building we have worked on.

Fluorescent and halogen are being withdrawn anyway

Separately from the energy performance rules, fluorescent and halogen lamp types are being withdrawn from sale in phases. That matters practically rather than legally: a building still running fluorescent tubes faces a point where replacements get harder to source and more expensive, regardless of what its certificate says.

For a landlord that converts a compliance deadline into a maintenance one, and it is the reason a lot of estates are doing lighting now rather than waiting.

What to do with this

If your buildings are already at a strong rating, this is a watching brief. If you hold older commercial stock, particularly let industrial or older offices, the useful move is to find out where each building actually sits and what the cheapest route up looks like — before the market for contractors tightens closer to the date.

Questions we get asked

Is EPC B by 2031 definitely happening?

The direction is clear and has been consulted on, but the detail has moved more than once. Plan against the direction rather than treating any single date, threshold or scope as settled, and check the current position with your own advisers before committing capital.

Does this apply to owner-occupied buildings?

The minimum standards regime applies to letting rather than to occupying your own building. That said, a rating affects value, lettability and sale, so owner-occupiers with an eye on an exit usually treat it as relevant anyway.

What happens if a building cannot reach the standard?

There is provision for registering an exemption where a standard cannot reasonably be met, through the PRS Exemptions Register. The grounds and the evidence required are specific, and this is a question for a solicitor or a qualified assessor rather than something to assume you will qualify for.

How long does an upgrade programme take?

The lighting work itself is quick — weeks rather than months for most buildings. The programme length is set by lease events and by budget cycles, which is why starting the planning early matters more than the installation lead time.

Sources

The government has proposed that privately rented non-domestic buildings over 1,000 square metres in England and Wales reach EPC B from 2031, where cost effective. It is not yet law.Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) in the non-domestic Private Rented Sector: interim response, DESNZ, 2026
The proposed EPC B requirement applies to privately rented non-domestic buildings over 1,000 square metres. Buildings below that threshold are intended to remain at EPC E.Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) in the non-domestic Private Rented Sector: interim response, DESNZ, 2026
Under the MEES Regulations the minimum for non-domestic private rented property in England and Wales is EPC band E.The Non-Domestic Private Rented Property Minimum Standard: guidance for landlords and enforcement authorities, under the Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015, 2017
A landlord who cannot meet the minimum may register an exemption on the PRS Exemptions Register. Registration is self-certified and must be supported by evidence.Guidance on PRS exemptions and Exemptions Register evidence requirements, DESNZ, 2017

Where this page describes costs or savings it gives a general range rather than a quoted figure, because the numbers depend on your building, your operating hours and the equipment being replaced. A contractor gives you a figure after a survey.

Last updated 8 October 2026.