# EPC B by 2031: what landlords need to know > What the expected EPC B requirement for privately rented commercial property means, which buildings it covers, and how far ahead to start. Source: https://commercialepcupgrades.co.uk/epc-b-2031 --- # EPC B by 2031: what landlords need to know The direction of travel for privately rented commercial property in England and Wales is EPC B from 2031. That is a long way above where most of the stock sits today, and it is the reason EPC upgrades have moved from a nice-to-have to a programme with a date on it. General guidance, not legal advice Energy performance rules for commercial property in England and Wales have changed repeatedly, and proposals have moved during consultation. This page describes the position as we understand it and is written to be useful rather than definitive. Check the current position and your own obligations with a solicitor or a qualified assessor before committing to capital spend. ## 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. ## 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? ### Does this apply to owner-occupied buildings? ### What happens if a building cannot reach the standard? ### How long does an upgrade programme take? 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](https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/non-domestic-private-rented-sector-minimum-energy-efficiency-standards-epc-b-implementation/outcome/minimum-energy-efficiency-standards-mees-in-the-non-domestic-private-rented-sector-interim-response) - 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](https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/non-domestic-private-rented-sector-minimum-energy-efficiency-standards-epc-b-implementation/outcome/minimum-energy-efficiency-standards-mees-in-the-non-domestic-private-rented-sector-interim-response) - 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](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-non-domestic-private-rented-property-minimum-standard-landlord-guidance) - 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](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/private-rented-sector-minimum-energy-efficiency-standard-exemptions/guidance-on-prs-exemptions-and-exemptions-register-evidence-requirements) 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 . - [MEES and the current minimum What already applies today](https://commercialepcupgrades.co.uk/mees) - [How to improve a rating Which measures move it, in what order](https://commercialepcupgrades.co.uk/improve-commercial-epc-rating) - [Multi-let estates Where lease events decide the programme](https://commercialepcupgrades.co.uk/buildings/multi-let-industrial) Next step ## Find out where your buildings actually sit Before you plan against a deadline it helps to know the gap. Tell us the building and one commercial contractor comes back with what it would take to close it. Or call [07367 293494](tel:+447367293494). Monday to Friday, 9am to 5.30pm.