The six grounds
| Ground | What it means | Lasts | Core evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seven-year payback | No relevant improvement pays for itself within seven years from the energy savings it produces. | 5 years | Three quotes plus the payback calculation |
| Third-party consent refused | A tenant, superior landlord, lender or planning authority has withheld consent you genuinely need. | 5 years | The written refusal, and evidence you asked properly |
| Devaluation over 5% | An independent RICS surveyor advises the works would reduce market value by more than 5%. | 5 years | A written report from a RICS registered valuer |
| All relevant improvements made | Everything that passes the payback test has been installed and the building is still below the standard. | 5 years | The EPC recommendation report and installation evidence |
| Wall insulation would damage the property | Expert advice that cavity, external or internal wall insulation would damage the fabric. | 5 years | Written advice from a suitably qualified expert |
| Recently become the landlord | A temporary grace period after acquiring an interest, inheriting, or a lease ending. | 6 months | Evidence of the date and manner of acquisition |
What an exemption is not
It is not a way of avoiding the regime, and it is not a filing exercise. It is a registered legal position asserting that the standard does not require you to act, backed by evidence, published on a public register, and open to challenge by an enforcement authority for six years.
Before you choose this route
An exemption can be the right answer – but registering one changes how the building is seen for as long as it's on the register, and rarely for the better.
- It's public. A buyer's solicitor, a lender's valuer or a tenant's agent can find it as easily as anyone else. Most read it as "this owner had a rating problem and chose not to fix it", not as "this building is compliant".
- It's temporary, not a solution. Most grounds last five years and none renew themselves. You're not closing the problem, you're scheduling a decision to revisit it – usually with costs and energy prices having moved against you in the meantime.
- It's easy to reach for by default. Grounds like seven-year payback or devaluation exist to protect you from being forced into genuinely uneconomic works. They're not meant to be the path of least resistance for a building where the work actually stacks up.
None of that makes exemption the wrong call. It makes it a decision that deserves the same scrutiny as the works themselves – weighing the exemption against the real cost, disruption and value impact of doing the work instead. That's a proper review, not a form, and it's worth having before you commit either way.
How commercial differs from domestic
Most published guidance on MEES exemptions is written for residential landlords, and the central test is different in a way that matters enormously.
| Domestic | Non-domestic | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost test | £3,500 cost cap (including VAT) | Seven-year payback |
| Effect | Spend £3,500 and stop, whatever the outcome | Every measure that pays back in 7 years is required, with no cap |
| Consequence | A hard ceiling on spend | Potentially unlimited spend on measures that pay back |
| Funding third-party | ECO4, GBIS, Warm Homes | Not applicable – see commercial funding |
The evidence bundle
Whatever the ground, the bundle has the same shape. Assemble it as though a trading standards officer will read it in three years' time, because that is the scenario it exists for.
- The current EPC and its recommendation report – the starting point for what is "relevant"
- Three quotations from three separate installers, on headed paper, dated, for the specific measures – not indicative pricing
- The calculation showing the payback period for each measure, with the energy price and consumption assumptions stated
- Correspondence – the consent request and the refusal, where relevant
- Professional advice – the RICS valuation or the fabric expert's report, where relevant
- A dated file note recording who decided what, and when
The five-year cliff
Exemptions expire. They do not renew, nothing reminds you, and you cannot simply re-register the same ground on the same measure. At expiry you must comply or find a genuinely different position.
Two things change over five years, and both work against you: installation costs and energy prices move, so measures that failed the payback test may now pass it; and the standard itself may have risen. An exemption registered against the E standard does nothing for you when the building is caught by the 2031 B standard.
Find out whether you need an exemption at all
Most owners we speak to assume they're further from the standard than they are, because their certificate records assumptions rather than evidence – and assume exemption is the only realistic option before anyone's actually run the numbers on doing the work. A quick check tells you where you stand. What to do about it is worth a proper conversation, not a guess.
Common questions
How long does a MEES exemption last?
Five years for most grounds, six months for the new-landlord exemption. None of them renew automatically, and you cannot re-register the same exemption on the same measure when it expires.
Does registering an exemption mean I never have to do the work?
No. It means you are lawfully letting a sub-standard building for five years. When it expires you must either comply or establish a fresh, differently-grounded exemption – and costs that failed the payback test five years ago may pass it now.
Is an exemption confidential?
No. The PRS Exemptions Register is public and searchable. The entry names the property and the ground relied on, which means buyers, lenders and tenants can find it.
What happens if I get it wrong?
Registering false or misleading information carries a £5,000 penalty, and the underlying breach penalty of up to £150,000 remains available because the exemption was never valid.
Sources
- The Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015, regs 24–36 – legislation.gov.uk
- PRS Exemptions Register – GOV.UK
Legislation is cited to the version in force at the date below. We publish a corrections policy and amend pages when the law changes.