Thoughts

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Property Firms Vulnerable to MEES Regulations

Thoughts

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    EVORA

Only 57% of property firms have assessed the impacts of the upcoming Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) on their portfolios, according to new research conducted by Bilfinger GVA.

The MEES regulations, due to come into force in April 2018, will make it unlawful to let or sublet properties in England & Wales with the two lowest Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) ratings of F and G, posing potential risks to landlords and occupiers alike.

The research also found that 98% of firms believe MEES will lead to increased capital expenditure, while 93% think that it will have an impact on pricing. With such a large proportion of firms who have yet to consider MEES at all, the report will likely act as an alarm bell to the sector, which is otherwise highly engaged with the wider sustainability agenda.

With just under two years to go until the regulations come into effect, fund managers can be well-prepared by assessing their portfolios and addressing risk now. When it comes to acquiring a new property, firms should take a more rigorous approach to the due diligence of the building’s existing EPC, checking its underlying accuracy and quality.

EVORA is perfectly positioned to help commercial real estate firms to understand the risks associated with MEES and to support them in the collation and analysis of their EPC data. Our environmental management software, SIERA, can hold EPCs for an entire portfolio and cleverly model the data to profile MEES risks against rentable income and lease expiry dates.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding MEES, please contact our experts today, who will be happy to advise you on the best course of action.


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