Propertymark has warned that a lack of clarity over future energy efficiency requirements for commercial property is creating damaging uncertainty across the sector, urging ministers to set out a clear roadmap as a matter of urgency.
In a letter to Martin McCluskey, the Minister for Energy Consumers at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Propertymark said agents and landlords were being left in a “policy vacuum” over the future of Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) for non-domestic buildings.
The intervention follows the publication of the government’s Warm Homes Plan, which confirmed that privately rented homes must reach an EPC rating of C by 2030. While Propertymark said it supports the ambition to improve energy efficiency and reduce fuel poverty, it raised concerns about the practical impact on landlords and agents, particularly given the absence of equivalent guidance for commercial property.
Propertymark said residential landlords are being asked to deliver potentially expensive upgrades within a relatively short timeframe, often involving hard-to-treat buildings, without clear long-term funding commitments, realistic delivery timescales or sufficient flexibility. The organisation reiterated its long-standing call for a phased and pragmatic approach to domestic MEES to avoid reducing rental supply.
However, it said the lack of direction for the commercial sector is now a growing problem. Despite long-standing expectations that commercial buildings could be required to meet an EPC rating of B by 2030, no firm proposals or timelines have been confirmed.
As a result, commercial agents are increasingly being asked to advise landlords and tenants on long-term investment decisions, lease structures and asset management strategies without any certainty over future energy efficiency obligations. Propertymark warned that this uncertainty risks discouraging investment, particularly on high streets and in town centres, as landlords may delay or abandon refurbishment and regeneration projects.
The organisation said the situation is being further complicated by wider policy changes, including proposals in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, such as restrictions on upward-only rent reviews and changes to end-of-lease arrangements. These measures could interact with future MEES requirements in “complex and unintended ways”, Propertymark cautioned.
It added that the absence of detail on interim targets, exemptions, enforcement and financial support makes it impossible for commercial landlords and tenants to plan responsibly. Agents are already reporting growing concern from clients facing high retrofit costs, uncertainty over who should pay for improvements, and the risk that properties could become unlettable if new standards are introduced without adequate lead-in time.
Propertymark has requested meetings with ministers and officials to discuss the technical detail of the Warm Homes Plan and to ensure the practical realities faced by agents managing both residential and commercial property are understood.
Without clear and timely guidance, the organisation warned, landlords could withdraw properties from both markets, reducing supply, increasing costs for tenants and businesses, and ultimately undermining the government’s objectives on affordability, energy efficiency and economic growth.
