Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) must be updated if houses are to deliver equity, quality, affordability and resilience, according to a new report from The National Retrofit Hub.
The report, Improving Health and Housing Outcomes in the Private Rental Sector. explores the proposed changes to housing regulations that are needed to transform EPC reforms and reshape the private rental sector, alongside The Renters Rights Bill and Awaab’s Law.
“MEES must be more than a target on paper,” said Rachael Owens, Co-Director at the National Retrofit Hub. “We’ve seen too many well-intentioned reforms falter because the systems around them weren’t strong enough. This is a chance to get it right by creating housing policy that is enforceable, fair, and properly supported. If we miss it, we risk deepening inequality and undermining trust in the UK’s net zero transition.”
One in 10 private rented homes currently has a Category 1 health hazard, meaning occupants are likely to need medical assistance within a year because of the conditions they live in. Nine percent of private rented homes have problems with damp, often made worse by high energy costs and underheating, with more than one in five private renters live in fuel poverty.
Poor-quality homes also create risks for landlords, including higher maintenance costs and the growing risk of uninsurability as climate change increases exposure to flooding, droughts and subsidence.
The report identifies five conditions that must be met if MEES is to deliver meaningful change:
1. Rental affordability and security
2. Better treatment of, and support for, tenants
3. Effective housing standards enforcement and high levels of compliance
4. High-quality work and effective redress routes
5. Stable housing supply, across tenures.
For each condition, the report then sets out progress that has been made, and a set of solution pathways that should be implemented to ensure that the outcomes we need to see are delivered.
These include fairer financial models to prevent rent increases, guidance to limit disruption for tenants, stronger enforcement capacity for councils, outcomes monitoring embedded in legislation, and measures to support stable and affordable housing supply.
“Cold, damp homes are making renters ill, but the burden is not felt equally, with low-income and minoritised residents living with the worst housing conditions,” said Robin Minchom,
Portfolio Manager, Impact on Urban Health.
“MEES could have a transformative effect on the quality of privately rented homes and deliver significant health benefits. But it will only realise that potential if it has sufficient tenant protections, robust enforcement mechanisms and equitable funding.”
The report also calls for MEES to be implemented as part of a wider housing and net zero strategy, aligning policy, funding, enforcement, and tenant protections to achieve healthier, more affordable, and climate-resilient homes.