Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of the number of commercial landlords exempt from Energy Efficiency Regulations because of provisions against upfront costs.

Under the Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property)(England and Wales) Regulations 2015, landlords of privately rented commercial property will need to ensure that, from 1 April 2018, their properties reach an energy performance rating of at least an ‘E’ before granting a tenancy to new or existing tenants. Landlords of commercial property are not exempt from having to meet the upfront costs of installing measures to improve performance; instead the regulations provide a cost effectiveness test, and landlords are required to install all recommended energy efficiency improvements which meet, or exceed, a seven year simple payback.