THE NON-DOMESTIC PRIVATE RENTED PROPERTY MINIMUM STANDARD

Chapter 1: How the Regulations Apply to Non-Domestic Property
the PRS Regulations only apply to properties which are let under a tenancy,
non-domestic properties which are occupied under other arrangements, for
example properties let on licence, or ‘agreement for lease’ arrangements, are
unlikely to be required to meet the minimum standard.
2. The Regulations (Regulation 20(3)) also state that a non-domestic PRS
property will not be required to meet the minimum standard if it is let on a
tenancy which is:
a. granted for a term certain (the original term or time period granted by a
tenancy) not exceeding 6 months (unless the tenancy agreement
contains provision for renewing the term or extending it beyond 6 months
from its beginning, or, at the time it is granted, the tenant has been in
occupation for a continuous period of more than 12 months); or
b. granted for a term certain of 99 years or more.
3. These two specific exclusion conditions were set to avoid capturing very
short, flexible leases often used by small and medium-size enterprise (SME)
occupiers, and very long tenancies where the tenant’s long-term possession
of the property makes them more akin to a buyer than a tenant. Regardless of
these exclusions, landlords of such properties may still choose to improve the
EPC rating to an E or higher if they wish, to enable the property to benefit
from energy efficiency savings.
1.1.2 Meaning of “landlord” and “tenant” (Regulation 21)
4. In the Regulations a landlord is a person who lets, or proposes to let, a nondomestic
private rented property. The Regulations do not make a distinction
between different types of landlord, therefore non-domestic properties let by
local authorities or public bodies will be covered by the minimum standard.
5. A tenant means a person to whom a non-domestic property is let. A superior
landlord is someone who is the landlord of someone who is themselves a
landlord.
1.1.3 Meeting the minimum standard, and sub-standard Property
(Regulation 22)
6. Where a non-domestic private rented property is legally required to have an
Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), it will meet the minimum standards
required by the PRS Regulations where, from the trigger dates set out below
at 1.2.1, it has a valid EPC which states that the energy efficiency rating for
the property is E or above. Where a property is at EPC E or above, the
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