Energy Efficiency Rental Standards

Overview

What’s this about?

The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water and NSW Fair Trading are investigating minimum energy efficiency rental standards (MEERS). 

If introduced, MEERS could set out mandatory requirements for rental homes, for energy-related features such as:

• insulation
• heating and cooling (for example, air conditioners)
• hot water systems.

MEERs could also require overall energy performance of a rental home to meet a specific rating (e.g. to match the Nationwide Housing Energy Rating Scheme).

Why are we considering minimum energy efficiency rental standards?

Renters make up about one third of households in New South Wales. Rental homes are less energy-efficient than owner-occupied homes by a significant margin. The gap is largest in lower income and regional areas. 

Rental homes are also more prone to mould, which can worsen health outcomes. The poor thermal and energy performance of many rental homes means they are too cold in winter and too hot in summer, also having direct consequences for health.

Energy saving upgrades are a highly effective way to reduce energy-related cost of living pressures. Renters face significant structural barriers to accessing energy saving technologies and other changes to improve the comfort of their home. This means that renters can have higher energy bills compared to households who make these upgrades. Even simple upgrades to rental properties, like upgrading ceiling insulation and efficient heating and cooling, could save renters an average of $160 to $750 each year in energy cost savings. 

Introducing MEERS could lift the quality of rental homes and make them safer, more comfortable, healthier and cheaper to run. 

What we'd like to know

We want to get your feedback on a range of questions and issues, including:

• What are your experiences with energy efficiency in rental homes?
• Are some groups of renters disproportionately affected by poor energy efficiency (for example, low-income households, older people, people with disabilities, families with young children, or renters in regional and remote areas)?
• Should minimum energy efficiency rental standards (MEERS) be introduced in NSW?
• What could be the aims and objectives for MEERS?
• How could introducing MEERS benefit you or create challenges?
• How could MEERS work in practice (for example, should there be different rules for different types of homes)?
• How could MEERS impact the rental market (for example, lease negotiations or compliance monitoring)?
• Which of the suggested implementation models is most suitable?

We are keen to hear from a range of perspectives, including renters, landlords, real estate agents and tradespeople.

The consultation paper provides helpful information, such as research results, examples of similar schemes from other places and detailed options for implementation. There are also 27 consultation questions to assist you in structuring your feedback, you do not need to answer all of them to submit a response. 

Have your say

Have your say by 31 May 2026.

There are 2 ways to provide feedback.