EPC: Energy Performance Certificate

An Energy Performance Certificate, commonly referred to as an EPC, is a document that rates the energy efficiency of a property on a scale from A, the most efficient, to G, the least efficient. As a private landlord in England, you are required to have a valid EPC for your rental property before you let it, and since April 2020 you are prohibited from letting a property that falls below EPC band E unless a valid exemption is registered. This guide explains what the EPC requirement involves, which properties it covers, what the minimum standard means in practice, how to meet it, what the available exemptions are, and what happens if you do not comply. It also covers the government's stated ambition to raise the minimum to band C, which every landlord with an older property should be aware of. What is an EPC and who produces it? An EPC is a document that records the energy efficiency rating of a property and sets out recommendations for improvements. It is produced by an accredited domestic energy assessor following a site visit. The assessor evaluates factors including the construction of the building, the insulation, the heating systems, and the glazing, and uses this information to calculate the rating. The certificate is lodged on a national register and is valid for ten years from the date of issue. A property that has been marketed for sale or let, or modified, in the past ten years will in most cases already be legally required to have an EPC. (Source: Domestic private rented property: minimum energy efficiency standard, landlord guidance, GOV.UK, last updated August 2025) The EPC also contains a list of recommended energy efficiency improvements with estimated costs and potential savings for each measure. This list is directly relevant to the minimum energy efficiency standard, as explained below. Which properties must comply with the minimum standard? The Domestic Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard Regulations, referred to as the MEES Regulations, apply to domestic private rented properties that meet two conditions. First, the property must be let on an assured tenancy, a regulated tenancy, or a domestic agricultural tenancy. Second, the property must be legally required to have an EPC. If your property satisfies both conditions and has an EPC rating of F or G, you must take action to comply. (Source: Domestic private rented property: minimum energy efficiency standard, landlord guidance, GOV.UK) If your property does not satisfy one or both of these conditions, the minimum energy efficiency standard does not apply to it, and you may let it with an F or G rating. What is the current minimum standard? Since 1 April 2020, landlords cannot let or continue to let any property covered by the MEES Regulations if it has an EPC rating of F or G, unless a valid exemption is registered. This prohibition applies regardless of whether the tenancy is new or continuing. If you are currently letting a property with an F or G rating and have not yet taken action, you must improve the rating to E or register an exemption immediately. If you are planning to let a property with an F or G rating, you must improve it to E or register an exemption before the tenancy begins. If the property is currently empty and not being let, you do not need to act until you decide to let it again. (Source: Domestic private rented property: minimum energy efficiency standard, landlord guidance, GOV.UK) How to improve a property to EPC band E: the cost cap The MEES Regulations set a cost cap of £3,500 including VAT. You will never be required to spend more than this amount on energy efficiency improvements to meet the band E minimum. If you can improve the property to E for less than £3,500, that is the amount you need to spend. You are not required to spend up to the cap if the improvement costs less. (Source: Domestic private rented property: minimum energy efficiency standard, landlord guidance, GOV.UK) The regulations refer to the concept of relevant energy efficiency improvements. These are measures recommended in your EPC report that can be purchased and installed for £3,500 or less including VAT. You should use the recommendations in your EPC as your starting point for identifying what improvements to make. If you choose to install measures that do not appear in your EPC recommendations, and those measures fail to improve the property to band E, you will not be able to register an exemption or let the property until you have made further attempts to reach E using recommended measures. Any energy efficiency investment you have made to the property since 1 October 2017 can be counted towards the cost cap. Funding for improvements can come from third parties including the Energy Company Obligation scheme, local authority grants, and Green Deal finance. If you secure enough third-party funding to cover the full cost of reaching band E, the cost cap does not limit what you can spend. Where third-party funding only covers part of the cost, you may need to top it up from your own funds to the value of the cap. (Source: Domestic private rented property: minimum energy efficiency standard, landlord guidance, GOV.UK) The exemptions available to landlords If you cannot improve your property to EPC E despite your obligations under the regulations, you may be able to register an exemption on the PRS Exemptions Register. An exemption applies from the date you register it. Exemption data cannot be amended once submitted, so you must check all details carefully before registering. The following exemptions are available. (Source: Domestic private rented property: minimum energy efficiency standard, landlord guidance, GOV.UK) All relevant improvements made exemption. Register this if you have made all recommended improvements up to the £3,500 cost cap and the property remains below band E, or if there are no relevant improvements that can be made. This exemption lasts five years. High cost exemption. Register this if the cheapest single recommended measure would cost more than £3,500 including VAT to install. This exemption lasts five years. Wall insulation exemption. Register this if the only relevant improvements for your property involve cavity wall insulation, external wall insulation, or internal wall insulation, and you have written expert advice confirming that these measures would negatively affect the fabric or structure of the property. This exemption lasts five years. Third party consent exemption. Register this if a required improvement needs consent from a third party, such as a tenant, superior landlord, mortgagee, freeholder, or planning department, and despite reasonable efforts that consent has been refused or granted only subject to conditions you cannot reasonably meet. This exemption lasts five years, or until the end of the current tenancy if the reason for refusal was the tenant's withholding of consent. Property devaluation exemption. Register this if an independent surveyor registered on the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors register of valuers has provided a report confirming that installing the recommended measures would reduce the market value of the property by more than five percent. This exemption lasts five years. Temporary exemption due to recently becoming a landlord. If you have recently become a landlord in certain circumstances, you may claim a six month exemption from the date you became the landlord. After six months you must either have improved the property to band E or registered another valid exemption. (Source: Domestic private rented property: minimum energy efficiency standard, landlord guidance, GOV.UK) All exemptions require you to upload a valid EPC for the property as part of the registration. Each type of exemption requires additional supporting evidence as set out above. Once registered, if you subsequently improve the property to band E or stop letting it, you can cancel the exemption through your account on the PRS Exemptions Register. Giving the EPC to tenants You must provide a copy of the EPC to the tenant free of charge at the start of the tenancy. This is one of the documents landlords are required to give tenants when a new tenancy begins, alongside the How to Rent guide, the gas safety certificate if applicable, and the EICR. (Source: How to Rent guide, DLUHC, October 2023; Private renting, GOV.UK) Tenants are entitled to see the EPC for the property they are renting. The EPC is also publicly searchable on the national register, and tenants can look it up themselves. Enforcement and penalties The MEES Regulations are enforced by local authorities. If a local authority believes a landlord has failed to comply, it can serve a compliance notice requesting information. A compliance notice may be served up to 12 months after a suspected breach. If a breach is confirmed, the local authority can issue a financial penalty and publish details of the breach. (Source: Domestic private rented property: minimum energy efficiency standard, landlord guidance, GOV.UK) The maximum penalty amounts are as follows. For renting out a non-compliant property for less than three months, a penalty of up to £2,000 and a publication penalty may apply. For renting out a non-compliant property for three months or more, the penalty rises to up to £4,000 and a publication penalty. For providing false or misleading information on the PRS Exemptions Register, a penalty of up to £1,000 applies. For failing to comply with a compliance notice, a penalty of up to £2,000 applies. The maximum total penalty across all breaches for a single property is £5,000. (Source: Domestic private rented property: minimum energy efficiency standard, landlord guidance, GOV.UK) If you disagree with a penalty notice, you may ask the local authority to review its decision. If they uphold it, you can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal on the grounds that the notice was based on an error of fact or law, does not comply with a requirement of the regulations, or was inappropriate in the circumstances of the case. (Source: Domestic private rented property: minimum energy efficiency standard, landlord guidance, GOV.UK) The future standard: band C by 2030 The government has stated a long-term aim for as many privately rented homes in England and Wales as possible to reach EPC band C or equivalent by 2030. As of August 2025, the government is exploring policy design options following a 2026 consultation and has said it will provide further information in due course. The current legally enforceable minimum standard remains band E. Band C is not yet a legal requirement and no date has been set for when it will become one. (Source: Domestic private rented property: minimum energy efficiency standard, landlord guidance, GOV.UK, last updated August 2025) Landlords with older properties should be aware that this trajectory is established government policy. If improvements are needed anyway, acting now while the cost cap and available funding routes are known may be preferable to waiting for a higher mandatory standard. What this means for landlords Your property must have a valid EPC before you let it. If the rating is F or G and the MEES Regulations apply to your property, you cannot let it until you have improved it to band E or registered a valid exemption on the PRS Exemptions Register. The maximum you are required to spend on improvements is £3,500 including VAT. If you cannot reach band E within that cap, you can register an exemption. You must give the tenant a copy of the EPC at the start of the tenancy. Penalties for non-compliance are up to £5,000 per property across all applicable breaches. The government has signalled an intention to raise the minimum to band C by 2030, though this is not yet law. This guide is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.