ENERGY PERFORMANCE CERTIFICATEs BAND C FROM 31st December 2025

Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are needed whenever a property is:

  • built
  • sold
  • rented

You must order an EPC for potential buyers and tenants before you market your property to sell or rent.

In Scotland, you must display the EPC somewhere in the property, for example in the meter cupboard or next to the boiler.

An EPC contains:

  • information about a property’s energy use and typical energy costs
  • recommendations about how to reduce energy use and save money

An EPC gives a property an energy efficiency rating from A (most efficient) to G (least efficient) and is valid for 10 years.

You can be fined if you do not get an EPC when you need one.

The person selling the house, the landlord or the letting agent must show you the EPC if you’re buying or renting.

Buildings that do not need an EPC

These include:

  • places of worship
  • temporary buildings that will be used for less than 2 years
  • stand-alone buildings with total useful floor space of less than 50 square metres
  • industrial sites, workshops and non-residential agricultural buildings that do not use a lot of energy
  • some buildings that are due to be demolished
  • holiday accommodation that’s rented out for less than 4 months a year or is let under a licence to occupy
  • listed buildings – you should get advice from your local authority conservation officer if the work would alter the building’s character
  • residential buildings intended to be used less than 4 months a year

Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards Landlord Specific Exemptions

The Domestic Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES) Regulations set a minimum energy efficiency level for domestic private rented properties.

The Regulations apply to all domestic private rented properties that are:

  • let on specific types of tenancy agreement
  • legally required to have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)There are a number of situations where landlords may be able to claim exemptions from the regulations:
  • All relevant improvements made exemption
  • High cost exemption
  • Wall insulation exemption
  • Third party consent exemption
  • Property devaluation exemption
  • Temporary exemption due to recently becoming a landlordExemptions must be registered on the central PRS Exemptions Register.