EPC requirements for landlords

Yes. An Energy Performance Certificate is a legal requirement for all private rented properties in England and Wales. You must have a valid EPC before you market or rent out a property, and a copy must be provided to tenants before they move in.

An EPC is valid for 10 years, but if you have made energy efficiency improvements since your last assessment, it is worth getting a new one. A better rating means you meet regulations more comfortably, and it can make your property more attractive to tenants concerned about energy bills.

This applies to all private rented properties, whether you are a single-property landlord or manage a large portfolio. There are no exceptions based on property size, value, or tenancy type. We assess rental properties across Swanley, Dartford, Bromley, Bexley, Greenwich, Orpington, and Gravesend.

The Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards regulations set the lowest EPC rating a property can have before it can be legally rented out. These rules have been in force since 2018 and apply across England and Wales.

This means every private rented property must now have an EPC rating of at least E. If your property falls below this, you cannot legally let it without first making improvements or registering a valid exemption.

Local authority Trading Standards teams enforce MEES regulations. If you let a property that falls below the minimum E rating without a registered exemption, you face financial penalties.

The maximum total penalty per property per breach is £5,000. Penalties are per property, not per landlord, so landlords with multiple non-compliant properties face separate fines for each one. Penalty notices are recorded on a public register for at least 12 months.

There are circumstances where a landlord can legally let a property below the minimum E rating by registering an exemption on the PRS Exemptions Register. All exemptions last for five years, after which you must reassess and either improve the property or re-register.

Exemptions must be registered on the PRS Exemptions Register before you let the property. You cannot claim an exemption retrospectively, and you must have evidence to support your claim.

Quick wins (low cost, immediate impact)

• LED lighting. Switch all bulbs to LED. RDSAP scores the percentage of low-energy lighting, so 100% coverage directly improves your rating. Costs under £50 for most properties.
• Loft insulation top-up. If your property has less than 270mm, topping up is one of the cheapest and most effective improvements available. Often improves a rating by a full band.
• Heating controls. A programmer, room thermostat, and thermostatic radiator valves are each scored separately. Adding missing controls is low-cost and can improve your rating without replacing the boiler.
• Draught-proofing. Sealing gaps around windows, doors, and letterboxes reduces heat loss and is inexpensive to carry out.

Medium investment (greater improvement)

• Cavity wall insulation. If your property has unfilled cavity walls, insulating them can improve the EPC by one to two bands and significantly reduce heating costs.
• Boiler upgrade. Replacing an old G-rated boiler with a modern condensing boiler improves efficiency by 20 to 30%. If the boiler is over 15 years old, this single change can shift the rating significantly.

Read our full guide to improving your EPC rating →

Managing multiple properties? We offer competitive rates for landlords and letting agents with regular work. Whether you need EPCs for two properties or twenty, we can help.

Portfolio management. We can schedule multiple assessments efficiently across your portfolio, minimising disruption to tenants and saving you time. We cover all of Kent and South East London from our base in Swanley.