How to register an EPC exemption - and why an unregistered one does not protect you

In England and Wales, a MEES exemption for an F or G rated private rented property protects a landlord only if the exemption is the right kind and is registered before it is relied on. Scotland has no live PRS MEES register yet, and Northern Ireland has no live PRS exemptions register.

Do you have to register an EPC exemption?

Registering isn't paperwork done after you already qualify — an exemption "has no legal effect unless it has been correctly registered," and the new-landlord exemption may be relied on "only where" it's registered. In England and Wales, a landlord of a sub-standard domestic or non-domestic private rented property who wants to rely on a MEES exemption must put the required Schedule information on the PRS Exemptions Register: the regulations say the landlord "must register the information set out in the Schedule on the PRS Exemptions Register". The main exception is not an unregistered exemption but no MEES coverage at all: government guidance says that where an EPC F or G privately rented property is outside the Regulations, including where it is "not legally required to have an EPC," an exemption is not required. Scotland has no current PRS MEES regime — the Scottish Government says "There are currently no MEES for PRS properties in Scotland" — and Northern Ireland has only a power to make future regulations.

How do you register an exemption on the PRS Exemptions Register?

To register an EPC or MEES exemption in England and Wales, use the GOV.UK PRS Exemptions Register service, sign in with GOV.UK One Login, choose the exemption type, enter the property and landlord details, and upload the evidence before relying on it. The live service says, "You’ll need to sign in with GOV.UK One Login to use this service," and the government guidance says registration is "made on a self-certification basis" and applies "from the point at which it is registered". A landlord or agent can apply for an EPC exemption online; there is no separate MEES exemption form or PRS exemption letter that replaces the register entry. Once a valid exemption is registered, GOV.UK says, "You can rent your property immediately after registering a valid exemption." If you cannot use the online service, the landlord guidance gives an assisted-digital route: "please call the digital helpline on 0800 098 7950." Abodient can store the EPC certificate, exemption evidence and expiry against the property, which matters because the register entry, not the landlord’s file note, is what makes the exemption usable.

What is the EPC exemption for a new landlord?

The new-landlord MEES exemption in England and Wales is a temporary six-month protection for specified new landlords, including a buyer of an already-let sub-standard property, but it has no statutory three-month filing deadline. Regulation 33 says that, where the buyer became landlord by "purchasing an interest in that property" and "on the date of the purchase, the property was let on an existing tenancy," the letting prohibition does not apply until "six months from the date on which the person becomes the landlord". That six-month answer only works if the exemption is registered: the same regulation says a landlord may rely on the temporary exemption "only where the landlord has registered information in accordance with regulation 36(2)." The three-month figure sometimes attached to a new landlord EPC exemption online is not a filing date; regulation 40 uses three months as a penalty band for a breach, starting "where L has breached regulation 23" and the breach was less than three months old.

How do you register an exemption for a listed building?

You do not register a separate listed building EPC exemption in England and Wales: either the building is not legally required to have an EPC, so there is nothing to register, or an EPC is required and the landlord registers an ordinary MEES exemption with evidence. The EPC regulations cover protected buildings only "in so far as compliance with certain minimum energy performance requirements would unacceptably alter their character or appearance," so listed status alone is not a blanket exemption. If no EPC is legally required, government guidance says an EPC F or G privately rented property outside the Regulations, including one "not legally required to have an EPC," needs no exemption. If an EPC is required and the property is F or G, the listed-building route is usually a consent problem, not a listed-building category: the landlord registers the relevant MEES exemption on the PRS Exemptions Register and uses listed-building-consent refusal or planning correspondence as evidence. Historic England says registration evidence may include "a local authority planning decision notification and listed building consent".

Is there a PRS exemptions register in Scotland?

There is no live PRS exemptions register in Scotland; Scotland has no PRS MEES regime in force, and the register is only part of proposed future rules. The Scottish Government’s current impact assessment states, "There are currently no MEES for PRS properties in Scotland," and its draft regulations describe a future system under which Scottish Ministers "must establish and maintain a register". That is not the same as the England and Wales PRS Exemptions Register. The earlier 2020 Scottish proposals did not become law: legislation.gov.uk marks the draft instrument as "not yet been made as a Scottish Statutory Instrument," and the Scottish Government says previous proposals were "withdrawn as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic." This also means that a Scottish listed building EPC question is not answered by the England and Wales PRS Exemptions Register. Northern Ireland is different again: its 2022 Act only allows future regulations to create "a publicly-accessible register of exemptions granted"; it does not create a live register now.

How long does a PRS exemption last?

In England and Wales, a PRS exemption can last five years, six months, or until a particular tenancy ends, depending on the exemption type; there is no single EPC exemption length. The all-relevant-improvements exemption lasts "for a period of five years starting with the date on which the landlord registers information". The new-landlord exemption is shorter: regulation 33 says the letting prohibitions do not apply "until six months after whichever is the later of" the specified triggering dates, and for a buyer of an already-let property that is six months from becoming landlord. A tenant-consent exemption can end earlier than five years, because the landlord "may no longer rely on the exemption once that tenant’s tenancy has come to an end." A registered exemption also does not travel with the property on sale: government guidance says the exemption "will cease to be effective" and the new owner must improve the property or register a fresh exemption. Scotland and Northern Ireland have no in-force PRS MEES exemption duration because no live exemption regime is in force there.

Can you opt out of the EPC register?

You cannot opt out of an EPC being on the register in England and Wales, but an owner or occupier can opt out of public address-based disclosure. The EPC regulations require lodged data to remain: "Any data entered on the register must be kept on the register for a period of at least 20 years". Regulation 30 allows public-disclosure opt-out where "the owner or occupier of the building to which the data relates has notified the keeper that the data is not to be disclosed," but that is not deletion. The practical effect is that address and postcode search is blocked, while retrieval by report reference number still works; the government privacy notice says an opted-out EPC can be retrieved online only if the searcher inputs "the report reference number". GOV.UK guidance says an opted-out EPC is removed from the registers within two weeks, but the statute is tighter: the data stays on the register for at least 20 years. Opt-out also does not remove the landlord’s duty to give a valid EPC to the eventual tenant.

Last reviewed September 2026.

Sources

• Elmhurst Energy, “New MEES Register: what PRS landlords should know” — “Crucially, an exemption has no legal effect unless it has been correctly registered.” Source
• Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015, regulation 33 — “A landlord may rely on a temporary exemption in paragraph (1) or paragraph (3) only where the landlord has registered information in accordance with regulation 36(2).” Source
• Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015, regulation 36 — “In any case where a landlord of a sub-standard domestic PR property, or a sub-standard non-domestic PR property, wishes to rely on one or more of the following regulations, the landlord must register the information set out in the Schedule on the PRS Exemptions Register—” Source
• GOV.UK, PRS exemptions and exemptions register evidence requirements — “Where an EPC F or G rated privately rented property is not covered by the Regulations, for example a property which is not legally required to have an EPC, or one not let on a relevant tenancy type, an exemption will not be required.” Source
• Scottish Government, Energy efficiency in domestic private rented property regulations 2026 partial BRIA — “There are currently no MEES for PRS properties in Scotland.” Source
• GOV.UK, Register an exemption from Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards — “You’ll need to sign in with GOV.UK One Login to use this service.” Source
• GOV.UK, PRS exemptions and exemptions register evidence requirements — “Where an exemption applies, the exemption must be registered by the landlord (or an agent for the landlord) before it can be relied on; this registration is made on a self-certification basis and an exemption will apply from the point at which it is registered.” Source
• GOV.UK, Register an exemption from Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards — “You can rent your property immediately after registering a valid exemption.” Source
• GOV.UK, Domestic private rented property minimum energy efficiency standard: landlord guidance — “If you need assisted digital support to register an exemption please call the digital helpline on 0800 098 7950.” Source
• Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015, regulation 33 — “(a)the landlord became the landlord of the domestic PR property, or non-domestic PR property (as the case may be), on purchasing an interest in that property, and” Source
• Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015, regulation 33 — “(b)on the date of the purchase, the property was let on an existing tenancy.” Source
• Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015, regulation 33 — “Subject to paragraph (5), regulation 23(2)(b) and regulation 27(2)(b) do not apply to a person until six months from the date on which the person becomes the landlord by virtue of the circumstances set out in paragraph (4).” Source
• Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015, regulation 40 — “Where L has breached regulation 23 and, at the time the penalty notice is served has, or had, been in breach for less than three months, the penalties are—” Source
• Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012, regulation 5 — “(a)buildings officially protected as part of a designated environment or because of their special architectural or historical merit, in so far as compliance with certain minimum energy performance requirements would unacceptably alter their character or appearance;” Source
• Historic England, Energy performance regulations — “To register an exemption, you will need to submit copies of any correspondence or relevant documentation (such as a local authority planning decision notification and listed building consent).” Source
• Scottish Government consultation draft, Energy efficiency in domestic private rented property regulations — “The Scottish Ministers (or a person appointed by them to do so on their behalf) must establish and maintain a register (the “PRS Exemptions Register”)—” Source
• Draft Energy Efficiency (Domestic Private Rented Property) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 — “This is a draft item of legislation and has not yet been made as a Scottish Statutory Instrument.” Source
• Scottish Government, Tackling fuel poverty in privately rented homes — “Previous proposals to regulate energy efficiency for the private rented sector were put forward in 2020 but withdrawn as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic.” Source
• Private Tenancies Act (Northern Ireland) 2022, Schedule 2 — “(e)for the authority to maintain a publicly-accessible register of exemptions granted;” Source
• Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015, regulation 25 — “Subject to paragraph (3), this regulation applies for a period of five years starting with the date on which the landlord registers information in accordance with regulation 36(2).” Source
• Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015, regulation 33 — “Subject to paragraph (5), regulations 23 and 27 do not apply to a landlord until six months after whichever is the later of—” Source
• Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015, regulation 31 — “Where a landlord has relied on the exemption in paragraph (1)(a) or (1A)(a) in relation to the refusal of a particular tenant to give consent or a confirmation, the landlord may no longer rely on the exemption once that tenant’s tenancy has come to an end.” Source
• GOV.UK, PRS exemptions and exemptions register evidence requirements — “If a let property is sold or otherwise transferred with an exemption registered, the exemption will cease to be effective and the new owner will need to either improve the property to the minimum standard at that point, or register an exemption where one applies, if they intend to continue to let the property.” Source
• Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012, regulation 27 — “Any data entered on the register must be kept on the register for a period of at least 20 years beginning on the date on which it is entered onto the register.” Source
• Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012, regulation 30 — “(i)the owner or occupier of the building to which the data relates has notified the keeper that the data is not to be disclosed,” Source
• MHCLG, EPB data privacy notice — “Where the owner or occupier of the building has exercised the opt-out, an EPC can only be retrieved, via the online search function, if the person inputs the report reference number, provided to them by the energy assessor, or by someone already in possession of the EPC (for example, the seller, the landlord or estate agent).” Source
• GOV.UK, Energy performance certificates: opt out of public disclosure — “When a request is made, your EPC will be removed from the registers within 2 weeks.” Source