Is an EPC a legal requirement, and how do you get one?

In England and Wales, an EPC is both a marketing document and a letting document: it has to be commissioned before marketing and given to the tenant free of charge. The rules below do not cover Scotland or Northern Ireland, which run separate regimes.

Is an EPC a legal requirement to let a property?

Yes: a rental property in England and Wales needs a valid EPC, the landlord must commission it before the property is put on the market, and the landlord must make it available free of charge to a prospective tenant at the earliest opportunity. The Energy Performance of Buildings Regulations say, “Before the building is put on the market, the relevant person must secure that an energy performance certificate is commissioned for the building,” and also require the landlord to “make available free of charge a valid energy performance certificate to any prospective buyer or tenant—(a)at the earliest opportunity”. So a landlord should not list or market a property to let without an EPC being commissioned, and should not treat the certificate as paperwork to sort out after a tenant has agreed. The MEES rule is the harder commercial barrier: band E is required now unless an exemption applies; by 1 October 2030 the standard becomes band C, with a £10,000 landlord spend cap, no earlier new-tenancy deadline, an estimated £5,400 average spend, and 48% of private rented homes already at band C.

What is the fine for letting or marketing a property without an EPC?

For a dwelling, the no-EPC penalty is a flat £200; the £5,000 figure often quoted for “no EPC” is the non-dwellings cap for a different contravention and cannot be the EPC penalty for a home. Regulation 38 fixes the penalty “where the building is a dwelling” at “£200”, while the “£500 and £5000” minimum and maximum wording sits in the non-dwelling part of the same penalty regulation. A separate £200 issue can arise if an advert omits the EPC rating, because the regulations say the rating “must” be stated in commercial media advertising. Enforcement also has a clock: a penalty charge notice may not be given after six months from the breach, or the last day of a continuing breach. Do not confuse this with MEES penalties for letting below band E, where the current total cap is £5,000; the proposed £30,000 per breach for non-compliant PRS properties is not yet law.

How do you get an EPC for a rental property?

You get an EPC for a rental property by instructing an accredited energy assessor, who assesses the home, lodges the result on the national register, and then gives you the certificate. The legal point is not that anyone can produce a report with an energy rating: the regulations say an EPC must “be issued by an energy assessor who is accredited to produce energy performance certificates for the category of building to which the certificate relates”. The certificate also has to be registered before it is handed over, because the rules require it to be “entered onto the relevant register before the assessor gives the document to the person who requested that it be issued”. Once lodged, an EPC lasts 10 years, because a certificate is valid if it “was entered on the register no more than 10 years before the date on which it is made available”. Abodient fits this job as a compliance diary: it can hold the EPC certificate against the property, record its expiry, and show what is overdue across a portfolio.

Who is allowed to produce an EPC?

Only an accredited energy assessor can produce an EPC, and the accreditation must cover the category of building being assessed, so a landlord cannot do their own energy performance certificate unless they are properly accredited. The regulations state that “An energy assessor must be a member of an accreditation scheme approved by the Secretary of State,” and separately require the EPC to “be issued by an energy assessor who is accredited to produce energy performance certificates for the category of building to which the certificate relates”. That is why the practical search is for an “EPC assessor near me”, not for a downloadable template. Six approved schemes were recorded in a November 2023 government procurement notice, which said, “There are currently six approved Schemes operating different strands of the EPBRs.” The only assessor-headcount figure found in government material is stale: in December 2016, government referred to “approximately 15,000 accredited energy assessors”, so it should not be treated as a current market count.

How much does an EPC cost?

No law fixes the price of an EPC; the only statutory sum is the £1.50 lodgement fee for entering domestic EPC data on the register. Regulation 28 sets “a fee of £1.50” for entering data from which a dwelling EPC may be produced, but that is not the assessor’s charge to the landlord. The law regulates who receives the EPC free of charge, not what the landlord pays for the assessment: the rules say the certificate must be given “free of charge to the person who ultimately becomes the buyer or tenant.” Government’s own impact assessment assumes a domestic EPC costs £70, stating that “the total cost of a domestic EPC is therefore assumed at £70,” while GOV.UK says the assessment cost “varies by assessor and the size of the property.” In the retail market, a realistic quote often lands above the government assumption: Checkatrade gives a guide range of £65–£120.

Do you need an EPC for the communal areas of a block of flats?

No: ordinary communal areas of a block of flats do not need their own EPC, because the EPC duty is tied to a building or building unit being sold or rented out, and an unheated common stairwell is not a regulated “building” in the first place. The regulations define a building as “a roofed construction having walls, for which energy is used to condition the indoor climate”, so common parts outside that definition do not generate a separate certificate. The common online claim that a block of flats with communal heating needs one whole-building EPC is wrong for residential flats: the statutory whole-building common-heating provision is expressly “for a non-residential building”. Government guidance on spaces outside the definition says such a space “will not require an EPC as it will not be considered to be a building for the purposes of the regulations.” In practice, block-management websites often blur residential and commercial EPC rules, which is why this question attracts confident but overbroad answers.

Is a new EPC model coming in 2026?

Nothing arrives in 2026: the reformed EPC launch has moved to the second half of 2027, and rival “October 2026” answers come from the January 2026 response that was later superseded. The live government consultation page now says, “Following engagement with industry on the delivery timeline, we have decided to move the launch of the reforms to the second half of 2027,” even though the earlier partial response said government was working to deliver new EPCs “from October 2026.” The planned domestic reform is still significant: domestic EPCs will replace the single cost metric with four headline metrics — “energy cost, fabric performance, heating system and smart readiness” — while the ten-year validity period is intended to stay. The old model is still the certificate landlords get today at serious scale: in April to June 2026, 440,000 domestic EPCs were lodged in England, and the NRLA’s view is that “continued delays only prolong uncertainty” for landlords who want to invest but lack clarity.

Last reviewed August 2026.

Sources

• In England and Wales, an EPC has to be commissioned before marketing and given to the tenant free of charge. — “Before the building is put on the market, the relevant person must secure that an energy performance certificate is commissioned for the building.” Source
• The landlord must make a valid EPC available free of charge to a prospective tenant at the earliest opportunity. — “The relevant person shall make available free of charge a valid energy performance certificate to any prospective buyer or tenant—(a)at the earliest opportunity” Source
• Band E is required now unless an exemption applies. — “Since 1 April 2020, landlords can no longer let or continue to let properties covered by the MEES Regulations if they have an EPC rating below E, unless they have a valid exemption in place.” Source
• By 1 October 2030 the PRS standard becomes band C. — “Private landlords of all tenancies will be required to comply with the higher standard by 1 October 2030.” Source
• The landlord spend cap for the new PRS standard is £10,000. — “Landlords will be required to invest up to £10,000 per property on relevant energy efficiency improvements to bring the property up to standard.” Source
• There will be no earlier new-tenancy compliance date before 1 October 2030. — “All tenancies within scope of the regulations must be compliant with the standard by 1 October 2030. There will not be an earlier compliance date for new tenancies.” Source
• The estimated average spend to meet the new standard is £5,400. — “the impact assessment for this policy, published alongside this government response, estimates that the average spend per property to meet the standard will be £5,400” Source
• 48% of private rented homes were already at band C in 2024. — “In 2024, the most common EER band was band C, with 69% of social rented dwellings, 49% of owner occupied dwellings and 48% of private rented dwellings falling into this rating” Source
• For a dwelling, the no-EPC penalty is £200. — “(i) where the building is a dwelling, £200;” Source
• The £5,000 EPC penalty cap belongs to non-dwellings, not homes. — “The minimum and maximum penalty charges for the purposes of paragraph (2) are £500 and £5000 respectively.” Source
• The EPC rating must be stated in commercial media adverts. — “must ensure that the energy performance rating of the building expressed in the energy performance certificate is stated in any advertisement of the sale or rental in commercial media” Source
• An EPC penalty charge notice may not be given after six months. — “A penalty charge notice may not be given after the end of the period of six months beginning with the day (or in the case of a continuing breach the last day) on which the breach of duty was committed.” Source
• Letting below band E for three months or more can carry a financial penalty not exceeding £4,000. — “been in breach for three months or more, the penalties are— (a) a financial penalty not exceeding £4,000” Source
• The current total MEES financial penalty cap is £5,000. — “the total of the financial penalties imposed on L must be no more than £5,000.” Source
• The proposed future PRS penalty is £30,000 per breach. — “Local authorities will be able to issue a maximum penalty of £30,000 per breach for each property found non-compliant.” Source
• Only an accredited assessor can issue an EPC. — “be issued by an energy assessor who is accredited to produce energy performance certificates for the category of building to which the certificate relates” Source
• An EPC must be lodged on the relevant register before the assessor gives it to the requester. — “is entered onto the relevant register before the assessor gives the document to the person who requested that it be issued” Source
• An EPC lasts 10 years from register entry. — “it was entered on the register no more than 10 years before the date on which it is made available” Source
• An energy assessor must be a member of an approved accreditation scheme. — “An energy assessor must be a member of an accreditation scheme approved by the Secretary of State.” Source
• Six approved schemes were operating different EPBR strands as at November 2023. — “There are currently six approved Schemes operating different strands of the EPBRs.” Source
• The 2016 government response referred to approximately 15,000 accredited energy assessors. — “There are currently seven schemes who oversee the work of approximately 15,000 accredited energy assessors” Source
• The only statutory domestic EPC sum is the £1.50 register lodgement fee. — “for entering data from which an energy performance certificate which relates to a dwelling may be produced, a fee of £1.50” Source
• The EPC must be given free of charge to the tenant. — “The relevant person must ensure that a valid energy performance certificate has been given free of charge to the person who ultimately becomes the buyer or tenant.” Source
• Government assumes £70 for a domestic EPC and £400 for a non-domestic EPC. — “Therefore, the total cost of a domestic EPC is therefore assumed at £70, and a non-domestic EPC at £400.” Source
• GOV.UK says EPC assessment cost varies by assessor and property size. — “The cost of an assessment varies by assessor and the size of the property.” Source
• Checkatrade gives an EPC guide range of £65–£120. — “As a guide, an Energy Performance Certificate usually costs between £65–£120.” Source
• A building is defined as a roofed construction with walls for which energy is used to condition the indoor climate. — “"building" means a roofed construction having walls, for which energy is used to condition the indoor climate” Source
• Whole-building common-heating certification is limited to non-residential buildings. — “for a non-residential building, on a common certification of the whole building for blocks with a common heating system” Source
• Government guidance says space outside the building definition does not require an EPC. — “then it will not require an EPC as it will not be considered to be a building for the purposes of the regulations.” Source
• The reformed EPC launch moved to the second half of 2027. — “Following engagement with industry on the delivery timeline, we have decided to move the launch of the reforms to the second half of 2027.” Source
• The earlier January 2026 response referred to new EPCs from October 2026. — “Government is working hard to deliver new EPCs from October 2026.” Source
• Domestic EPCs will replace the single cost metric with four headline metrics. — “For domestic EPCs, we will replace the existing single cost metric with four new headline metrics: energy cost, fabric performance, heating system and smart readiness.” Source
• Reformed and existing EPCs are intended to retain ten-year validity. — “We intend to maintain the current ten-year validity period for reformed EPCs, whilst existing EPCs will retain their ten-year validity.” Source
• 440,000 domestic EPCs were lodged in England in April to June 2026. — “In the quarter April to June 2026, 440,000 domestic EPCs were lodged on the Register covering all domestic dwellings (sales, lets and new dwellings) in England.” Source
• The NRLA says delays prolong uncertainty for landlords who want to invest. — “We know that continued delays only prolong uncertainty for landlords who want to invest in improving their properties but still lack clarity about the standards they will ultimately be expected to meet.” Source