EPC rules for landlords: the current minimum and what’s coming

England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate energy efficiency regimes for the private rented sector.

Where things stand

Date	Requirement	Status
April 2018	EPC E minimum for new tenancies	In force
April 2020	EPC E minimum for all tenancies, including existing ones	In force — this is the rule today
1 October 2025	Qualifying expenditure starts counting towards the future cost cap	Running now
1 October 2029	Properties reaching C before this date on the current methodology are deemed compliant until that EPC expires	Confirmed
1 October 2030	EPC C minimum for all private rented homes	Confirmed policy, January 2026

The rule that applies today: EPC E

It is unlawful to let a domestic property with an EPC rating of F or G, or to continue an existing tenancy of one, unless you have registered a valid exemption. This is the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard, and the detail — including how the current £3,500 cost cap works and what each exemption requires — is in our guide to MEES.

Enforcement is by the local authority, with a penalty of up to £5,000 per property. An EPC is valid for ten years, and you must have a valid one to market a property at all.

What EPC C will require

Most F and G properties can reach E with loft insulation and a reasonable boiler. Reaching C is a different order of work, and for older housing stock it usually means addressing the fabric.

Measure	Typical effect	Notes
Loft insulation to 270mm	Good, cheap	The first thing to do in almost every case
Cavity wall insulation	Strong, where the walls are suitable	Not possible on solid-wall property, which is where the difficulty concentrates
Modern condensing boiler and controls	Good	Smart controls and TRVs add points cheaply
Double or triple glazing	Moderate	Expensive per point; often restricted in conservation areas
Solid wall insulation	Large	Expensive, disruptive, and carries its own exemption for ten years
Solar PV	Large	Increasingly the cheapest route to the last few points on a hard-to-treat property
Low-carbon heating	Large	Grant support available — see EPC grants

The cost cap and exemptions

You are not required to spend without limit. Once you have spent £10,000 on qualifying improvements — or 10% of the property’s value where the property is worth under £100,000 — and the property still falls short, you can register an exemption. Confirmed exemptions include:

• All relevant improvements made and the standard still not achieved.
• Low-value property, where the reduced cap applies.
• Third-party consent refused — freeholder, lender or tenant.
• Solid wall insulation, where it is not appropriate. Valid ten years.
• Negative impact, where the work would devalue the property or damage the fabric. Valid ten years.

Exemptions must be registered on the PRS Exemptions Register. An unregistered exemption is not an exemption, however good the reason — this is the single most common failure in this area.

What to do now

1. Check the rating and expiry date of the EPC on every property you own. An expired EPC means you cannot market the property.
2. Read the recommendations report attached to the EPC. It lists the measures and the points each would add.
3. Start with the cheap points — loft insulation, heating controls, low-energy lighting, hot water cylinder insulation. Many properties get from D to C on these alone.
4. Keep every invoice from 1 October 2025. This is what counts towards the £10,000 cap if you later need to register an exemption.
5. Check grant eligibility before you spend — see EPC grants for landlords.
6. Plan the hard cases now. Solid-wall Victorian terraces and flats with restricted external walls are the properties where 2030 is a genuine problem, and four years is not long for planning consent, funding and works.

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