What you need
A valid energy performance certificate, commissioned before the property is marketed and made available to prospective tenants before they view. It is produced by an accredited domestic energy assessor, lasts ten years, and is lodged on the national register where anyone can look it up by address.
The certificate has to be given to the tenant at the start of the tenancy. In England it sits alongside the gas safety record and the current How to Rent guide as documents that must be served, and failure on any of them can create problems later when a landlord needs possession.
The minimum rating
E or better. The minimum energy efficiency standard means a property rated F or G cannot lawfully be let unless a valid exemption has been registered, and the requirement applies to continuing tenancies as well as new ones.
Letting below the standard without a registered exemption exposes a landlord to a financial penalty imposed by the local authority. Check the rating on the national register before you market, because it takes a minute and an out of date assumption about a property you have owned for years is a common way to be caught out.
Exemptions, and registering them
Exemptions exist, and the critical point is that none of them apply automatically. Each has to be registered on the national exemptions register with supporting evidence, and an unregistered exemption is no defence.
The recognised categories broadly cover situations where all relevant improvements have been made and the property still falls short, where the required work would devalue the property, where consent from a tenant, lender or freeholder has been sought and refused, and where improvements would unacceptably alter a building's character, which is the route most relevant to listed and conservation area properties.
Exemptions are time limited rather than permanent, and they do not transfer automatically to a new owner. Both points catch people out.
Cheapest ways to move up a band
If a property sits at F or low E, the cost effective improvements are usually the dull ones.
- Loft insulation topped up to current depth, which is often the single best value change.
- Cavity wall insulation where the construction allows it.
- Replacing an old inefficient boiler, particularly anything non condensing.
- Heating controls, including a programmer, room thermostat and thermostatic radiator valves.
- Low energy lighting throughout, which is trivially cheap and does move the score.
- Hot water cylinder insulation.
Ask the assessor which specific measures would lift the band before spending anything. The recommendations report that comes with the certificate lists them with indicative costs, and it is frequently ignored.
Where the standards are heading
The direction of travel is towards higher minimum ratings for rented property, and proposals to raise the threshold above E have been discussed for several years across both England and Scotland, with timelines that have moved more than once.
Because the detail has shifted repeatedly, treat any specific future date or band you read, here or elsewhere, as a proposal rather than settled law, and check the current position before making an investment decision on the strength of it. What is reasonably safe to plan around is the direction: a property sitting at a low E today is likely to need work at some point, and doing it during a void period is far cheaper than doing it around a sitting tenant.
Common questions
How long does an EPC last?
Ten years from the date of issue. You do not need a new one for each tenancy if the existing certificate is still within that period, although getting a fresh one after significant improvement works is usually worthwhile because it should show a better rating.
Does an EPC apply to a room in a shared house?
The certificate is assessed for the building or the self contained unit rather than for an individual room. For houses in multiple occupation the position depends on how the property is arranged and let, so check with the assessor rather than assuming.
What if my property is listed?
Listed buildings are not automatically exempt, which is the most common misunderstanding here. The position turns on whether the improvements needed would unacceptably alter the building's character or appearance, and any exemption still has to be registered with evidence.
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