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EPC rules when you let a property
Separate from the minimum rating, there are rules about having, showing and giving an EPC whenever you let a home.
What you must do
- Have a valid EPC before you market the property. If there isn't one, you must commission it before advertising and use all reasonable efforts to get it within 7 days (with up to 21 more days allowed).
- Show the rating in adverts in commercial media, such as property portals.
- Show it to people who ask or view. Make the EPC available at the earliest opportunity, and no later than when someone asks for information or views the property.
- Give your tenant a copy, free of charge.
Trading Standards can issue a £200 fixed penalty for each failure.
How long an EPC lasts
An EPC is valid for 10 years and can be used for any number of tenancies in that time. You don't need a new EPC just because one expires during an existing tenancy, and renewing or extending a tenancy isn't treated as a new let. You will need a valid EPC before you market the property again.
Check whether a property already has a valid EPC on the official EPC register, and find an accredited assessor through GOV.UK.
Rooms and HMOs
Today, you don't need an EPC to let a single room, but the whole building needs one if it's let or sold as a whole. The government has decided that, under its EPC reforms, a whole HMO will need a valid EPC when a room is let. That change isn't in force yet.
Listed buildings
Today, a listed building or one in a conservation area only avoids needing an EPC if meeting the minimum energy standards would unacceptably alter its character or appearance. Check with your council's conservation officer. The government has decided to remove this exemption under its EPC reforms.
EPCs and possession
In England, section 21 "no fault" evictions ended on 1 May 2026 under the Renters' Rights Act. Not giving the tenant an EPC used to stop a landlord using section 21; that link has gone, but you must still give every new tenant a copy. In Wales, you must have given the contract-holder a valid EPC before you can serve certain possession notices.
Never be caught without a valid EPC
LandlordHub reminds you by email and text before an EPC expires, so it's ready when you come to re-let. See how LandlordHub helps →
Sources
- A guide to EPCs for the marketing, sale and let of dwellings (MHCLG)
- GOV.UK: energy performance certificates when buying, selling or renting
- GOV.UK: find an energy certificate (official EPC register)
- GOV.UK: get a new energy certificate
- Reforms to the Energy Performance of Buildings regime: partial government response (21 January 2026, updated 9 March 2026)
- Renters' Rights Act 2025: implementation roadmap
- Rent Smart Wales: Renting Homes quick guide
Want your EPCs, and everything else, managed without the stress?
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