Comprehensive FAQ Domestic EPC’s

The minimum standard came into effect for new domestic tenancy agreements from 1 April 2018, and will apply to all tenancies (including long term tenancies) from 1 April 2020, unless a lawful exemption applies (see chapter four).

The tenancy types are:

• An assured tenancy (including an assured short hold tenancy) as defined in the Housing Act 1988;

• A regulated tenancy defined in the Rent Act 1977; and

• A domestic agricultural tenancy as set out in the Energy Efficiency (Domestic Private Rented Property) Order 2015 (see section 1.1.2 Relevant Tenancies for more details).

These Regulations apply to properties rented in England and Wales only.

They do not apply to rental properties situated in Scotland or Northern Ireland.

All domestic private rented properties covered by the minimum standard Regulations (i.e. those which are legally required to have an EPC, and which are let on a relevant tenancy type – see Q 2 above) must be at a minimum of EPC band E by 1 April 2020 (or have a valid exemption registered for them). Between 1 April 2018 and 1 April 2020, properties will only need to meet the standard (or have a valid exemption registered) at the point at which a new tenancy is entered into. Where no new tenancy has been entered into (i.e. the property is being let on a tenancy entered into before April 2018), a domestic private rented property may be lawfully let below EPC band E up until 1 April 2020.

No. If a domestic private rented property is already above EPC F or G, then no action is required by the landlord.

Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are needed whenever an eligible property is constructed, or marketed for sale or let. Property owners must provide an EPC for potential buyers or tenants before marketing a property. This is a requirement of the Energy Performance of Buildings (England and

Wales) Regulations of 2012. In addition, a landlord will be required to obtain an EPC after installing certain improvements before they let the property. This is a requirement of the Building Regulations 2010.

An EPC contains:

information about a property’s energy use and typical energy costs,
recommendations about how to reduce energy use and save money

An EPC for a domestic building gives the property an energy efficiency rating from A (most efficient) to G (least efficient) and is valid for ten years. The EPC relates to the property rather than to the owner, therefore an EPC obtained by a previous owner of the property will remain valid even after a property is sold on, so long as it is less than ten years old.

You can search for an accredited assessor to undertake a domestic EPC assessment here34. Since 2008 all rental properties (with few exceptions) have been required to have a valid EPC before being let on a new tenancy. Therefore, you should already have an EPC for your rental property, and to not have one is unlawful. If you do not have an EPC for the property that you rent, you should make arrangements to obtain one immediately.

If you don’t have your certificate to hand then you can search for a PDF copy using the property postcode here.

Holiday cottages are typically let under a licence to occupy, rather than a tenancy. This type of rental property is, therefore, generally outside of the scope of the Regulations and not required to meet the minimum standard. If there are any concerns about whether a property is occupied under a licence or a tenancy, and whether the landlord is subject to the Regulations, legal advice should be sought.

Once produced, an EPC will be valid for ten years. A landlord can choose to commission a new EPC at any time for any reason, but this would be entirely voluntary. The only time a new EPC is legally required for a property is if the most recent certificate is more than ten years old, and the property is to be marketed for sale, or for rent to a new tenant.

No, all properties covered by the Regulations will need to comply and there is no limit on the number of properties a multi-property-owning landlord would be required to ensure are compliant. The amended Regulations are clear that landlords only need to undertake improvements which can be made either using third-party funding or for £3,500 (inc. VAT) or less if self-funding. If no improvements can be made under either of these scenarios, the landlord would need to register an exemption for that property rather than improve it to E. But, assuming that improvements can be made for £3,500 (inc. VAT) or less (even if this does not improve the property all the way to E), there is no limit to the number of sub-standard properties a landlord is required to improve.

However, landlords should note that between 1 April 2018 and 1 April 2020, properties only need to be improved to meet the standard when a new tenancy is entered into with a new or existing tenant. If a new tenancy has not been entered into during that period, then the property may still be lawfully let below EPC E. Therefore, landlords with multiple properties would not necessarily need to improve all of their sub-standard properties at the same time and can phase improvement work over this two-year period as and when new tenancies are entered into.

There are no specified materials or improvement measures; a landlord is free to do whatever they like with their property so long as the EPC rating can be raised to meet the minimum energy efficiency standard. The most accessible ready source of advice would be the recommended measures section on EPC for the property, but landlords can seek advice from other suitably qualified experts if they wish.

No. A landlord is only required to make improvements to an EPC F or G rated property sufficient to improve that property to the minimum standard of EPC E using either: self-funding (capped at £3,500, inc. VAT); third-party funding (uncapped); or a combination of third-party and self-funding (capped at £3,500, inc. VAT). Third-party funding can come from a range of sources, primarily (but not limited to):

• Green Deal Finance,

• Local Authorities home energy efficiency grants,

• ECO help to heat funding,

If a property can be improved to E entirely through self-funding then the landlord will not need to incur any costs themselves. If the landlord does need to self-fund the improvements, and the property can be improved to E for less than £3,500, then that is all they will need to spend.

Yes.

For general advice on energy efficiency funding, landlords should visit the government endorsed Simple Energy Advice service at: https://www.simpleenergyadvice.org.uk/

No. The cost cap can only take account of the cost of energy efficiency improvements incurred since 1 October 2017, including where funding was obtained through a third-party and even where the recommended measure(s) installed did not improve the property to EPC E. Where energy efficiency improvements have been made since 1 October 2017, the landlord may subtract the cost of these previous energy efficiency improvements from the £3,500 limit (inclusive of VAT) to determine the value of the additional energy efficiency improvements they will be required to make.

There is no requirement in the Regulations for a landlord to seek consent from a tenant to install energy efficiency measures where such a requirement does not already exist.

Depending on the terms of the tenancy agreement between an individual tenant and landlord (and all tenancies are different), the landlord may need to obtain tenant consent before undertaking certain works (energy efficiency related or otherwise). Where this requirement already exists, the minimum standard Regulations recognise that consent should be obtained before work is undertaken (alongside any other form of third-party consent, such as planning consent).

Between 1 April 2018 and 1 April 2020 landlords are only required to improve F or G rated properties before entering into a new or extended or renewed tenancy agreement. To do this, Government anticipates that many landlords will make improvements while a property is vacant between tenancies. Therefore, in many cases, tenant consent may not be a consideration.

No. If a sitting tenant in a domestic property withholds consent to Green Deal finance, the landlord must seek alternative means of funding the improvement(s) - including self-funding.

Yes. From 1 April 2019, where third-party funding is unavailable or insufficient, a landlord must make a contribution capped at £3,500 (inc. VAT).

Landlords of EPC F or G properties who cannot access third-party funding must find funding from elsewhere (whether self-funding, loan, mortgage extension, etc) and ensure that energy efficiency improvements are made in order to improve these properties to EPC E, or as close as possible, up to a total cost of £3,500 (inc. VAT).

If an element of third-party funding is secured, this funding can be included within the value of the cap (see the worked examples in chapter two for more information on blending third-party funding with landlord self-funding).

No. Following amendment of the Regulations, any “no cost to the landlord” exemption will now automatically end on 31 March 2020.

All landlords who have registered “no cost to the landlord” exemptions must make the necessary improvements (up to the value of the cap) to ensure their property meets the minimum energy efficiency standard (EPC E or as close as possible) by 1 April 2020, unless other exemptions or exceptions apply.

The landlord may claim an exemption under section 25(1) of the

Regulations, where: “all the ‘relevant energy efficiency improvements’ for the property have been made but the property remains sub-standard”. The landlord must have installed as many recommended energy efficiency measures as possible to make progress towards EPC E (up to the value of £3,500). When registering the exemption, the landlord must provide details of the recommended improvement measures that have been installed.

There is no automatic exemption. If solid wall insulation has been recommended for the property and full or partial insulation can be installed for £3,500 (or less), or the landlord can obtain funding for the insulation, then they should take steps to have it installed. However, if this type of improvement work would risk harming the fabric or structure of the property then the landlord will be able to register an exemption. This exemption must be supported by a surveyor’s report stating that the wall insulation measure would damage the property. The landlord must also install any other relevant measures which would improve the property (unless a separate exemption applied to them).

This depends on the specific exemption registered: the majority of exemptions run for five years, but several run for a shorter period. A full description of the exemptions and their lengths is set out in Chapter four.

Landlords can register valid exemptions on the PRS Exemptions Register.

The Register is an online platform and can be accessed at: https://prsregister.beis.gov.uk/NdsBeisUi/used-service-before

The Register is a digital by default service, however if you need advice or assistance with registering an exemption, you can email

PRSRegisterSupport@BEIS.gov.uk with your query. Alternatively, you can call on: 0333 234 3422.

(Please note, the Assisted Digital service provides digital support in lodging an exemption on the Register, but it remains the responsibility of the landlord to ensure that their property meets the eligibility criteria for an exemption. The service is not able to provide advice on whether individual properties meet the criteria for an exemption.)

No. A landlord only needs to register one exemption for an individual property. If more than one exemption applies, the landlord may register whichever one they feel is most appropriate.

Q: What happens to the information about landlords and properties that are captured and stored on the Register, will this information be available to the public or will it be confidential?

A: Certain non-personal data placed on the Register will be viewable by the general public. Any personal data, along with all supporting evidence uploaded to the register, will be accessible to the relevant local enforcement authority only for enforcement purposes.

Registration of an exemption will not generate an exemption certificate or other formal documentation. Landlords can check any live exemptions they have registered on the dashboard page of their Register user account. Details of an exemption can also be viewed by members of the public on the exemption search page here. This search page operates in place of a formal exemption certificate and can be used by anyone seeking proof that an exemption has been registered for a property.

You do not need to wait to hear from your local enforcement authority. An exemption is valid from the day it is registered, and does not need to be approved by the enforcement authority.

However, enforcement authorities have powers to review and audit exemptions registered for property in their area, and may subsequently contact landlords if they have queries or concerns about any of the materials submitted to the Register (if they have no queries or concerns then it is likely that the landlord will not hear from them). There is no timeframe for this audit however, as enforcement bodies may review and request additional information from the landlord at any point during the life of an exemption (and up to 12 months after an exemption has expired – see chapter six).

No. Your property will still be required to have an EPC just as it always was. An exemption on the Register is an exemption from the requirement for a property to meet the minimum energy efficiency standard. It is not an exemption from the requirement for that property to have an EPC, or from the requirement to provide the tenant with a copy of the EPC at the start of their tenancy.