Do I Need an EPC? Every Situation Answered

The short answer: you need an EPC when you sell a home, let it, or finish building or converting it. You do not need one simply to live in it. The table covers the common situations, and each one is explained below with the rule it comes from. These are the rules for England and Wales.

Selling

Selling a house or flat

Yes. You must commission an EPC before the home goes on the market, unless there is already a valid one for it. You then have to use all reasonable efforts to have it within 7 days, with a further 21 days allowed if it still is not ready. You must show it free of charge to anyone who asks for written details or views the home, and give it free to the buyer.

Adverts in the commercial media, which includes newspapers, the agent's or seller's written particulars and the internet, must show the energy rating. If an estate agent is marketing the home, they must be satisfied that an EPC has been commissioned. Our selling guide covers timing and the rest of the process.

Selling privately, without an agent

Yes, and the duties are the same. Without an agent, you are the person responsible for commissioning the EPC before marketing and for giving it to the buyer.

Can I reuse an old EPC?

Yes, if it is under 10 years old and no newer EPC has been lodged for the home. One certificate can be used for any number of sales and lettings in that time. Look it up on the register first.

Selling a listed building, or a home in a conservation area

Listed status is not an automatic exemption. The regulations exempt protected buildings only in so far as meeting minimum energy performance requirements would unacceptably alter their character or appearance. GOV.UK's guidance suggests asking your council's conservation officer if you are unsure whether that applies. The government also intends to remove these heritage exemptions in future reforms.

Letting

Letting a whole home or a flat

Yes. The same duties apply as for a sale: commission an EPC before marketing, show it to prospective tenants, and give it free to the tenant. The home must also meet the minimum rating for most private lettings, currently band E. Our guide for landlords covers that standard and its exemptions.

A new tenant moving in

You need a valid EPC, but it does not have to be new. A certificate under 10 years old can be reused for every new tenancy until it expires.

Renewing or extending a tenancy with the same tenant

No. GOV.UK's guidance lists lease renewals and extensions as transactions that are not a sale or a letting, so they do not need a new EPC. If the EPC runs out during a tenancy, you do not have to replace it at that moment; you need a valid one before you next market or let the home. The government is still deciding whether to change that.

Evicting a tenant (England)

You do not need a new EPC to end a tenancy. Until 30 April 2026, a landlord could only serve a valid section 21 notice if they had given the tenant an EPC, a gas safety certificate (where there is gas) and the 'How to rent' guide. Part 1 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 came into force on 1 May 2026, and since then landlords cannot use section 21. The last day to take an earlier notice to court was 31 July 2026.

Since 1 May 2026 a landlord can only give notice under section 8 of the Housing Act 1988. GOV.UK's guidance on that process does not list an EPC among the conditions. The EPC duties when you let a home, above, still apply. Take legal advice on your own case.

Renting out a room, or taking a lodger

No, not for the room. GOV.UK's guidance says an individual room that is rented out does not need an EPC, because it is not a building or a unit designed for separate use. The whole home needs one if it is later sold or let as a whole.

Houses in multiple occupation (HMOs)

Rooms let individually do not each need an EPC. The whole building needs one if it is sold or let as a whole, and each self-contained flat that is sold or let needs its own. The government intends to require an EPC for the whole HMO when a single room is let, but that needs new regulations first. Many councils also ask for an EPC with a licence application: see what a licence application asks for.

Holiday lets and short-term lets

It depends on how the home is let and who pays for the energy. GOV.UK's guidance says a holiday let needs an EPC where it is let in stays of under 31 days, for a total of 4 months or more in any 12 months, and the guests pay the energy costs. Separately, a home used for less than four months of the year is outside the duties altogether.

That guidance dates from 2017 and refers to a tax definition of furnished holiday lets, so take advice on your own let. The government intends to bring short-term lets into scope whoever pays the bills.

Buying, owning and mortgages

Buying a home

You do not commission it. The seller must give you the EPC free of charge. You can also look up any home's EPC on the register before you view it.

Living in your home

No. Existing owners and occupiers do not need an EPC unless they sell, let, assign or sublet. An EPC that expires while you live in the home does not have to be replaced.

Remortgaging

The EPC regulations do not require one, because a remortgage is not a sale or a letting. Your lender sets its own requirements, so ask them directly. Some lenders' green mortgages need a particular rating: see what EPC rating you need for selling, letting, mortgages and grants.

Building work

An extension or renovation

Not by law, unless you then sell or let. Your existing EPC stays valid until it is 10 years old or a newer one is lodged, but it will not show the extension or new insulation. If you are about to sell or let, a new assessment records the home as it is now.

A new build, or converting a house into flats

Yes. When a building is put up, or a building is converted so that it has more or fewer separate units (for example, a house split into flats), the person carrying out the work must give the owner an EPC, and tell the local authority, within 5 days of the work finishing.

Exemptions

The EPC duties do not apply to:

• Some listed and protected buildings, only in so far as meeting energy performance requirements would unacceptably alter their character or appearance.
• Stand-alone buildings with less than 50 m² of total useful floor area, meaning buildings fully detached from any other building, such as some garages, studios and annexes.
• Temporary buildings with a planned time of use of two years or less.
• Homes used, or intended to be used, for less than four months of the year, or with expected energy use under 25% of all-year use.
• Homes to be demolished, where the site is suitable for redevelopment and all the planning permissions and consents for the demolition and the redevelopment are in place.

GOV.UK's guidance adds that the government cannot advise on whether an exemption applies to a particular property, so take specialist advice before relying on one.

If you need an EPC

Check the register first: a valid certificate may already exist. If it does not, or it no longer reflects the home, request your exact quote. We charge the same in every London borough.