Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)

Chelsea_Blue

Do you need to renew the EPC if the same tenants are in the property from when it was valid?

Our tenants have been in the property for a few years and the EPC was valid when the tenancy commenced. It's now due to expire and I was wondering does it legally need to be renewed?

anselld

No, it is only needed for marketing ( sale or letting).

However, there are some changes in the pipeline which will make new EPCs more difficult to achieve a decent rating so you may be well advised to buy yourself another 10 years by renewing.

Bilivino

No — not under the current England & Wales rules.

An EPC is valid for 10 years, but if the same tenant remains in occupation, you don't currently have to commission a new EPC simply because the existing one expires. The requirement to have a valid EPC is principally triggered when the property is being marketed for sale or rent.

However…

I'd be very wary of the inevitable forum advice of “don't bother getting another EPC”. There's a much bigger picture here.

We have EPC reform and a new PRS MEES standard coming down the track. The sensible thing for a landlord with a property that is going to remain in the PRS is to carry out some due diligence now: establish the property's current baseline EPC rating, understand what is affecting that rating, and start considering a strategy for meeting the future minimum standard.

For England & Wales, the reformed EPC methodology is currently planned for the second half of 2027, while the higher PRS MEES standard has a compliance date of 1 October 2030. The Government has also confirmed that an existing EER C or above lodged before 1 October 2029 will be recognised under the future standard until that EPC expires or is replaced.

So although you don't legally need to renew the EPC just because it has expired, my practical advice would actually be to get another EPC done now. At least you'll know where you are starting from, rather than discovering several years down the line that the property has a significant amount of work to do.

And don't assume the position is the same throughout Great Britain. Scotland is following a different EPC reform programme, with new-style domestic EPCs currently due from 30 April 2028 and a five-year validity period. The Scottish system will also use different ratings, including a Heat Retention Rating (used for MEES), Heating System Rating and Energy Cost Rating.

So the answer to the original question is “no, you don't currently have to renew it”. But whether you should renew it is a rather different question — and for a landlord planning to remain in the PRS, I'd say there is a good argument for doing so.