Buying or selling your home

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Energy Performance Certificates

Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are needed whenever a property is:

  • built
  • sold
  • rented

You must order an EPC for potential buyers and tenants before you market your property to sell or rent.

In Scotland, you must display the EPC somewhere in the property, for example in the meter cupboard or next to the boiler.

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 gives a property an energy efficiency rating from A (most efficient) to G (least efficient) and is valid for 10 years.

Check how you could make your home more energy efficient using the Energy Savings Trust’s home energy check.

How to get an EPC

You’ll need to find an accredited assessor. They’ll assess your property and produce the certificate.

Find an energy assessor in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Find an energy assessor in Scotland.

You can be fined if you do not get an EPC when you need one.

The person selling the house, the landlord or the letting agent must show you the EPC if you’re buying or renting.

Buildings that do not need an EPC

These include:

  • places of worship
  • temporary buildings that will be used for less than 2 years
  • stand-alone buildings with total useful floor space of less than 50 square metres
  • industrial sites, workshops and non-residential agricultural buildings that do not use a lot of energy
  • some buildings that are due to be demolished
  • holiday accommodation that’s rented out for less than 4 months a year or is let under a licence to occupy
  • listed buildings - you should get advice from your local authority conservation officer if the work would alter the building’s character
  • residential buildings intended to be used less than 4 months a year

Find an EPC

You can look at an EPC for your own property or for other properties free of charge. This lets you compare your home’s energy performance with that of similar homes.

Find an EPC.

Opt out of the EPC register

You can opt out of the register if you do not want other people to be able to see your EPC. Contact the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC).

dluhc.digital-services@levellingup.gov.uk
Telephone: 020 3829 0748
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
Find out about call charges