Yes. If you are selling a home in England or Wales you need a valid Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), unless the property falls into one of a few narrow exemptions. You must commission the EPC before the property goes on the market, give it free of charge to buyers, and if you do not, the penalty for a home is £200. An EPC lasts for 10 years, so if you bought or last let the property within that time you may already have one you can use.
This guide explains what an EPC is and what it shows, the exact rules and deadlines for sellers, which homes are exempt (including the position for listed buildings), how to find or order a certificate, how EPCs are due to change, and how Cambridge homes compare.
An Energy Performance Certificate tells you how energy efficient a property is. It rates the home from A (best) to G (worst), gives information about its energy use and typical energy costs, and lists steps that could improve its efficiency and save money. Behind each letter is a score: band A is 92 or more, B is 81 to 91, C is 69 to 80, D is 55 to 68, E is 39 to 54, F is 21 to 38 and G is 1 to 20.
A current certificate for a home, viewed on the government register, includes:
The rating is calculated using a government-approved method from information collected by an accredited assessor. It describes the home as it was when it was assessed, so it is a guide to running costs rather than a record of actual bills.
The rules come from the Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012. GOV.UK sums them up as: "You must order an EPC for potential buyers and tenants before you market your property to sell or rent." In more detail:
These duties fall on the seller whether or not you use an estate agent. Selling privately does not remove the need for an EPC.
The rules are enforced by local weights and measures authorities (trading standards). For a dwelling, the penalty charge for failing to commission, obtain or provide the EPC, or for leaving the rating out of an advert, is £200. You may see higher figures quoted, such as "up to £5,000", but that is the maximum for buildings that are not dwellings, such as shops and offices, where the penalty is usually 12.5% of the rateable value, with a minimum of £500 and a maximum of £5,000. A penalty does not remove the need for a certificate, so the practical answer is to order the EPC before you go on the market.
The exemptions are narrow and most homes on the market need a certificate. Under the regulations and GOV.UK guidance, you do not need an EPC for:
Being listed does not automatically exempt a home. The exemption in the 2012 regulations covers buildings officially protected as part of a designated environment or because of their special architectural or historical merit, but only "in so far as compliance with certain minimum energy performance requirements would unacceptably alter their character or appearance". GOV.UK's guidance ties this to the work needed to meet minimum energy performance requirements to rent out a property, and advises checking with your local authority's conservation officer. If you are selling a listed home, ask your agent and solicitor whether an EPC is needed rather than assuming it is not. Our guide to what it means if a building is listed explains the wider controls.
This position is expected to change. In its partial response to the EPC reform consultation, the government said it intends to remove the exemptions for heritage properties. The consultation question was framed around landlords having a valid EPC when a heritage building is marketed, let or sold, and the detail of how this will apply to owners selling their own listed home has not yet been set out. It needs new regulations, which had not been made by October 2026.
An EPC is valid for 10 years. Strictly, a certificate counts as valid if it was entered on the register no more than 10 years before the date it is made available, and no newer certificate for the building has been entered since. That has two practical consequences:
Use the government's find an energy certificate service to check whether your property already has a valid EPC and download it for free. You can search by postcode, street name and town, or certificate number. The service covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland; Scotland has its own register. Buyers can use the same service to look up the certificate for a home they are interested in.
If there is no valid certificate, or it has expired, you will need a new one from an accredited assessor. GOV.UK's find an assessor service lists accredited assessors for homes; contact them directly to arrange a visit and check that they are part of an accredited scheme. Your estate agent may be able to arrange this for you. The cost varies by assessor and by the size of the property, and the assessor will give you a digital copy of the certificate, which is also entered on the register. For how the EPC fits alongside your other selling costs, see what fees you pay when selling a house.
For an existing home, the assessor visits and surveys the property and records its main features, including the walls, roof, floor, windows, heating system and controls, hot water and lighting. Where they cannot inspect a feature, the certificate uses an assumed rating based on the property's age and type, which may not reflect improvements that cannot be seen. If you have had work done, such as insulation or a new heating system, have the paperwork to hand and ask the assessor what evidence they can take into account.
The seller or agent must show you the EPC, and you can also look it up for free on the register. When you read it:
Our guide to sustainable housing for buyers and sellers covers what the main upgrades cost and save, the grants and VAT relief available in 2026, and the evidence on whether a better rating adds value.
The government published a partial response to its consultation on reforming the Energy Performance of Buildings regime on 21 January 2026. For homes, it said:
The response said the government was working to deliver new EPCs from October 2026. On 9 March 2026 it moved the launch to the second half of 2027 and said it would agree a new launch date with industry and the devolved administrations by the summer. No new launch date had been published on GOV.UK by mid-October 2026, and the 2012 regulations on legislation.gov.uk still contain the current 7-day and 21-day periods. If you have a valid EPC now, you do not need to replace it because of the reform.
If you are letting rather than selling, the EPC also decides whether you can let the property at all. Since 1 April 2020, private landlords in England and Wales cannot let, or continue to let, a home covered by the minimum energy efficiency rules if its EPC is below E, unless a valid exemption is registered. Landlords are not currently required to spend more than £3,500 including VAT on improvements to reach E.
The government has confirmed a new minimum standard equivalent to EPC C, with a single compliance date of 1 October 2030, a cost cap of £10,000 and recognition of existing C ratings until the certificate expires. This still needs new legislation. If you are weighing up whether to sell or keep a rental, see our services for landlords.
Office for National Statistics analysis of EPC records for the 10 years up to March 2025, published in October 2025, gave homes in England a median EPC score of 69, which is band C. Cambridge's median was 73 and South Cambridgeshire's was 72. In Cambridge, 65.64% of the homes in the data were rated C or above, against 53.28% for England as a whole, and Cambridge was one of only four local authorities in England where every neighbourhood (MSOA) had a median score in band C or above.
The age and type of home make a big difference. In the same data, Cambridge homes in the ONS's pre-1929 age band had a median score of 63 (band D), while homes built from 2012 onwards had a median of 85 (band B). Flats and maisonettes in Cambridge had a median of 78, against 67 to 68 for detached, semi-detached and terraced houses. These figures only cover homes with an EPC, so they do not describe every property, but they show that a C rating is common locally and buyers here will often compare against it. If you own an older house with a D or E rating, it is worth knowing where you stand before you market it, and a property valuation is a good time to ask how your home compares with others for sale nearby.
The 2012 regulations apply only in England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate rules: in Scotland, for example, you must display the EPC somewhere in the property, such as the meter cupboard or next to the boiler.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Speak to a solicitor or licensed conveyancer about your own circumstances, and check whether an exemption applies before relying on it.
Not unless the property is exempt. In England and Wales you must commission an EPC before the home goes on the market, make it available to prospective buyers and give the buyer a copy free of charge.
For a home, the penalty charge is £200. Figures of up to £5,000 apply to buildings that are not dwellings, where the penalty is based on rateable value.
10 years, as long as no newer certificate has been lodged for the property. You can check whether yours is still valid, and download it for free, using the government's find an energy certificate service.
Not automatically exempt. The exemption only applies in so far as meeting minimum energy performance requirements would unacceptably alter the building's character or appearance, so check with the council's conservation officer. The government intends to remove the heritage exemption as part of its EPC reforms, but its proposal was framed around landlords and the detail for owners selling their own home has not been set out.
No, a valid EPC can still be used. You can commission a new one voluntarily if you want buyers to see a better rating, but the new certificate replaces the old one whatever it shows.
The government moved the launch of new-style EPCs to the second half of 2027 and had not published a new date by mid-October 2026. They will show four headline ratings: energy cost, fabric performance, heating system and smart readiness.
