On 21 January 2026 the government confirmed that privately rented homes in England and Wales must meet a standard equivalent to EPC band C by 1 October 2030, with landlords required to spend up to £10,000 per property. The regulations still have to be made. Until the new standard applies, the legal minimum is band E, as it has been since 1 April 2020.
Article · 3 August 2026
On 21 January 2026 the government published its response to the consultation on improving the energy performance of privately rented homes. It confirmed that private landlords in England and Wales will have to meet a higher minimum standard, equivalent to EPC band C, by 1 October 2030. The date applies to all tenancies, new and existing.
The standard will be measured against new EPC metrics rather than the current rating: a fabric performance standard first, then either a heating system standard or a smart readiness standard, at the landlord's choice. Landlords will be required to spend up to £10,000 per property. If a property still falls short after that, the landlord can register an exemption that lasts ten years.
It is confirmed policy, but it is not yet law. The government has to take new powers through an Act of Parliament and then lay regulations, which it aims to bring into force in 2027. The date, the cost cap and the penalty level are the government's own published figures, and they are enough to plan around.
Money spent on relevant improvements from 1 October 2025 counts towards the £10,000 cap, where the work was recommended on the property's EPC or by a relevant expert. The cost of the EPCs needed before and after the work counts too.
A property rated C or above on the current Energy Efficiency Rating, on an EPC issued before 1 October 2029, will be treated as compliant with the new standard until that EPC expires. EPCs remain valid for ten years. A property that has not reached C on that rating by then will need a new EPC and will be measured against the new metrics.
Since 1 April 2020, a property covered by the MEES Regulations in England and Wales cannot be let or continue to be let with an EPC rating below band E. The words "or continue to be let" are what made it apply to tenancies already running, which is why the 2020 date matters more than the earlier date on which the rules first applied to new lettings.
The government's response confirms that landlords must keep meeting band E until the higher standard applies to them. So the legal question about any let property today is whether it is E or above. If it is F or G and it is let, that is a compliance problem now, not in 2030.
Under today's rules you are not required to spend without limit. The cost cap is £3,500 including VAT. If you have spent up to that cap and the property still cannot reach band E, you register an exemption rather than continuing to spend.
An illustrative example. A band F flat with uninsulated cavity walls and a thin loft. The figures are illustrative quotes:
That £2,430 meets the band E requirement in force today, with £1,070 of the £3,500 cap unused. If the work was recommended on the EPC and done on or after 1 October 2025, the same £2,430 also counts towards the £10,000 cap for the 2030 standard. Whether to go further now, towards band C, is a decision about the property and your own figures.
Exemptions must be registered on the PRS Exemptions Register, and that register is publicly searchable. It also shows penalties that have been issued.
Two consequences follow. First, an unregistered exemption is not an exemption — the paperwork is the mechanism, not a formality. Second, because penalties are visible on a public register, a non-compliant let is not a private matter between you and the council.
Under the current rules: up to £2,000 for letting a non-compliant property for less than three months. Up to £4,000 where it has been let non-compliantly for three months or more. Up to £1,000 for providing false or misleading information on the exemptions register. The maximum is £5,000 per property. On a six-property portfolio with two non-compliant lets that have run for more than three months, the illustrative exposure is £8,000, more than bringing both properties up to band E would have cost inside the cap. Under the 2030 standard, the government plans to let councils fine up to £30,000 per property per breach.
"What band is the property now, and what does it need to reach today?" Band E is the legal minimum until the new standard applies. A property already at D or better has no current obligation to improve.
"Was this work recommended on the property's EPC, or by a relevant expert?" Recommended work done from 1 October 2025 counts towards the £10,000 cap under the 2030 standard, so keep the EPC, the quote and the invoice together.
"Will the property be judged on its current EPC or on the new metrics?" A property rated C or above on an EPC issued before 1 October 2029 counts as compliant until that EPC expires. Otherwise it will be measured against the new metrics.
A warmer property often lets better and costs the tenant less to run, and the 2030 date now gives a timetable. How much to spend, and when, is still a decision about the asset and your own numbers, and this site does not make it for you.
Scotland operates its own regime and these England and Wales rules should not be applied there. On the tax side, what you can actually claim covers how property expenditure is treated, and landlord tax returns explains how it reaches the property pages. If you are early in your letting career and working out which obligations are real, accountants for buy-to-let landlords is the place to start. Energy efficiency compliance itself is a matter for your local authority's guidance and the regulations, not for your accountant.
What has changed in landlord tax, the dates coming up, and one number worth checking on your own portfolio.
Privately rented homes in England and Wales will, once the regulations are made. On 21 January 2026 the government confirmed that private landlords of all tenancies must meet a higher standard, equivalent to EPC band C, by 1 October 2030. It will be measured against new EPC metrics, and landlords will have to spend up to £10,000 per property before an exemption is available. It is confirmed policy rather than law: the government needs new powers through an Act of Parliament and then regulations, which it aims to bring into force in 2027. A property rated C or above on an EPC issued before 1 October 2029 will count as compliant until that EPC expires.
Band E. Since 1 April 2020, a property covered by the MEES Regulations in England and Wales cannot be let or continue to be let with an EPC rating below band E. The phrase 'or continue to be let' is what extended the rule to tenancies that were already running. The government's January 2026 response confirms that landlords must keep meeting band E until the higher standard applies to them. So the question with legal force today is whether each let property is E or above. A property at F or G that is currently let is a compliance issue now, and a property at D or better has no current obligation to improve.
Under the current rules, up to £3,500 including VAT to reach band E. If you have spent up to that cap and the property still cannot reach E, you register an exemption rather than keep spending. Illustratively, a band F flat might reach E for £2,430, with cavity wall insulation at £1,200, a loft top-up at £480, heating controls at £600 and low-energy lighting at £150. For the 2030 standard the cap is £10,000 per property, and recommended work done from 1 October 2025 counts towards it. If a property still falls short after £10,000, the landlord can register an exemption that lasts ten years.
Under the current rules, up to £2,000 for letting a non-compliant property for less than three months, up to £4,000 where it has been let non-compliantly for three months or more, and up to £1,000 for providing false or misleading information on the exemptions register, with a maximum of £5,000 per property. Exemptions have to be registered on the PRS Exemptions Register, which is publicly searchable and also shows penalties that have been issued, so an exemption that was never registered does not protect you. Under the 2030 standard, the government plans to let councils fine up to £30,000 per property per breach. On a portfolio, the exposure is counted property by property.
That is an investment decision about the asset, and this site will not make it for you. Three points from the government's response bear on the timing. Recommended work done from 1 October 2025 counts towards the £10,000 cap. A property rated C or above on an EPC issued before 1 October 2029 counts as compliant until that EPC expires. And the 1 October 2030 date applies to existing tenancies as well as new ones. Price the cheapest route to band E, which the current rules require, separately from work towards band C, and judge the second against the rent, the void periods and the running costs of the property.
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