What Is an EPC and Do I Need One to Let My Property in London?

If you are preparing to let a property in London, an Energy Performance Certificate, usually shortened to EPC, is one of the first documents you will need to have in place. It is a legal requirement to market and let a home, and it tends to cause a fair amount of confusion for landlords who are new to the process or who have not let for a few years. This guide explains in plain terms what an EPC is, whether you need one, what rating your property must reach, and how it fits alongside the other paperwork a tenancy requires.

What an EPC actually is

An Energy Performance Certificate is a standardised assessment of how energy efficient a property is. It rates the home on a scale from A, the most efficient, down to G, the least efficient, and it sets out the property's current rating alongside an estimate of what it could achieve with improvements. Alongside the rating, the certificate lists practical recommendations, such as better insulation, more efficient heating or low-energy lighting.

The purpose of the certificate is to give prospective tenants a clear, comparable picture of how warm a home is likely to be to run and how much it may cost to heat. For a landlord, it is both a marketing document and a compliance one: the rating has to appear when the property is advertised, and a valid certificate has to exist before the tenancy begins.

Do you need one to let in London?

In short, yes. A valid EPC is required to market and let a residential property, and that applies across London just as it does everywhere else in England. You cannot legally advertise a home to let without one, and the rating must be shown in the listing on the portals and in any brochure.

There are a small number of genuine exemptions, for example certain listed buildings where the required improvements would unacceptably alter their character, and some temporary or very specific building types. These exemptions are narrow and easy to misjudge, so if you think your property might qualify it is worth confirming the position rather than assuming it. For most flats and houses across the capital, the certificate is simply a standard part of getting ready to let, much like the other legal obligations a London landlord carries.

The minimum rating you need to let

The minimum EPC rating required to let a property is currently E. If your property is rated F or G, you generally cannot grant a new tenancy, or continue an existing one, without either improving the rating to at least E or registering a valid exemption. In practice this means a landlord with a lower-rated home may need to carry out some works, such as improving insulation or upgrading the heating, before the property can be let.

It is worth being aware that energy efficiency standards in the private rented sector have been the subject of ongoing policy discussion, and the bar may rise over time. Because the detail and timing of any future change can shift, we would treat the current position as the baseline and keep an eye on announcements. The general information here is not a substitute for advice on your particular property, and a qualified energy assessor or surveyor can tell you what a specific home realistically needs.

How long an EPC lasts

An EPC is valid for ten years. Once you have a valid certificate, you can rely on it for the duration of that period, including for new tenancies that begin within those ten years, without commissioning a fresh one each time a tenant changes.

That said, if you carry out energy improvements, for instance after acting on the recommendations in the report, it can be worth obtaining a new assessment so that the certificate reflects the better rating. A higher rating is a genuine selling point in a competitive London lettings market, where many tenants are conscious of running costs.

How to get an EPC

An EPC is produced by an accredited domestic energy assessor, who visits the property, takes measurements and notes the construction, insulation, heating and glazing, then lodges the certificate on the national register. The visit is usually short, and the certificate is typically issued within a few days. If you instruct a managing agent, this is the kind of task they will normally arrange on your behalf as part of preparing the property to let.

Where the EPC sits among your other obligations

The EPC is one of several documents a compliant tenancy needs, and it is easy to treat them as a single checklist. The others sit on their own renewal cycles: an annual Gas Safety Record from a Gas Safe registered engineer, which we explain in our guide to the gas safety certificate, and an Electrical Installation Condition Report at least every five years, covered in our piece on when an EICR is needed. You will also need smoke alarms on every storey and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room with a fixed combustion appliance, deposit protection in an approved scheme, and Right to Rent checks before the tenancy starts.

Since the Renters' Rights Act 2025 came into force, keeping this paperwork current and well documented matters more than ever, because the framework around possession and standards has tightened. The EPC is rarely the hardest part, but it is one that must be in place before marketing begins, so it is sensible to sort it early.

A practical word to finish

For most landlords, an EPC is a straightforward, ten-year document that quietly underpins a lawful let. The complications tend to arise only where a property falls below an E rating and works are needed, or where someone assumes an exemption that does not in fact apply. If you would like a hand getting a property ready to let, or simply want to check that your certificates and paperwork are all current, JSLA is happy to take a look and tell you honestly where things stand.