Your home is cold in winter and the heating bills are high. You ask your landlord for the Energy Performance Certificate, but they cannot find it, or it shows an F rating. That is a reason to investigate.
For covered private rented homes in England and Wales, the current minimum is EPC Band E unless a valid exemption applies. The restriction on letting below that standard began for new tenancies and renewals in April 2018, and extended to continuing tenancies in April 2020.
What is the current legal minimum EPC rating for rented homes?
The Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015 set the Band E minimum. Some homes fall outside these rules, so check yours is covered.
If a covered property is rated F or G, the landlord must improve it to the minimum standard or register a valid exemption before letting or continuing to let it.
The current exemption rules include cases where all relevant improvements have been made but the home remains below Band E, where even the cheapest recommended improvement exceeds the £3,500 spending cap, or where required third-party consent cannot be obtained. Simply deciding that improvements are impractical is not enough, and an exemption must be registered.
Ask your landlord for the EPC in writing and search the government's certificate register. If you cannot find a certificate, ask whether the property requires one before assuming a breach. If a covered home is rated F or G, check the PRS Exemptions Register too.
What EPC Band C by 2030 means for tenants now
The government's confirmed policy is a higher energy efficiency standard from 1 October 2030. It still needs a new Act of Parliament and regulations, and the government aims to bring the regulations into force in 2027. The King's Speech in May 2026 named the Energy Independence Bill as the vehicle, but the Bill had not been introduced to Parliament by October 2026. The policy would recognise qualifying existing EPCs rated C or above and issued before 1 October 2029 until they expire or are replaced.
Under the planned framework, landlords would need to meet a fabric performance standard, covering matters such as insulation and windows, plus either a smart readiness or heating system standard.
The planned framework includes a £10,000 spending cap per property over a 10-year period, with a lower cap of 10% of property value for homes valued below £100,000. It also includes a 10-year exemption where a landlord has made the improvements possible within the applicable cap but cannot reach the required standard.
If your home is rated D or E, this is a good reason to ask what your landlord plans before 2030. Repair or fitness duties may require action sooner, whatever the EPC rating.
Does a landlord have to give tenants a copy of the EPC?
Where an EPC is required, the landlord must show it free to people interested in renting the home and give the tenant who moves in a copy. The government's EPC guide explains the timing and exemptions.
In England, a missing EPC used to stop a landlord relying on a Section 21 notice. Section 21 ended on 1 May 2026, so for new notices the only consequence is a Trading Standards fine. It can still matter in a Section 21 claim that is already under way (see below). In Wales, a landlord can still give a section 173 notice with at least 6 months' notice. They cannot give it in the first 6 months of occupation, and for most standard contracts not at all while they have failed to give you a valid EPC, a gas safety report or the written statement.
If you never received an EPC when you moved in, note it.
Can a cold or energy-inefficient home support a disrepair claim?
A property with chronic cold, condensation, mould, or damp caused by inadequate insulation or heating may also breach your landlord's obligations under the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 in England, which covers hazards from the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) such as excess cold and damp.
Under that Act, your landlord has an implied obligation to keep the property fit to live in throughout the tenancy. The definition of fitness includes structural stability, freedom from damp, and adequate natural lighting and ventilation. A property where the heating system cannot maintain a reasonable temperature, or where cold bridging causes persistent mould, is a candidate for a fitness claim even if it is technically rated Band E rather than F. In Wales the equivalent duty is section 91 of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016.
Awaab's Law sets strict timeframes for social landlords in England to investigate and fix damp and mould. The government plans to extend it to private renting under the Renters' Rights Act 2025, but no date has been set and it has still to consult on the timescales. See what tenants can claim under Awaab's Law.
An F-rated property with no insulation, single glazing, and an inefficient boiler is likely generating condensation damp. That condensation damp can support a fitness claim where it makes the home not reasonably suitable to live in. You do not need to wait for the council's enforcement process to run its course before pursuing the landlord for the resulting damage to your health and property.
What landlords cannot do when an EPC improvement is needed
In England, the Tenant Fees Act 2019 means your landlord cannot charge you for EPC improvement works. A rent increase to cover them is a separate matter under the Section 13 process in the Housing Act 1988, and you can challenge it at the First-tier Tribunal. See how to challenge an unlawful rent increase in the UK. In Wales, rent increases follow section 123 of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 instead.
Since Section 21 ended in England on 1 May 2026, a landlord must prove one of the legal possession grounds to evict you, and raising a disrepair or EPC problem is not one of them. The realistic risk is a landlord misusing Ground 1 (moving in) or Ground 1A (selling) as cover. Both need 4 months' notice, and the date in the notice cannot fall before the first anniversary of your tenancy. A landlord who uses either must not let or market the home from the day the notice is served until 12 months after the date in the notice, or face a civil penalty of up to £40,000.
The older Deregulation Act 2015 retaliatory-eviction rule was tied to Section 21. It still matters in one situation. If a Section 21 notice was served before 1 May 2026 and the landlord started court proceedings in time (by 31 July 2026 at the latest), the old rules, including that bar and the EPC and gas safety requirements, keep applying until the claim ends.
How to report an EPC breach to the council
Report a suspected breach of the minimum energy efficiency standard to your council's housing enforcement team. For a failure to provide a required EPC, contact your council's Trading Standards team. The certificate regulations prescribe a £200 penalty for failing to make a residential EPC available or give it to the new tenant. Letting an F or G rated home without a valid exemption is a separate breach, with penalties totalling up to £5,000 per property.
Before reporting, save any certificate you found, your register searches and your correspondence with the landlord, and say whether the concern is a missing certificate, an F or G rating, or both.
Remedy can review your EPC concerns alongside evidence of damp, cold and disrepair to assess whether a separate fitness claim may apply.
