In January 2026 the government confirmed that privately rented homes in England and Wales must meet an EPC C equivalent standard by 1 October 2030. The deadline applies to new and existing tenancies alike. The maximum a landlord can be required to spend rises from £3,500 to £10,000 per property, and money spent from 1 October 2025 counts towards it.1
Most coverage has focused on the letter C. The bigger change is how C will be measured.
From one rating to four
Today's EPC gives a single A to G rating, driven largely by modelled energy cost. The reformed EPC will report four headline metrics: fabric performance, heating system, smart readiness and energy cost.2
The government's preferred approach for rented homes is a two-part test. A home must first reach the standard on fabric performance. It must then reach a second standard on either its heating system or its smart readiness, at the landlord's choice.2 Energy cost stays on the certificate but does not count towards compliance.
Who this catches out
Under the current single rating, a home can score well because its heating is cheap to run, even if its walls, roof and floor lose heat quickly. Under the new test, a good heating system cannot make up for poor fabric. The homes most exposed are older, solid-walled properties and homes whose current rating relies on the heating system rather than the envelope.
That means a portfolio that looks compliant on paper today may not be compliant under the new methodology. It also means the classic expensive mistake, fitting a heat pump to a house that still leaks heat, now fails twice: once on running costs and once on the compliance test.
The dates that matter
- Improvement spend from this date counts towards the £10,000 cap.
- Reformed EPCs expected to launch, after the government moved the date back from October 2026.3
- A home rated C or above on the current rating, with the EPC lodged before this date, is treated as compliant until that certificate expires.1
- The standard applies to all tenancies.
The 2029 date gives some landlords a route to bank compliance on the current rating. It is not a reason to wait. A certificate lasts ten years, and once it expires the home will be judged on the new metrics.
What to do now
- Know your walls. Construction type will decide much of your fabric score. Find out what each property is built from before anything else.
- Grade before you spend. Put each property through a fabric gate. Poor fabric means envelope work first and no heat pump yet.
- Sequence against your refinancing dates. If a refinance is within two years, prioritise upgrades a valuer will see.
- Keep records. Spend since October 2025 counts towards the cap, and records are what support an exemption if a home cannot reach the standard.
- Test disposal honestly. If the programme cost approaches 15 to 20% of the property's value, selling may be the better decision.
This note covers private rented homes in England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own regimes. Detailed rules for the new metrics, including band thresholds, are still to be finalised in regulations. This is general information, not legal advice.
Sources
- Improving the energy performance of privately rented homes: government response, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, January 2026.
- Reforming the Energy Performance of Buildings regime, Mayer Brown, May 2026.
- EPC reform delayed to 2027, Home Energy Model, March 2026.