Your EPC Has Passed Ten Years Mid-Tenancy: Do You Need a New One?

You do not need a new EPC just because yours passes ten years during a tenancy. The duty is to have a valid EPC to show when you market or let the property. Before you next advertise or let it, you need an EPC registered within the last ten years, rated E or above unless an exemption is registered. This applies to privately rented homes in England. Correct as at 20 October 2026.

Why the ten years only matter when you let

The EPC rules apply "where a building is to be sold or rented out" (Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012, regulation 6(1)). They set two duties:

• make a valid EPC available free of charge to anyone considering renting the property, at the earliest opportunity and no later than when you first send them written information about it or they view it (regulation 6(2));
• make sure a valid EPC has been given free of charge to the person who becomes the tenant (regulation 6(5)).

An EPC is valid only if it was entered on the register no more than 10 years before the date it is made available, and no newer EPC has been registered since (regulation 9(2)). Validity is measured on the day you show the certificate. Nothing in these rules requires a new EPC because an existing one passes ten years while the tenant you gave it to is still living there.

That is also why "an EPC is valid for ten years from the date it is issued" is not quite right. The ten years run from registration, and they matter on the date you make the certificate available.

The band E minimum and a lapsed EPC

Separately, a privately rented home must not be let if it is below the minimum energy efficiency standard, which is band E, unless an exemption applies. Since 1 April 2020 that has covered continuing tenancies as well as new ones (Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) Regulations 2015, regulation 23).

The rule works off the EPC. A property is below the standard where "the valid energy performance certificate" shows a rating below band E, and an EPC is valid for this purpose if it was registered no more than 10 years before the date it is relied on (regulation 22). The standard applies to properties that are legally required to have an EPC. The government's guidance for landlords says a property that has been marketed for sale or let, or modified, in the past ten years "will probably be legally required to have an EPC". Whether that describes your property depends on its own history.

What is certain: a lapsed EPC is not a way round the band E rule. The next time you market or let the property you need a valid EPC, and if it shows F or G you cannot let without an exemption. If your rating is close to the line, find out before the old certificate runs out, not when you are ready to advertise. EPC rating requirements for landlords covers the minimum, the exemptions and how to register one.

When to get the new EPC

• Before you advertise. A prospective tenant must be offered a valid EPC no later than when you first send them written details or they view. In practice that means having the new certificate before the listing goes live.
• Early, if you choose. You can commission a new EPC at any time. Once it is registered it becomes the valid certificate (regulation 9(2)(b)), and the band E minimum applies to it for the tenancy you are in (regulation 23(2)(b)). That matters if you have improved the property and want the better rating on record, and it matters the other way if the new assessment comes out below E.

What the next tenant must get

The person who becomes the tenant must be given a valid EPC free of charge (regulation 6(5)). The same goes for the other documents a new tenant receives before moving in, such as the gas safety record and the electrical report. Landlord certificates and how long each one lasts sets out all three side by side. What applies before a tenant moves in separates them from the duties that start with the tenancy itself.

To know in advance when your EPC will stop being valid to show a new tenant, you can set an EPC reminder in the free tracker. You can find your current certificate on the government's energy certificate register.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it illegal to let a property with an expired EPC?

When you advertise or let the property, you must make a valid EPC available to prospective tenants and give one to the person who becomes the tenant. Valid means registered no more than ten years before you make it available. So before the next let you need an EPC registered within the last ten years.

Should I get a new EPC before the old one passes ten years?

That is your choice; nothing requires it while the tenancy continues. If you do get one, the new certificate becomes the valid one, and the band E minimum applies to it for the tenancy you are in.

How do I find when my EPC was registered?

Search for it on the government's energy certificate register, by postcode, address or certificate number. The ten years run from the date it was entered on the register, so that date tells you the last day it can be shown to a new tenant.

Correct as at 20 October 2026. This explains what the law requires of private landlords in England; it is not legal advice about your situation.