The Energy Performance Certificate every house or flat needs before it can be marketed for sale or let — carried out by an accredited Domestic Energy Assessor, lodged on the national register, and valid for 10 years.
What it is
A domestic EPC rates your property's energy efficiency from A (most efficient) to G (least efficient) with a numerical score out of 100. The assessor surveys the things that determine how much energy the home needs: floor area, construction type and age, wall and loft insulation, glazing, lighting, and the heating system and its controls.
Alongside the rating you get a recommendation report — the improvements that would raise the rating, ranked by cost and impact. For landlords near the MEES boundary, that list is effectively a to-do list for staying lettable.
When it's required: before a property is advertised for sale or let (a rule since 1 October 2008), and rentals must reach band E or better under MEES — with fines up to £5,000 for letting below it. A valid EPC is also a precondition for serving a Section 21 notice.
Details
Also selling or letting? Add a floor plan in the same visit — measured with laser measures and formatted for Rightmove and Zoopla — or see photography and virtual tours to complete the listing in one appointment.
Common questions
It depends on the size and location of the property — larger homes take longer to assess. Send the postcode and bedroom count by WhatsApp or the quote form and we'll reply with a fixed price, usually the same working day.
Yes — and before marketing starts, not at completion. If the property has an EPC from the last 10 years it may still be valid (check the government register); if it's expired, or the property has been significantly altered, book a new one.
All rooms, the loft hatch, and the boiler and heating controls. The visit is non-invasive — nothing is drilled or opened up — and takes 20–60 minutes for most homes.
Often, yes. Fitting low-energy lighting throughout is the cheapest quick win. More importantly, gather evidence of past improvements — insulation guarantees, boiler installation records, glazing certificates — because documented improvements score with certainty while undocumented ones fall back to age-based assumptions.
No — newly constructed dwellings need an on-construction EPC produced from the SAP calculation instead of a survey of an existing home.
Tell us the property type and postcode — we'll come back with a fixed quote and the earliest available date.