The new regulations on Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) came into effect on 1st April 2018 which will affect your ability to rent out a property with a rating below an E and could result in high penalties should you go ahead and rent a property without an exemption (if applicable).
There are some exceptions so please be sure to read through the guidance listed here.
Further Guidance:
1.
If you have obtained an EPC in the last 6 months and have cavity walls in the property, it is unlikely that you will be granted an exemption whilst the property is brought up to standard as the costs for doing this are unlikely to be seen as high enough to mitigate against doing the improvement work. However please see more information on applying for an exemption here.
2.
If you have obtained an EPC in the last 6 months and the property has solid walls it is likely to be an accurate rating but you could apply for an exemption based on the cost for the improvement work (if the cost to bring the property up to an E is very high). Please see here for more info.
3.
If you obtained an EPC over 6 months ago it is possible that the reading is not accurate if you have solid wall insulation.
The government has had the software for EPCs recalibrated to give a truer reading. In this instance you are advised to contact your original verifier to have the EPC looked at again under the revisions implemented to the software based on the same details when it was originally carried out. This will give a preview and if this is favourable then you can request a new EPC to be completed which will allow you to rent out the property. The verifier will charge for the new EPC. In addition if improvement work has been completed since the last EPC was done again, it is advisable to have a new certificate produced.
4.
If you obtained an EPC over 6 months ago and have cavity walls the reading is still likely to be accurate, so it will be important for you to carry out the necessary work to bring the property up to standard.