Not covered
It is not a building survey
An assessment records energy-related features. It does not report on structure, damp, the roof or the general condition of the property.
On this page Choose a route
EPCs, made clear.
An EPC records a property's assessed energy efficiency, giving it an A–G rating and recommended improvements.
Use this guide to read the score, understand what the certificate does not cover, and see when rental rules apply.
Which route applies?
Three situations, three different first moves. Start with the one that describes you.
Selling or letting
Check whether a valid certificate already exists.
If none does, an EPC must be commissioned before the property goes on the market, and the energy rating has to be stated in the advertisement where it is available.
Buying or renting
Ask to see the certificate, then read it properly.
Check the address matches the property, look at the issue date, and read the current rating rather than the potential one. A valid EPC must be given to the eventual buyer or tenant free of charge.
Landlord with an F or G rating
Read the minimum-standard guidance before letting.
Covered privately rented homes in England and Wales cannot be let, or continue to be let, below band E unless a valid exemption has been registered.
Understand the certificate
The rating scale, and the six things worth checking on any certificate you are shown.
The A–G scale
Band A 92–100 Most efficient
Above the current minimum of band E for covered privately rented homes. The standard does not apply to every property.
Band B 81–91 Very efficient
Above the current minimum of band E for covered privately rented homes. The standard does not apply to every property.
Band C 69–80 Efficient
Above the current minimum of band E for covered privately rented homes. The standard does not apply to every property.
Band D 55–68 Average
Above the current minimum of band E for covered privately rented homes. The standard does not apply to every property.
Band E 39–54 Below average Minimum
Current minimum for covered privately rented homes, unless a valid exemption is registered.
Band F 21–38 Inefficient
Below the current minimum. A covered privately rented home at this rating cannot be let, or continue to be let, unless a valid exemption has been registered.
Band G 1–20 Least efficient
Below the current minimum. A covered privately rented home at this rating cannot be let, or continue to be let, unless a valid exemption has been registered.
Every band states its letter, its score range and its meaning in words, so the certificate can be read without relying on the colours. A is the most efficient and G the least.
What to check on a certificate
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Property address
It should match the property exactly, including any flat or unit number.
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Certificate reference
The reference number identifies the certificate on the official register.
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Issue and expiry date
An EPC is valid for ten years, or until a newer certificate replaces it.
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Current and potential rating
Two separate figures. The current rating is the property as assessed; the potential is what the listed improvements could achieve.
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Floor area
Recorded in square metres, and worth comparing with what the listing says.
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Recommendations
Suggested improvements with indicative costs and savings alongside them.
What an EPC does not tell you
A certificate answers one question about a property. These are the questions it does not answer.
Brickwork and bay window of a period home
Generate and supply the period-exterior still. Nothing legible in frame; no people, boards or numbers.
Full specification
- Purpose
- Ground the boundary chapter in the fabric of a building: the chapter says an EPC is not a survey, so the scene shows the physical material a survey would examine and an energy assessment does not. Atmosphere only; it carries no claim.
- Subject
- A close, calm study of an ordinary British period house exterior in soft daylight: brickwork, a bay window and a slate roofline. No people, vehicles, boards, door numbers, branding or readable text.
- Focal point
- Brick coursing and the bay window carry the frame; the roofline closes it. Every edge is safe to crop.
- Motion
- None. A still mount; the chapter's staged reveal handles the entrance.
- Source
- Original generated editorial media — recorded as generated, never presented as documentary evidence
- Must never imply
- Must never be captioned, alt-texted or implied as a Dukes listing, a managed or surveyed property, a Slough address, or a building with a known EPC rating. It must never appear beside a rating figure or an example address. It must appear once, in the limits chapter, and nowhere else on the page.
- Alt intention
- Decorative, alt="". The chapter's meaning is carried entirely by its text.
- Accepted when
- Reads as commissioned architectural photography, stays secondary to the four written limits, and clears the mount at every width with no text baked into the asset.
Separate check
It does not certify that systems are safe
Gas and electrical safety are covered by separate checks, carried out by different people, producing different documents.
Standard occupancy
It does not predict a household's bills
The rating is calculated on standard occupancy so results stay comparable between similar buildings. Real bills depend on how a household actually lives in the property.
Estimate only
Recommendations and savings are indicative
The improvements listed, and the money they might save, are estimates for guidance. They are not quotes and not a commitment that any figure will be achieved.
Landlord minimum standard
The current requirement is band E. It applies to covered privately rented properties in England and Wales, not to every property.
The official guidance sets out each exemption and the evidence it needs. It is linked below, together with the service used to register one.
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Required
The current standard
Covered privately rented properties must be EPC band E or above before they are let, and to continue being let.
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Scope
Which properties are covered
It applies to domestic private rented property in England and Wales that is let on one of the tenancy types named in the regulations and legally required to have an EPC. It does not apply to every property.
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Conditional
Exemptions must be registered
Where an exemption applies it has to be recorded on the national PRS Exemptions Register before it can be relied on. Registering it is neither optional nor automatic, and exemptions are time-limited.
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Enforced
Enforcement
Local authorities enforce the standard and have powers to check compliance.
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Unchanged
If the threshold changes
Any change to the minimum band would come through new regulations. Until that happens band E is the requirement, and the official guidance below is the place to confirm it.
Where next with Dukes
An EPC is one document in a bigger move. These are the tools and guides that carry the rest of it.
Calculator
Stamp duty calculator
An illustrative Stamp Duty Land Tax estimate for a purchase in England or Northern Ireland. Not tax advice.
Open the calculatorThe flagship guide
Seller's Guide
Decide your route and prepare properly before the property goes on the market.
Read the Seller's GuideStep by step
Selling Process
The nine stages of a sale, in the order they happen.
See the nine stages
Questions about a Dukes property?
Speak to our team and keep the property with your enquiry.
Official guidance
Applies to England and Wales. Information reviewed 8 August 2026. This is a summary of official guidance, not legal or energy advice, and it is not exhaustive.
- Energy performance certificates when selling a home (opens in a new tab)
- A guide to energy performance certificates for the marketing, sale and let of dwellings (opens in a new tab)
- Domestic private rented property: minimum energy efficiency standard (opens in a new tab)
- Register a private rented sector energy standards exemption (opens in a new tab)
