1 October 2030. £10,000. £30,000. None of those numbers has moved. What has moved is the certificate itself. The new EPC rules landlords were told to expect from October 2026 will now arrive in the second half of 2027. That sounds like breathing space. For most portfolios it isn't, because the date that decides your strategy is 1 October 2029, and the clock on that one is already running.
The delay in one paragraph: what moved and what did not
On 9 March 2026 the government updated its EPC reform consultation page: after engagement with industry, the launch of reformed, Home Energy Model based EPCs moves to the second half of 2027. At the time of writing, that is still the stated target. Nothing else in the rental standard changed.
| Item | Status | Date or figure |
|---|---|---|
| Reformed HEM-based EPCs | Moved | Second half of 2027 (was October 2026) |
| Rental standard: EPC C or equivalent | Confirmed policy, not yet law | 1 October 2030, all tenancies |
| Cost cap | Confirmed policy | £10,000 per property |
| Maximum penalty | Confirmed policy | £30,000 per property, per breach |
| EPC C on the current rating | Confirmed policy | Counts if lodged before 1 October 2029 |
| Spend that counts towards the cap | Confirmed policy | From 1 October 2025 |
| Legal minimum today | Law | EPC E |
| 0% VAT on qualifying energy-saving installs | Law | Until 31 March 2027 |
The 2030 standard comes from the January 2026 government response on privately rented homes. It is policy direction: the government says it will take new powers through an Act of Parliament and aims for regulations in force in 2027. Plan for it. Don't describe it to a lender as law yet.
Why 1 October 2029 matters more than 2030
The full government response says rented homes scoring C or higher on the current Energy Efficiency Rating, on an EPC lodged before 1 October 2029, will be treated as compliant until that EPC expires. EPCs last ten years. A C lodged in 2027 covers that unit well into the 2030s.
After that cut-off, compliance is judged on the reformed EPC. The standard becomes dual-metric: a fabric performance standard first, then the landlord's choice of a heating system standard or a smart readiness standard. The NRLA's read on the delay makes the point plainly: a C under today's system is not guaranteed to remain a C under the reformed framework.
So the commercial question for each unit is simple. Can it reach C on the current method before 30 September 2029? If yes, that's the shortest route to certainty. If no, plan the works to the fabric test.
New EPC rules for landlords: what the reformed EPC will measure
The partial response confirms four headline metrics on new domestic EPCs: fabric performance, heating system, smart readiness and energy cost. Fabric is the one that bites in Bristol. Most pre-1920 terraces have solid walls, suspended timber floors and lofts that were insulated once, decades ago. A new boiler can lift today's rating. It does little for a fabric score.
Fabric-first means, roughly from least to most disruptive:
- loft insulation topped up to current depths
- suspended timber floors insulated from below or between joists
- draught-proofing at doors, windows, floors and loft hatches
- external doors and windows where the frames have failed
- solid wall insulation, internal or external, where the rest isn't enough
Seal a house up and ventilation has to improve with it, or you swap a cold home for a damp one. That's why a retrofit is a building job first.
A works plan for the next 18 months
| When | What | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Now to December 2026 | Pull the current EPC for every unit; note rating, lodgement date, recommendations | Sorts the portfolio into C now, C reachable, and fabric-heavy |
| By 31 March 2027 | Install qualifying insulation, draught-proofing and heating controls | 0% VAT window; the rate returns to 5% from 1 April 2027 |
| During 2027 | Bigger fabric works at tenancy turnover | Floors and walls need empty rooms |
| 2027 to 2028 | Heating, once the fabric is done | Smaller heat loss, smaller system |
| Before 30 September 2029 | Lodge a post-works EPC | Locks in an EER C until it expires |
The VAT point is real money. VAT Notice 708/6 zero-rates the installation of specified energy-saving materials in residential accommodation until 31 March 2027. On £8,000 of qualifying installation work, 0% against 5% is £400 per unit. Ask us whether your project qualifies.
Voids are harder to predict since the Renters' Rights Act made tenancies periodic on 1 May 2026, so plan the bigger works around natural turnover. Our guide to refurbishing between tenancies covers the scheduling.
Costs and the £10,000 cap
The government response sets the rules on spend:
- The cap is £10,000 per property. Below £100,000 in value, a lower cap of 10% of value applies.
- Spend from 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2029 on measures recommended by an existing RdSAP EPC counts, except fossil fuel heating.
- Some third-party funding counts towards the cap. Boiler Upgrade Scheme money does not.
- If a property still falls short after £10,000 of relevant spend, a cost-cap exemption can be registered, valid for ten years.
Keep every invoice. Our quotes are detailed and itemised, line by line, so your spend record matches what was installed. For worked costs on a typical terrace, see our EPC upgrade costs for a Victorian rental, the earlier EPC C by 2030 guide and our EPC readiness checklist.
We deliver this through our energy audit and retrofit service: report, works, certification. We're TrustMark registered (licence 4264445), and grant-funded measures go through accredited installers with us as main contractor. More on the energy programme.
Frequently asked questions
When will the new EPCs start?
The government's stated target is the second half of 2027, moved from October 2026 in a March 2026 update. The reformed certificate will show four headline metrics: fabric performance, heating system, smart readiness and energy cost.
Is EPC C by 2030 now law for landlords?
Not yet. It is confirmed government policy from January 2026. The government says it will take new powers by Act of Parliament and aims for regulations in force in 2027. Today's legal minimum for most private lets is still EPC E.
Will my current EPC C still count after 2029?
Under the government response, a C or higher on the current Energy Efficiency Rating, on an EPC lodged before 1 October 2029, is treated as compliant until that EPC expires.
What spending counts towards the £10,000 cost cap?
Spend from 1 October 2025 on measures recommended by an existing RdSAP EPC, up to 30 September 2029, except fossil fuel heating. Some third-party funding counts; Boiler Upgrade Scheme money does not. Below £100,000 in value, the cap is 10% of value.
Should landlords wait for the new EPC before doing works?
Rarely. Fabric works improve a property under both methods, qualifying installs are zero-rated until 31 March 2027, and a C lodged before 1 October 2029 lasts until that EPC expires.
Send us the property list. We'll price the works unit by unit, in the order that makes sense for your tenancies. Start here.
