EPC listed buildings rules

The EPC exemption listed building owners can use

If your home has listed status for its special architectural or historical merit, you may not need an EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) at all. What matters is whether its character or appearance would be damaged by work done to satisfy energy rules.

The same rule covers homes protected because they sit in a wider area, like a conservation area.

The listing by itself doesn't settle the matter. What matters is whether your building suits the work an EPC would suggest.

Upgrades that are likely to cause problems

In most historic buildings, some common EPC suggestions would likely not be acceptable, the government guide for letting and selling says.

All four would change how the building looks. The guide lists four of them.

• double glazing
• replacement doors and windows
• external wall insulation
• boiler flues on the outside

EPC listed buildings: deciding if yours is exempt

As the owner, the decision is yours to make. Not sure? GOV.UK suggests asking the conservation officer at your local council.

Write down any advice you receive. Without an exemption, the usual rules apply, so arrange an EPC before you put your home on the market.

For a sale, the steps are in EPC when selling. Other cases are covered by our do I need an EPC checklist.

Letting a listed home: how MEES works

The Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards, known as MEES, apply only where the law says a private rental home needs an EPC. A genuine exemption means the band E rule does not apply to your listed home.

Where your EPC is rated F or G, you must reach band E or else register an exemption. £3,500 including VAT is the most you can be asked to spend.

Some work on a listed home may be refused by planners. That's covered by a third-party consent exemption, for example if the planning department refuses permission.

These exemptions mostly run for 5 years. Once that time is up, you try again to raise the rating, or you register a new exemption if one still fits.

Looking at the exemptions register

Exemptions that are registered are public. The government exemptions register tells you the date a property was registered and why it qualifies.

Try the landlord's name or a postcode to search it. Read about each type on exemptions.

You are not required to do the work an EPC suggests

If your listed home has an EPC, what it suggests counts only as advice. The certificate lists measures, but no legal duty forces you to carry them out.

Owners are advised by the government to seek expert advice before any work, so they can check each measure suits the building.

Plans to end the heritage exemption

Exemptions for heritage properties are what the government plans to remove. Once that happens, a listed home would need a valid EPC to be marketed, sold or let.

In England and Wales, new-style EPCs are now set to arrive during the second half of 2027. When rental rules will start covering newly included homes has not been confirmed yet. See EPC reform for the wider timeline.

How the 2030 rules protect older homes

Under the higher rental standard, a negative impacts exemption is what the government intends to create. You could claim it if a measure would damage your property or reduce its value by more than 5%.

This exemption would run for 10 years. The aim is to support older homes and those with heritage value.