Energy Performance Certificates: guide

Buildings for let

Provision of the EPC 

The EPC rating must be included in property adverts in commercial media, and must be available for issue to all prospective tenants. If you do not provide this information, you may be subject to a penalty charge notice of £500 or more. You can check whether your building has an existing EPC on the Scottish EPC register. 

The EPC must be provided to a new tenant, free of charge. This is a legal requirement. EPCs do not have to be provided where an existing tenant is renewing their lease, and a new EPC does not need to be produced when the previous certificate's 10-year validity period expires, unless the property is being sold or let to a new tenant. 

An EPC is required for every individual dwelling that is rented out. A single certificate cannot be produced for an entire block of flats. 

Tenants who want to make improvements to the property should speak to their landlord first. They should not make any changes without the landlord's consent. Landlords are not required by these regulations to carry out improvement works, but information on financial support towards energy efficiency measures is available from Home Energy Scotland. 

Shared and complex arrangements 

Some types of accommodation and tenancy arrangement need extra care when working out if an EPC is required: 

• An EPC is required for each self-contained dwelling, including HMO-licensed properties let under a joint tenancy agreement, and bedsits or similar units let as a whole. 

• An EPC is not required where a tenant is renting a room with shared access to facilities such as a bathroom, kitchen or living area. 

• For shared ownership properties, responsibility for obtaining an EPC sits with whichever party is initiating the sale or letting. An EPC is not required where a housing association sells an additional share to an existing shared owner. 

• Where a building is leased to an agency who then rent it on to their own tenants, responsibility for the EPC depends on the contract between the building owner and the agency. 

• For sheltered housing or separate buildings on a campus, each individual flat requires its own EPC. Communal areas, such as corridors, staff offices and lounges, only need to be assessed if the whole building is being sold or let as a single unit. Where a sheltered housing complex has a communal heating system and similar floor areas, an EPC assessment may be based on another representative unit in the same building, if the assessor considers the dwellings similar enough. 

Read how to get an EPC for more information. 

Enforcement 

The local authority has powers to enforce the regulations. Landlords have a legal obligation to comply and could be subject to a fine if they do not.