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Can you sell or let a commercial property without an EPC?

Updated 19 October 2026 · SEO Dons Editorial

In almost every case, no. Unless the building is exempt, the seller or landlord must commission an EPC before marketing, make it available to prospective buyers or tenants at the earliest opportunity, and hand a copy to whoever takes the building. Failing to make one available can cost 12.5% of the building's rateable value, between £500 and £5,000. For a letting there is a second issue: rented commercial property that is legally required to have an EPC must also meet the minimum energy efficiency standard of E.

What does the law require when you sell or let?

Regulation 6 of the Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012 says the seller or prospective landlord must make a valid EPC available, without charging for it, to any prospective buyer or tenant. It must be provided at the earliest opportunity and no later than the first of these:

  • when written information about the building is first given to someone who asked for it;
  • when someone who asked to view the building views it.

The person who ends up buying or renting must also be given a valid EPC. A prospective buyer or tenant includes anyone who asks for information, asks to view or makes an offer, so the duty starts early. A copy of the certificate is enough. The duty does not apply where the seller or landlord believes on reasonable grounds that the person is not a genuine prospect, for example because they are unlikely to be able to afford the building.

Can you start marketing before the EPC arrives?

Yes, within limits. Regulation 7 applies when there is no valid EPC:

  1. Before the building is put on the market, the seller or landlord must commission an EPC, and any agent must be satisfied that it has been commissioned before marketing.
  2. The seller or landlord and their agent must use all reasonable efforts to obtain the EPC within 7 days of first marketing.
  3. If that fails despite those efforts, it must be obtained within a further 21 days.

Government guidance confirms that the EPC must be commissioned before marketing, but need not be available at the point marketing starts. Once you have one, the rating must be stated in any sale or letting advert in commercial media.

The occupiers can help or hinder this. Anyone with an interest in, or in occupation of, the building must allow access to the energy assessor appointed by the seller or landlord, which matters when a sitting tenant controls the space.

Which transactions need an EPC?

A sale or a new lease clearly does. Government guidance adds that assigning a lease requires an EPC, and so does sub-letting. It also lists transactions that are not treated as a sale or letting, including lease renewals or extensions, compulsory purchase orders, lease surrenders and sales of company shares that do not involve selling the building. The retail guide covers how this works when letting a shop unit.

Two further points matter. A buyer or tenant cannot waive the right to an EPC; the seller or landlord remains liable whatever the other party says. And an EPC is valid for 10 years and can be reused, so check the register before commissioning a new one. Our guide to finding a commercial EPC on the register explains how.

Which buildings can be sold or let without one?

Gov.uk lists the buildings that do not need an EPC, provided you can demonstrate the exemption:

  • listed or officially protected buildings where meeting minimum energy performance requirements would unacceptably alter them;
  • places of worship;
  • temporary buildings used for two years or less;
  • industrial sites, workshops and non-residential agricultural buildings that do not use much energy;
  • detached buildings under 50 square metres;
  • some vacant buildings due for demolition, including where the buyer or tenant has applied for planning permission to demolish.

Listing alone is not enough; see our guide on whether listed commercial buildings need an EPC. Every other route is covered in our guide to whether you need a commercial EPC.

What are the penalties?

Local weights and measures authorities, usually through trading standards officers, enforce the rules. For a non-domestic building, the penalty for failing to make an EPC available is in most cases 12.5% of the rateable value, with a default of £750 where that formula cannot be applied, and a minimum of £500 and maximum of £5,000. A further £200 penalty applies if you do not produce a copy within 7 days when an enforcement officer asks. The MEES and EPC penalty calculator works out the charge from a rateable value.

A penalty charge notice cannot be given more than six months after the breach. It must be withdrawn if you took all reasonable steps and exercised due diligence. There are also two defences:

  • you asked for an EPC as soon as possible after the duty arose but, despite reasonable efforts, did not have one in time;
  • for a letting, the tenant needed to move urgently because of an emergency, and you gave them a valid EPC as soon as reasonably practicable afterwards.

If a review of the notice fails, you can appeal to the county court within 28 days of the confirmed penalty.

What does letting without an EPC mean for MEES?

The minimum energy efficiency standard applies to non-domestic rented property that is legally required to have an EPC, and government guidance says a let property marketed or modified in the past 10 years will probably be in that position. Since 1 April 2018, a new non-domestic tenancy has needed at least EPC E unless an exemption is registered, and since 1 April 2023 that has applied to all privately rented non-domestic property, even with no change in tenancy.

So letting without an EPC can leave you exposed twice: once under the EPC rules above and, if the building turns out to rate below E, under the minimum standard as well. Our MEES compliance page explains the standard, the exemptions and the penalties.

What if you have already marketed without one?

Commission the EPC now, after checking which EPC triggers apply if you are unsure the building is caught. The defences depend on asking for a certificate as soon as possible, and government guidance says the EPC should still be made available to prospective buyers or tenants as soon as you have it. You can request quotes from accredited assessors through the form on this site.

Sources

Common questions

Can a tenant agree to go ahead without seeing an EPC?

Their agreement does not help you. Government guidance says the seller or landlord may be liable to a penalty whether or not the buyer or tenant claims to waive the right to receive the certificate.

Do we need a new EPC to renew an existing lease?

Not for the renewal itself. Government guidance lists lease renewals and extensions among transactions that are not treated as a sale or letting. MEES is different: since 1 April 2018 it has applied to renewing or extending a tenancy, so the rating still matters.

Who has to arrange the EPC when a tenant assigns a lease?

Government guidance treats an assignment as the sale of an interest in the building, so the outgoing tenant, as the party disposing of that interest, is generally the one who must make the EPC available. An existing EPC under 10 years old can be used if it covers the premises.

Can we advertise a unit for let while the EPC is being produced?

Yes, as long as the EPC has been commissioned before marketing starts. You then have 7 days, plus a further 21 if needed despite reasonable efforts, to obtain it, and the rating must appear in commercial adverts once you have it.

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