Regime one: no certificate when required
Failing to have an EPC when selling or letting is a breach of the Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012, enforced by trading standards through penalty charge notices SI 2012/3118.
| Breach | Penalty |
|---|---|
| Dwelling marketed or transacted without an EPC | £200 per breach SI 2012/3118 |
| Non-dwelling without an EPC | 12.5% of rateable value, minimum £500, maximum £5,000 SI 2012/3118 |
Regime two: letting below the MEES floor
Letting a domestic property below band E without a registered exemption breaches the MEES Regulations 2015 SI 2015/962, enforced by local authorities:
| Breach | Penalty |
|---|---|
| Sub-standard letting, under 3 months | Up to £2,000, and/or publication penalty GOV.UK MEES |
| Sub-standard letting, 3 months or more | Up to £4,000, and/or publication penalty GOV.UK MEES |
| False or misleading exemption information | Up to £1,000, and/or publication GOV.UK MEES |
| Failure to comply with a compliance notice | Up to £2,000, and/or publication GOV.UK MEES |
| Maximum total per property | £5,000 GOV.UK MEES |
The publication penalty is reputational: the breach is published on the public PRS Exemptions Register, name attached, which for portfolio landlords can cost more than the fine.
How often is any of this enforced?
Enforcement is local-authority discretionary, and no national statistics series publishes consistent penalty counts. We will not invent a number where government does not publish one; treat enforcement risk as postcode-dependent and the reputational register as the constant.
Staying out of both regimes
- Selling: order before marketing. The £200 penalty is entirely avoidable with a free register check.
- Letting: meet the floor or register the exemption; the landlord ruleset sequences it.
- From 2030 the floor rises: the confirmed band C rules carry their own compliance machinery.