EPC reform update

Earlier this year, the Scottish Government announced an indefinite delay to the introduction of new style EPCs in Scotland. These were due to be introduced on 31 October 2026 but because of UK government delays with the introduction of the methodology which will be used for the new style EPCs, that date was no longer achievable. The Scottish Government has now published draft regulations to change the 31 October 2026 commencement date to 30 April 2028. Any EPC produced in Scotland from that date will need to be generated using the new methodology, will include a new Heat Retention Rating (HRR) showing how well insulated the property is and will be valid for 5 years (as opposed to 10 years at present).

This means that from 30 April 2028 a new style EPC will need to be obtained in most cases if a property is being marketed/let to new tenants. There will be a transition period from 30 April 2028 to 30 April 2029 during which an old style EPC can still be used for the first new let as long as it is less than 10 years old. If there is more than one new let during the transition period then a new style EPC will need to be obtained for the second let.

Because of the delay with EPC reform, the government will need to put back its proposed date for introducing a minimum energy efficiency standard (MEES) in the PRS. That was proposed to commence on 1 April 2028 but it can’t come into force on that date because it is based on the HRR which won’t be shown on EPCs until the end of that month. SAL has called for there to be at least a two year period between the introduction of new style EPCs and the first trigger date for PRS MEES. We await an update from the government on this.

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