EPC exemptions and the PRS Exemptions Register

The six exemptions

All relevant improvements made

The property is still below E after improvements up to the £3,500 including VAT cost cap, or there are none that can be made. Lasts 5 years. Evidence: details and installation dates of all recommended improvements made, plus any surveyor's report you relied on instead of the EPC.

High cost

Even the cheapest recommended measure would cost more than £3,500 including VAT. Lasts 5 years. Evidence: 3 quotes from qualified installers for the cheapest recommended measure, plus written confirmation that you are satisfied it exceeds the cap.

Wall insulation

The only relevant improvements are cavity, external or internal wall insulation, and written expert advice shows these would negatively affect the fabric or structure of the property or its building. Lasts 5 years. Evidence: the expert's written opinion.

Third-party consent

Consent from a tenant, superior landlord, mortgagee, freeholder or planning department cannot be obtained despite best efforts, or is given on conditions you could not reasonably comply with. Lasts 5 years, or where tenant consent was the issue, until that tenancy ends or is assigned.

Property devaluation

An independent surveyor on the RICS register of valuers advises that the relevant improvements would reduce the market value of the property, or the building it forms part of, by more than 5%. Lasts 5 years.

Recently became a landlord

A temporary exemption where you became a landlord in certain circumstances. Lasts 6 months from the date you became the landlord, after which you must have improved the property to E or registered another valid exemption.

How registration works

• You register on the PRS Exemptions Register, creating or signing in to an account using GOV.UK One Login.
• Every exemption needs the property address, the exemption type and landlord details, plus the type-specific evidence above, uploaded as PDF, PNG, JPG, JPEG, DOC or DOCX, maximum 20MB per file.
• All exemptions apply from the point you register them. Registering after a local authority has started asking questions does not retrospectively cure the earlier period.
• If you improve the property to E later, or stop letting it, you can cancel the exemption from your dashboard.
• When a 5-year exemption expires you must try again to reach E, and may register a further exemption if it is still not possible.

The register is public

gov.uk states that members of the public can search the Exemptions Register for details of exempt properties and penalties issued to non-compliant landlords (gov.uk). That cuts both ways: a registered exemption is visible proof you dealt with the position properly, and a penalty is visible proof you did not.

The consultation response published in January 2026 states an intention to increase the number of exemptions available and amend current ones, alongside a higher cost cap and a 10-year exemption validity period. None of that is law yet. Register against the exemptions that exist today, on the evidence rules that exist today.