EPC C by 2030: Landlord Timeline and Heating Decision

What is law today and what is planned

Today’s law is a minimum EPC band E for a domestic rental, and the planned change to band C is not yet law. This page sets out the dates and ties them to the heating decision. It does not cover EPC compliance in general, only what the timeline means for boilers and heat pumps.

	Law today	Planned (not yet law)
Minimum EPC band	E	C
Date	In force	1 October 2030
Cost cap per property	£3,500 including VAT	£10,000 (lower of £10,000 or 10% of value if valued below £100,000)
Exemption length	Mostly 5 years	10 years after the cap is spent
Penalty	£5,000 maximum in total	£30,000 maximum per breach, per property
Where	England and Wales	England and Wales

The sources are the GOV.UK landlord guidance (updated 5 May 2026) for today, and the government response published on 21 January 2026 for the plan.

Timeline

Date	What happens	Status
In force now	Minimum EPC E, £3,500 cost cap, exemptions mostly 5 years	Law
1 October 2025	Spend on eligible upgrades starts to count towards the planned £10,000 cap	Planned
31 December 2026	ECO4 closes	Fixed by Ofgem
31 March 2027	VAT on installing heat pumps and insulation is 0% until this date, then 5% from 1 April 2027	Fixed by HMRC
31 March 2027	Boiler Upgrade Scheme uplift to £9,000 for oil or LPG homes with no mains gas ends	Fixed by DESNZ
2027	Statutory instrument expected to bring the new standard into force	Expected, not laid
1 October 2029	EPC lodged before this date and rated C stays compliant until it expires	Planned
1 October 2030	EPC C required for in-scope tenancies	Planned

The planned rows can move. The government response said the regulations had not been laid when it was published.

What is still unknown

Several points that matter for heating are still open, and nobody can answer them until the regulations are published:

• The final text. The statutory instrument has not been laid. Details can change between a government response and the law.
• How funding is counted. The government response says Boiler Upgrade Scheme funding will not count towards the cap and that other third-party funding, including other government schemes, can. That is published policy, but the regulations are not yet laid, so the final rule may differ.
• The heating-system standard. The plan is a dual metric: a fabric performance standard first, then the landlord’s choice of a heating-system standard or a smart-readiness standard. The detail of each is not settled.
• How particular systems score. Whether a hybrid, an air-to-air unit or a heat pump with no insulation work meets the standard has not been confirmed.
• Scope edges. Short-term lets are outside the plan. Other edge cases will depend on the final text.

Planning around an unknown is reasonable. Buying equipment on the assumption that an unknown will go your way is not.

The 1 October 2029 transitional rule

A property rated EPC C or above on an EPC lodged before 1 October 2029 stays compliant until that EPC expires. In plain terms, a valid certificate showing band C, lodged in time, can carry you beyond 2030 without a new one.

This matters for heating because it rewards early, well evidenced work. If a property reaches band C through insulation, a new heating system or both, and a fresh EPC is lodged before 1 October 2029, the result is locked in for the life of that certificate. The rule is planned, so check it against the final regulations before relying on it. The EPC deadline checker helps you see where your own certificate stands.

How the timeline bears on the heating decision

The timeline favours fabric first, and heating when the boiler fails or the rules are clear. Three dated facts drive that.

1. The cap counts spend from 1 October 2025. Eligible work you do now is planned to count, so there is no need to wait for the regulations before doing sensible fabric work. Which measures are eligible is for the final text to confirm.
2. The fabric standard comes first. Under the planned dual metric, a fabric performance standard is set before the heating choice. A heat pump in a poorly insulated home can run at a higher cost, so insulation is often the right first step.
3. The grant has dates. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme pays £7,500 for an air-to-water or ground source heat pump in a mains-gas home, and landlords can apply through the installer. The £9,000 uplift is only for oil or LPG homes with no mains gas and runs from 21 July 2026 to 31 March 2027. VAT at 0% also ends on 31 March 2027. A planned heating change in early 2027 may therefore be cheaper than the same change later, but only if the home is ready for it.

When a heat pump is not the answer: if the boiler works, the home is already near band C, or there is no space for the outdoor unit, a fabric-only plan can be enough. The cost and payback worked example shows why energy savings alone rarely justify the spend, and EPC C and your heating choice sets out the options.

Next step

Check your certificate date on the EPC deadline checker, then test a heat pump scenario on the heat pump landlord calculator. If you want independent firms to look at a property, send an enquiry on the quote page; relevant firms contact you, with no charge to you and no obligation.