How Long Does a Commercial EPC Last?

How Long Does a Commercial EPC Last?

Last updated 1 November 2026. General guidance, not legal advice.

A commercial EPC lasts 10 years from the date it was lodged on the government register, unless a newer EPC is lodged for the building first. Within those 10 years you can use it for any number of sales and lets. When it runs out, nothing happens until you next sell, let or change the building.

The 10-year rule

The Energy Performance of Buildings Regulations 2012 set two tests. An EPC is only valid if it was entered on the register no more than 10 years before the day you give it to a buyer or tenant, and no other EPC for the building has been lodged since.

So the clock runs from lodgement, not from the survey, and the test is on the day you hand it over.

The most recent EPC is the valid one, even if it is worse. If a new EPC comes out at F and the old one said E, the F now counts. If you are close to F or G, get the upgrades modelled before a new EPC is lodged.

When you need a new one

You need a valid EPC when a non-domestic building is:

• sold, or let, including sub-letting and selling or assigning a lease
• newly built: the person carrying out the work gives the EPC to the owner and tells building control, no later than five days after the work is complete
• changed so it has more or fewer parts designed for separate use, where the work includes new or extended heating, hot water, air conditioning or mechanical ventilation

A refit on its own, even with new plant, does not trigger a new EPC unless the building is also split up or joined together. Nor does a lease renewal or surrender.

What happens when it expires

An expired EPC is not a breach on its own. While the building stays with the same owner and tenant, there is no duty to renew it, even if it expires part-way through a lease.

The duty comes back the next time you market the building. You must commission a new EPC before it goes on the market and use all reasonable efforts to have it within 7 days, with a further 21 days allowed if it can't be done in 7. The rating must be shown in adverts. The penalty for not making a valid EPC available is usually 12.5% of the rateable value, with a minimum of £500 and a maximum of £5,000.

The new EPC also decides where you stand under MEES. A rented commercial building rated F or G can't be let without a registered exemption. See our guide to letting a commercial building with an F or G EPC.

Large warehouses and distribution sheds

The 10-year rule is the same for a big shed. The question is whether one is needed at all. An EPC is needed for a building with a roof and walls that uses energy to condition the indoor climate. Storage and warehouse space where the air is not fully heated or cooled can fall under the exemption for industrial sites and workshops with low energy demand.

Most sheds are not that simple. Offices, heating in the main space or mechanical ventilation can all bring a building into scope. Get it checked before you market it.

A shed let as shell and core, with no services yet, still needs an EPC if it is expected to be fitted out. The EPC is then based on the planning use class and the most energy-intensive fit-out allowed by Part L, so it often rates poorly. After the fit-out a new EPC is not always required, but an EPC of the fitted-out building is usually worth having.

Level 3 covers simple heating such as boilers under 100 kW and small comfort cooling. Linked boilers over 100 kW, VRF and central air conditioning make it Level 4. Behdad is a Level 4 assessor, so we cover both.

Before you renew

Look up the lodgement date on the EPC register and plan ahead of any sale or letting. Gather the evidence an old EPC may have missed: plant data sheets, lighting schedules and proof of insulation. Without evidence the software assumes the worst, so documents alone can lift a rating.

We have produced more than 2,000 commercial EPCs. Turnaround is 3 working days for small commercial buildings and 5 for larger ones, from the survey.

Is the 10 years changing?

No. In its January 2026 response on EPC reform, the government said it will keep 10-year validity, including for existing EPCs. It also plans to require the EPC when marketing starts. Whether rented buildings will need a valid EPC throughout a tenancy is still to be decided. None of this is law yet.

Questions we get asked

Can I let a building on an EPC that is nine years old? Yes, as long as it is less than 10 years since it was lodged on the day you give it to the tenant, and no newer EPC has been lodged.

Does a lease renewal need a new EPC? Not under the EPC rules. But if the current EPC is valid and rated F or G, MEES still applies to the renewal.

If we get a new EPC and it is worse, can we keep using the old one? No. Once a newer EPC is lodged, it is the only valid one.

Do we need a new EPC after a refit? Only if the building now has more or fewer separate parts and the work added or extended heating, hot water, cooling or ventilation. Otherwise it is optional.

More: commercial EPCs, EPC B upgrade plans, SBEM calculations, display energy certificates, letting a building with an F or G EPC, EPC B by 2031.

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