What EPC rating do landlords need in Old Town?
Landlords letting in Old Town need at least EPC band E today, and should plan for band C by 2030. Below the minimum a property cannot lawfully be let without a registered exemption. NextDay EPC assesses Old Town rentals and costs the cheapest route to compliance before any money is spent.
- Band E has applied to all existing tenancies since April 2020, not just new ones.
- A current EPC is the starting point — old certificates carry pessimistic defaults.
- Band C is the expected requirement for residential lettings by 2030.
- Enforcement sits with the local authority and penalties are per property.
- Exemptions must be registered on the national PRS Exemptions Register.
Where the standard sits today
Since April 2020 it has been unlawful to let a residential property in England and Wales rated F or G, whether the tenancy is new or continuing, unless a valid exemption is registered. Enforcement sits with the local authority, and penalties are civil, per-property and repeatable.
| Band | SAP score | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| A | 92–100 | Excellent — very low running costs |
| B | 81–91 | Very good — efficient modern home |
| C | 69–80 | Good — the target for rented homes by 2030 |
| D | 55–68 | Average — where most of Old Town sits |
| E | 39–54 | Below par — today’s legal minimum to let |
| F–G | 1–38 | Poor — cannot be let without works or an exemption |
What 2030 means for Old Town landlords
The jump is larger than it reads. Moving a typical rental from E to C means finding 15 to 25 points, and there is no way to do that with cheap measures alone.
Old Town is largely the oldest part of the town — Georgian and early Victorian terraces, many in multiple occupation, concentrated around All Saints' Church and the River Leam and through Bath Street, High Street, Clemens Street and Court Street. On older, solid-walled property, ratings are typically held back by the absence of any wall cavity, high ceilings that are expensive to heat, and suspended floors open to the void beneath.
Loft insulation to 270mm, thorough draught-proofing and a full heating-control set are almost always the first three moves. They are cheap, reversible, and every one of them is credited by the calculation.
Solid-wall insulation scores well but is expensive, and on a listed building or in a conservation area external application is usually refused outright. Get the assessment done before you commit to anything structural.
The improvements that move a Old Town rating
- Internal or external wall insulation, only where the building and any consents allow
- A modern control set: programmer, room thermostat and TRVs on every radiator
- Low-energy lighting throughout — small, but it costs almost nothing
- Secondary glazing where the original windows must stay
- Draught-proofing around original doors, sashes and floorboards
- Loft insulation to 270mm — the cheapest reliable gain on a period roof
- Hot-water cylinder and pipework insulation
Exemptions
Exemptions exist but are narrow, must be registered on the national PRS Exemptions Register, and mostly last five years. The common grounds are the cost cap, a refused third-party consent, a devaluation supported by a RICS surveyor, and a wall-insulation exemption where an expert confirms the works would damage the property. An unregistered exemption is not an exemption.
Plan it before you are forced to
Doing the work is not the expensive part. Doing it in a hurry, in an occupied property, in the last year before a deadline, is. Our MEES consultancy models each option on your actual Old Town property and ranks them by cost per point. Start with a current domestic EPC, and see our landlord services for portfolio work.
Our assessors work right across Leamington Spa — including Leamington Town Centre, Leam Terrace, Brunswick and Shrubland, and every other Leamington Spa area.
