The New Landlord Register: What It Means for Your EPC and MEES Evidence
When you register a rental property on the government’s new Register Your Rental Property service, you will be asked for your EPC details and, if the property falls below the minimum rating, details of a valid exemption. Those landlord register EPC requirements sound simple, but they will catch out anyone whose paperwork is out of date, incomplete or was only ever agreed informally.
For years, many landlords have kept their EPC and any exemption paperwork in a folder and rarely looked at it. Registration changes that. The information now feeds into a system that councils can use to target enforcement, and a missing or lapsed exemption is likely to surface the moment you try to register. This guide explains what the register asks for, how exemptions fit in, and what to check before your registration window opens.
What Are the Landlord Register EPC Requirements?
The register asks for your property’s EPC details as standard, alongside other safety documents. According to the government’s guidance for landlords, you will need to provide:
- your gas safety record, with its issue date
- your electrical installation condition report or certificate, with its expiry date
- your Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
- details of any minimum energy efficiency standards (MEES) exemption, if one applies
The minimum rating for most private rented homes in England is currently Band E. If your property is rated F or G, you need a valid exemption registered against it before it can lawfully be let.
When Do Landlords Need to Register?
The service opens on 15 December 2026 and rolls out region by region, starting with the West Midlands. Each region gets a three month window to register once it is called forward, and every landlord must be registered by 14 November 2027.
Locally, the government’s published timetable puts Northamptonshire, including Northampton, Towcester, Daventry and Brackley, in the East Midlands window from 15 February to 14 May 2027. Milton Keynes and Buckingham fall in the South East window, from 15 March to 14 June 2027.
The deadline follows the property, not where you live. A landlord based in Northampton with a flat in Milton Keynes works to the June deadline for that flat, and anyone with properties in both areas will have two dates to keep track of. Letting agents managing stock across both areas will need to plan property by property.
We cover the local detail in our guide to what the rental property register means for Milton Keynes and Northamptonshire landlords.
The government’s guidance also confirms an annual fee of £65 per property, pro rated during the initial rollout.
How MEES Exemptions Fit In
An exemption only counts if it is logged on the government’s PRS Exemptions Register. Agreeing one with your letting agent, or being told by a previous assessor that the property “would qualify”, has no legal effect on its own.
A few points about exemptions are often misunderstood:
- Most exemptions last five years, after which they expire and the property must either meet the standard or have a fresh exemption registered.
- The exemption for someone who has recently become a landlord lasts only six months.
- Exemptions do not pass to a new owner when a property is sold. The buyer needs to check the position and register their own if one still applies.
It is something I come across on rental assessments around Northampton more often than you might expect: a landlord who is sure an exemption is in place, only to find it was discussed years ago but never actually registered. Until now, that tended to come to light at an inspection or a change of tenant. With registration, it is far more likely to come to light when you sit down to complete the form.
What about Band C by 2030?
The government has set out plans to raise the minimum standard for rented homes to Band C from 1 October 2030, with a higher cost cap. These plans are not yet law, and the legislation still needs to be passed. For now, Band E remains the legal minimum. Our guide to EPC Band C for landlords explains what is proposed.
Who Will Be Able to See the Information?
Councils will have access to register information to help them spot non compliant landlords and act more quickly. The government has said tenants will eventually be able to check whether a landlord is registered, with details still to follow.
It is worth remembering that much of this is already public. EPCs can be looked up by anyone on the national EPC register, and MEES exemptions can be searched on the PRS Exemptions Register. What is new is that it all comes together in one place, linked to you as the landlord.
What to Do Before Your Registration Window Opens
You do not need to wait for your region to be called forward. The three month window is for registering, not for sorting out paperwork that turns out to be missing.
- Find the current EPC for every property you let. Check the rating against the current minimum and note the expiry date.
- If a property relies on an exemption, check it is actually logged on the PRS Exemptions Register, and see how long it has left to run.
- If a property is below the minimum with no exemption, act now: either carry out the improvements needed, or, if a valid exemption genuinely applies, register it properly.
- Keep your EPC, gas safety record, electrical report and any exemption paperwork together. If you use a letting agent, agree now who does what: you will still need to start the registration yourself, although your agent will be able to upload some of the information on your behalf.
If your EPC is old, a fresh assessment can also be worthwhile before you register. Ratings can change after insulation, heating or glazing upgrades, and RdSAP 10 now records some features in more detail than older EPCs did. Our guide to EPC regulations for landlords covers the wider rules.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you are not sure where your EPC stands, or you would like a fresh assessment before your registration window opens, Bluewire Hub carries out EPCs for landlords across Milton Keynes, Northampton, Towcester, Daventry, Buckingham and Brackley. Get in touch.
