EPC Ratings in Property Adverts: What Listing Pages Must Show

Energy ratings are one of the oldest and clearest disclosure rules in property marketing, and one of the easiest to get slightly wrong on a website. A listing might link to the EPC document but never show the rating itself, or show a rating graphic so small it cannot be read on a phone. This guide sets out the rule for England and Wales and how to meet it on your listing pages. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own regimes. This is not legal advice.

The rule

The government's guide to energy performance certificates for the marketing, sale and let of dwellings says that an advertisement in commercial media for a property offered for sale or rent must include the energy performance indicator of the building as shown on the EPC.^[1] It adds that there is no requirement to display the full EPC.^[1]

Commercial media is defined broadly. The guide gives newspapers, magazines, the internet and written material produced by the seller, landlord or agent that describes the property as examples.^[1] In practice that covers your own website listings, portal listings, social media posts advertising a property, printed brochures and window cards.

Who is responsible

The guide places duties on more than one party:^[1]

• the seller or landlord must commission an EPC before marketing if no valid one already exists;
• a person acting on their behalf, such as an estate or letting agent, must be satisfied that an EPC has been commissioned before the property is put on the market;
• the duty to include the rating in advertisements applies to the seller, the landlord or a person acting on their behalf.

The 7 and 28 day periods

If an EPC is not available when marketing starts, the guide says all reasonable efforts must be used to obtain it within 7 days, and a further 21 days is allowed if it still cannot be obtained after reasonable efforts, giving 28 days in total.^[1] For lettings, the National Trading Standards letting team says that after 28 days a penalty charge notice of £200 per dwelling may be issued where no EPC has been commissioned.^[2]

Penalties

The government guide says failure to include the rating in an advert could result in a fine of £200 per advertisement.^[1] The letting team's guidance likewise says the local weights and measures authority may issue a penalty charge of £200 where it believes the advertising duty has been breached.^[2]

Minimum standards for rentals

For private rented homes in England and Wales there is a related but separate rule. The Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015, often called the minimum energy efficiency standard, generally prevent landlords letting domestic properties rated F or G unless an exemption applies.^[2] This is a lettings compliance matter rather than a website rule, but a listing showing an F or G rating for a rental is a signal worth checking before it goes live.

Showing the rating well on a listing page

The rule asks for the rating to be included. It does not prescribe a design. That leaves room to do it badly or well.

On the listing templates we build, the energy rating sits in the key facts panel as text next to the price, council tax band and tenure, so it is visible without opening anything. The EPC graph appears in the gallery with alternative text giving the current and potential ratings, and the full certificate is linked for those who want the detail.

Feeds and missing ratings

Most listings reach your website through a feed from your CRM, so the rating needs to travel through that feed. During a build we check that the feed carries the rating as a separate field, not only as an image. If a listing arrives without one, the template should make that obvious to your team rather than quietly leaving the space blank.

For properties being marketed within the 7 or 28 day periods while an EPC is obtained, a clear "EPC ordered" status is more honest than an empty space, and it reminds your team to update the listing when the certificate arrives.

Beyond the website: brochures, window cards and social posts

The same rule follows the property wherever it is advertised. Because the government guide counts written material produced by the seller, landlord or agent as commercial media,^[1] printed brochures and window cards need the rating too. It is easiest to manage all of these from one source. If the rating is held as a field in your CRM, it can flow into the website listing, the portal listing and the brochure template automatically, so nobody has to remember to add it three times.

Social media is where the rating is most often forgotten, because posts are written quickly and by hand. A simple habit helps: include the rating in the first line of any post that advertises a specific property, in the same way you would include the price.

A quick listing checklist

• The rating appears as text in the key facts, not only inside an image.
• The EPC graph, if shown, has alternative text giving the current and potential ratings.
• The full certificate is linked for anyone who wants it.
• Listings without a rating show a clear status, such as "EPC ordered", and are reviewed within the 7 and 28 day periods.
• Rental listings rated F or G are checked against the minimum standard before they go live.
• Brochures, window cards and social posts carry the same rating as the website.

Exemptions

Some buildings do not need an EPC. If you believe a property is exempt, check the official guidance on exemptions first. Where a property is exempt, a short note on the listing explaining that no EPC is required avoids leaving buyers or tenants guessing.