EPC Upgrades in Leasehold Properties: Freeholder Consent and What Landlords Can Do

Leasehold landlords face a compliance problem that freehold owners don't: the very improvements that would raise an EPC rating often require alterations to shared building fabric — and the lease almost certainly requires freeholder consent for those changes. Wall insulation, window replacements, communal heating upgrades, and even some boiler installations can trigger a "licence for alterations" requirement that puts the decision in someone else's hands.

The Consent Problem

Most residential leases include restrictive covenants on structural alterations. These typically cover:

• External walls — external wall insulation (the most common solid-wall upgrade) alters the building's exterior
• Windows and doors — double glazing replacements change the building's fenestration
• Roof and loft space — loft insulation in shared roof voids or loft conversions
• Communal heating systems — in blocks with shared plant, changing the heating setup requires building-wide agreement
• Service charge implications — any improvement that increases maintenance liability may need freeholder and management company approval

The MEES regulations don't override these lease obligations. Achieving energy efficiency compliance doesn't grant an automatic waiver from the consent requirements in your lease.

What Happens When the Freeholder Says No

If the freeholder (or management company, or planning authority) formally refuses consent for an improvement measure that would raise your EPC rating, this refusal is direct evidence for the Third-Party Consent Denied exemption under Regulation 31 of the MEES regulations.

To register this exemption, you need:

• Dated written correspondence showing your formal request for consent
• The written refusal from the freeholder or their managing agent
• The link to the EPC showing which recommended improvement the refusal blocks

The exemption lasts 5 years from registration (or until the tenancy ends, whichever comes first). You register it on the PRS Exemptions Register on GOV.UK — it's an online self-certification process with evidence upload.

Critical point: the refusal must be documented in writing. A phone conversation where the freeholder's agent said "we probably wouldn't approve that" isn't evidence. You need a formal written request and a formal written refusal.

The Consent Process

Before you can claim a consent exemption, you must actually seek consent. The typical process:

1. Check your lease — identify which alterations require consent and what the process is (most leases specify a "licence for alterations" application)
2. Submit a formal written request to the freeholder or their managing agent, describing the specific improvement measure, why it's needed (MEES compliance), and how it would be carried out
3. Allow reasonable time for a response — there's no statutory timeframe for freeholder consent decisions, but 28 days is a reasonable expectation
4. Document the outcome — whether approved (proceed with works) or refused (register the exemption)

If the freeholder imposes conditions, document them and seek advice before treating the response as a refusal. The exemption route requires written evidence that consent was refused.

Improvements That Typically Don't Need Consent

Several EPC improvements can usually be carried out within a leasehold flat without triggering consent requirements:

• LED lighting — internal fittings, no structural change
• Draught proofing — sealing existing windows and doors (not replacing them)
• Hot water cylinder insulation — adding a jacket to your own cylinder
• Heating controls — TRVs, programmable thermostats (assuming your flat has its own boiler, not a communal system)
• Loft insulation — if you have exclusive access to a loft space (check the lease)

These measures won't transform a Band G property into a Band E on their own, but they may be enough when combined. And because they don't require consent, they're measures you can install before claiming that the consent-dependent measures are blocked.

The MEES Requirement: Spend Before You Exempt

The regulations require you to install all recommended measures that don't need consent (and that fit within the £3,500 cost cap) before registering a consent-based exemption. You can't skip the internal improvements and go straight to "my freeholder said no" for the wall insulation.

The sequence matters:

1. Install all consent-free improvements within the cost cap
2. Request consent for the remaining measures that require it
3. If consent is refused, register the exemption with evidence of both the refusal and the improvements already made

This way, your exemption registration shows a complete picture: you've done everything within your control and the remaining barrier is genuinely a third-party decision.

Our EPC and MEES Compliance Guide covers the leasehold consent workflow in detail, including template language for freeholder requests and the evidence bundle needed for PRS Exemptions Register submission.

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