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Does the work qualify for an exemption?

Substantial change to a rental property lifts the rent cap for one rent setting. The bar is higher than it looks, and it is met in three quite different ways.

This counts the energy rating in levels rather than letters, which is where the answer usually turns. Nothing you enter leaves your browser.

What was done to the property?

Answer what you know. Anything left blank is treated as not done.

per cent
Energy rating before and after

A level is one step along the scale, not one letter. D1 to C1 is three levels.

Both scales are listed. The fifteen band one, with sub categories, is on certificates issued before 24 May 2026 and those stay valid for ten years. The eight band one, A0 down to G, is on anything issued since.

And the rest of the work

The scale it all turns on

Where the arithmetic bites

The third route is the one that catches people. A property sitting at D1 or worse needs three levels of improvement to count the energy criterion. One at C3 or better needs only two. A property that started low therefore has further to climb for the same credit, which surprises people.

The fifteen bands, best first
  1. A0
  2. A
  3. B
  4. C
  5. D
  6. E
  7. F
  8. G

One step between neighbours is one level. D1 to C1 is three levels, and one letter.

A live problem

The scale changed and the rules have not

On 24 May 2026 the Building Energy Rating scale was simplified from fifteen bands to eight: A0, A, B, C, D, E, F and G, with the sub categories removed.

The rent exemption rules were written against the old one. They count seven levels, and they name D1 and C3, which the new scale does not have. Seven levels out of fifteen was half the climb; out of eight it is the whole scale. There is no honest way to carry the old thresholds across.

So this page answers normally for a rating on the old scale, which is still on every certificate issued before that date and valid for ten years from issue, and declines the energy part for a rating on the new one. The other three criteria are assessed either way. When the Residential Tenancies Board restates the thresholds, this will follow the same day.

If it does qualify

A landlord claiming an exemption completes Part D of the rent setting or rent review notice. The exemption covers that one setting. The next review is back under the ordinary cap, which you can work out with the rent increase calculator.

Questions people ask

What counts as substantial change?
One of three things. A permanent extension increasing the floor area by at least 25%. Work improving the Building Energy Rating by at least 7 levels. Or three of the following together: a permanent change to the internal layout, adaptation for a person with a disability, a permanent increase in the number of rooms, and an energy rating improvement of at least three levels from D1 or lower, or two levels from C3 or higher.
Is a new kitchen or new windows enough?
On their own, almost never. A refit that leaves the layout, the room count and the floor area as they were has to carry the whole thing on the energy rating, and seven levels is a long climb. This is the point most landlords get wrong.
What is a level?
One step along the ordered band scale, which runs A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, B3, C1, C2, C3, D1, D2, E1, E2, F, G. D1 to C1 is three levels even though it is one letter. Counting letters instead of steps is the most common arithmetic mistake here.
How long does an exemption last?
It applies to the first rent setting or rent review after it is claimed, and no further. It does not take the property out of rent control permanently.

This is information, not legal or tax advice. Every figure here links to the source it came from, and that source is the one to rely on.