Guides
Practical, plain-English guides grounded in official sources and public data Address Lens uses.
EPC C by 2030: the government's announced MEES policy, explained
Current EPC E law and the government's announced EPC C policy for 1 October 2030, including proposed cost caps and penalties. The future policy remains subject to Parliamentary approval.
Read the guide →How much does it cost to upgrade an EPC from D to C?
Plan a D-to-C upgrade from the EPC recommendations and current installer quotes, with confirmed Boiler Upgrade Scheme support and the announced £10,000 PRS policy kept distinct from current law.
Read the guide →MEES exemptions explained: letting legally below the minimum EPC
When a landlord can register an exemption under current EPC E law, what the government has announced for 2030 subject to Parliamentary approval, and why exemptions are a last resort.
Read the guide →New EPC rules: planned reform and four metrics, explained
The confirmed direction for a reformed domestic EPC regime in 2027, its four headline metrics, and the HEM-based methodology and transition detail still under development.
Read the guide →What to check before buying a house: the public-records checklist
A staged homebuyer checklist: free records before a viewing, questions before an offer, and the evidence to take to a surveyor or conveyancer.
Read the guide →What is a UPRN? The property ID that outlives every address change
The official identifier used for addressable locations, how Address Lens distinguishes source-backed UPRNs from internal identifiers, and how to look up a property.
Read the guide →Land Registry Price Paid Data: coverage, updates and missing sales
Read a sold-price record before buying: coverage, updates, category A vs B and what a missing sale can mean.
Read the guide →How much does an EPC certificate cost?
Indicative 2026 quote ranges by property type, what the assessor visit involves, when a certificate is legally required, and when checking the register for free is all you need.
Read the guide →MEES deadlines: the landlord timeline from 2026 to 2030
Every date that matters — today's EPC E law, announced spend counting from October 2025, 2027 legislation and reformed EPCs, the 2029 grandfathering cutoff and the announced 2030 deadline.
Read the guide →How to check a property's EPC: register lookup, expiry and what's assessed
Where to look up any England or Wales certificate free, how to read the rating, score, expiry and recommendations, and what the assessor actually checked.
Read the guide →How to find out how much a house sold for
Find a recorded sale, then work through three fictional examples showing how property differences, sale dates and lease terms affect a comparison.
Read the guide →Why a sold price isn't showing on Land Registry
Registration lag, excluded transfer types, short leases and address quirks — the legitimate reasons a sale is missing, and what to do next.
Read the guide →How long until a house sale appears on Land Registry?
Submission delays, monthly data releases and the checks to make when a recent sale is missing. Publication is distinct from completing title registration.
Read the guide →When did Land Registry start recording sold prices?
Price Paid Data begins in January 1995. Why pre-1995 sales are absent, what an empty history really tells you, and what you can still find out.
Read the guide →Why doesn't my flat have a sold price?
Leases originally granted for seven years or less are never registered, and flat addresses rarely match how you search. The leasehold-specific gaps.
Read the guide →Category A and B sales in Price Paid Data
Category A is a full-market-value sale; category B covers repossessions and corporate transfers. How to tell them apart, and why a mixed average misleads.
Read the guide →Why a new-build isn't on Land Registry yet
A new-build has no title until one is carved out of the site, and no settled address until the plot is addressed. Why registration dominates the timeline.
Read the guide →How to find out who owns a property
Ownership of registered land in England and Wales is public. What the title register shows, what it costs, what it will not tell you, and when no title exists.
Read the guide →Sold house prices in Scotland and Northern Ireland
HM Land Registry covers England and Wales only. Where Registers of Scotland and Land & Property Services publish, and why there is no single UK source.
Read the guide →How long is an EPC valid for?
Ten years from lodgement, reusable for any number of sales or lettings in that time. When re-assessing early pays, and why validity and MEES compliance differ.
Read the guide →What is the Home Energy Model (HEM)?
The calculation model intended to replace SAP and RdSAP for the reformed EPCs planned for 2027 — what it changes, and why fabric work is the lower-risk spend.
Read the guide →What are planning constraints?
Conservation areas, listed buildings, TPOs, Article 4 directions and more — what each designation means for buying or extending, and how to find them before you commit.
Read the guide →Property checks
Short explainers on the individual checks available for the address and geography — what each source shows, and where it stops.
Sold house prices by postcode and address
HM Land Registry Price Paid records for the property — price, date, tenure and type — kept in context with the release lag and source coverage.
Open the check →Check a property's EPC rating
The current band, score, expiry and recommendations where EPC register data is available for an England & Wales address.
Open the check →Free flood risk checker by postcode
A free no-signup England postcode check for Environment Agency surface water, Flood Zones 2 and 3, historic flood outlines and live alerts, with centroid limits shown.
Open the check →Planning constraints check
England-only postcode-centroid screening for nearby planning designations; confirm any flagged constraint with the local authority and source record.
Open the check →Crime rate check by postcode
Recent crime by category and outcome at the nearest anonymised point Police.uk reports for a postcode — and how to read the single-point counts.
Open the check →