How many UK homes fail EPC C?
According to EPCGuide's analysis of 29,214,082 domestic energy performance certificates, 55.3% of homes in England and Wales are rated below EPC C. That equates to 16,166,674 properties across all 346 local authorities, with an estimated total upgrade cost of £111.7B.
To meet the proposed 2030 EPC C deadline for rental properties, the UK would need to retrofit 404 homes every single day from now until January 2030. At current rates, this target is extremely challenging.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Total EPC certificates analysed | 29,214,082 |
| Local authorities covered | 346 |
| Homes rated below EPC C | 16,166,674 (55.3%) |
| Total estimated upgrade cost | £111.7B |
| Average upgrade cost per property | £6,344 |
| Properties needing upgrade per day (to meet 2030) | 404 |
| Worst performing local authority | Isles of Scilly (85%) |
| Best performing local authority | Tower Hamlets (12.7%) |
Source: EPCGuide analysis of MHCLG EPC Register data, 30 March 2026. See full research hub for methodology and interactive tools.
Which UK regions have the worst EPC ratings?
Wales has the highest proportion of homes below EPC C at 42.3%, followed by Yorkshire and The Humber at 40.0%. London performs best, with only 31.4% of properties falling below the EPC C threshold. This is primarily because London has a higher proportion of newer-build flats, which tend to score well on energy assessments.
| Region | Below EPC C |
|---|---|
| Wales | 42.3% |
| South West | 40.2% |
| East Midlands | 39.7% |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 39.7% |
| West Midlands | 38.9% |
| South East | 36.4% |
| North West | 36.3% |
| East of England | 36.3% |
| North East | 33.7% |
| London | 31.4% |
The regional gap is significant: Wales has 10.9 percentage points more non-compliant homes than London. Rural regions with older housing stock and more off-gas-grid properties tend to perform worst. For a detailed area-by-area breakdown, see the interactive UK EPC map.
Which local authorities have the worst EPC compliance?
EPCGuide's analysis shows that the Isles of Scilly has the worst EPC compliance in England and Wales, with 85% of properties rated below EPC C. Tower Hamlets performs best at just 12.7% below C. The gap between worst and best is over 72 percentage points, highlighting extreme variation across the country.
| Rank | Local Authority | Below EPC C |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Isles of Scilly | 85% |
| 2 | Gwynedd | 74.3% |
| 3 | Pendle | 74% |
| 4 | Ceredigion | 73% |
| 5 | Castle Point | 72.6% |
| 6 | Blackpool | 72% |
| 7 | Barrow-in-Furness | 72% |
| 8 | Hyndburn | 71.2% |
| 9 | Eden | 70.9% |
| 10 | Copeland | 70.2% |
| Rank | Local Authority | Below EPC C |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tower Hamlets | 24.9% |
| 2 | North Northamptonshire | 35% |
| 3 | City of London | 35.4% |
| 4 | West Northamptonshire | 36.5% |
| 5 | Hackney | 38.6% |
| 6 | Milton Keynes | 38.7% |
| 7 | Salford | 38.7% |
| 8 | Southwark | 40.2% |
| 9 | Basingstoke and Deane | 41.3% |
| 10 | Buckinghamshire | 41.4% |
The full rankings for all 346 local authorities are available on the interactive EPC map, including sortable tables, property-type breakdowns, and CSV export.
How much does it cost to heat a UK home?
According to EPCGuide's analysis of EPC heating cost data, the national average heating cost is £760 per year, with total average energy costs (including hot water and lighting) reaching £1,052. There is a £384 per year gap between the most and least expensive areas to heat.
Bath and North East Somerset is the most expensive area to heat at £946 per year on average. Hackney is the cheapest at £562. Areas with high proportions of off-gas-grid properties and older housing stock tend to have significantly higher heating costs.
| Area | Avg Heating Cost |
|---|---|
| Bath and North East Somerset | £946 |
| York | £905 |
| Craven | £895 |
| Blackburn with Darwen | £890 |
| County Durham | £875 |
| Area | Avg Heating Cost |
|---|---|
| Hackney | £562 |
| Islington | £567 |
| Manchester | £570 |
| Westminster | £617 |
| Brent | £626 |
For the full ranked list of all 20 areas analysed, including fuel-type breakdowns and Victorian-era heating penalties, see the heating costs by area research page.
Do rental properties have worse EPC ratings than owner-occupied homes?
Counterintuitively, owner-occupied homes perform worse overall than private rentals. EPCGuide's analysis shows that 39.4% of owner-occupied homes are below EPC C, compared to 33.8% of private rentals and 23.1% of social housing. This reflects the impact of MEES regulations, which have forced landlords to invest in energy upgrades since 2018.
| Tenure Type | Below EPC C | Avg EPC Score |
|---|---|---|
| Owner-occupied | 39.4% | 69.6 |
| Private rental | 33.8% | 69.9 |
| Social rental | 23.1% | 71.7 |
Owner-occupied homes also have higher average heating costs at £906 per year, compared to £731 for private rentals. This £175 gap reflects the larger average floor area of owner-occupied properties (90.3 sqm vs 72.9 sqm for rentals).
Social housing performs best across all metrics, with only 23.1% below EPC C. This is the result of decades of government-funded retrofit programmes targeting council and housing association stock. For the full analysis, see the rental vs owner-occupied EPC gap research page.
How does property age affect EPC rating?
Property age is the single strongest predictor of EPC performance. Victorian properties (pre-1900) are by far the worst performers: 62.8% of Victorian owner-occupied homes fall below EPC C, compared to just 5.5% of homes built after 2007. The “Victorian penalty” applies across all tenure types, though social housing has partially closed the gap through targeted retrofitting.
| Age Band | Private Rental | Owner-Occupied |
|---|---|---|
| Victorian (pre-1900) | 48.9% | 62.8% |
| Edwardian (1900-1929) | 44.2% | 54.5% |
| Inter-war (1930-1949) | 42.2% | 55.1% |
| Post-war (1950-1966) | 37.5% | 44.3% |
| 1967-1982 | 31.9% | 45.9% |
| 1983-1995 | 26.8% | 31.8% |
| 1996-2006 | 19.4% | 17.5% |
| 2007 onwards | 5.4% | 5.5% |
The data shows a clear trend: newer properties are dramatically more likely to meet EPC C. The biggest performance cliff is between inter-war (1930-1949) and post-2007 properties. Homes built after 2007 benefit from modern building regulations that require minimum insulation standards and efficient heating systems.
Notably, Victorian rentals (48.9% below C) outperform Victorian owner-occupied homes (62.8% below C) by nearly 14 percentage points. This suggests MEES regulations have pushed landlords to upgrade their worst-performing Victorian stock, while owner-occupiers face no such obligation.
How much does it cost to upgrade an EPC rating?
EPCGuide estimates the average cost to upgrade a below-C property to EPC C at £6,344. Across all 16,166,674 non-compliant properties in England and Wales, the total estimated upgrade bill is £111.7B.
| Current Rating | Score Range | Avg Upgrade Cost |
|---|---|---|
| D | 55-68 | £5,500 |
| E | 39-54 | £8,500 |
| F | 21-38 | £12,000 |
| G | 1-20 | £18,000 |
These are indicative averages based on industry data from DESNZ, RICS, and the Energy Saving Trust. Actual costs vary significantly by property type, construction method, and region. Solid-wall properties cost substantially more than cavity-wall homes. Government grants through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and other funding options can offset some of these costs.
Can the UK meet the 2030 EPC C deadline?
The numbers suggest not. To upgrade all 16,166,674 below-C properties before January 2030, the UK would need to complete 404 property upgrades every single day. That is approximately 147,460 properties per year, sustained without interruption.
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Homes currently below EPC C | 16,166,674 |
| Days remaining until 1 January 2030 | 1,316 |
| Upgrades needed per day | 404 |
| Upgrades needed per year | ~147,460 |
| Total estimated cost | £111.7B |
There are currently around 800 accredited EPC assessors active in England and Wales. Even if every property upgrade could be completed in a single day, the sheer volume required is far beyond the construction industry's current capacity for retrofit work.
For a full breakdown of the 2030 EPC C deadline regulations, including the proposed cost cap and exemption framework, see our regulations guide.
How was this data collected?
All statistics on this page are derived from EPCGuide's analysis of 29,214,082 domestic Energy Performance Certificates sourced from the official EPC Register operated by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) via the Open Data Communities API.
The dataset covers all 346 local authorities in England and Wales. Where multiple certificates exist for the same property, only the most recent is used. The analysis was last updated on 30 March 2026.
Upgrade cost estimates use industry-average figures from DESNZ, RICS, and the Energy Saving Trust. Heating cost data is drawn from the energy cost fields within EPC certificates themselves, which are modelled estimates (not actual meter readings).
For full methodology notes, data limitations, and source documentation, see the EPCGuide Research Hub.
Suggested citation: EPCGuide (30 March 2026). UK EPC Key Statistics: Analysis of 29,214,082 domestic energy performance certificates. Available at: epcguide.co.uk/research/key-statistics