EPC Statistics: What the Energy Performance Certificate Data Shows

Every quarter, the government publishes statistics on the Energy Performance Certificates lodged on the national register, and those numbers have become one of the most widely used windows onto the state of Britain's housing. In the quarter January to March 2026, 460,000 EPCs were lodged in England and Wales, covering homes and commercial buildings alike¹. Behind the headline count sits a richer picture: 87% of new dwellings in England were rated A or B in that quarter, and just over 71% of all residential dwellings in England have had at least one EPC since records began in 2007¹.

This page explains what the certificate is, how the rating is produced, what the quarterly statistics measure, and what they show about the efficiency of the housing stock. It also covers the limits of the data, because a certificate lodged in 2010 was assessed under different rules from one lodged last month, and the register only covers homes that have been built, sold or let since EPCs became compulsory. Reform is on the way: new ratings, redesigned certificates and a replacement for the calculation methodology behind them are all in progress, with changes planned from 2026 and 2027¹.

What the certificate is, and what it contains

An Energy Performance Certificate sets out how energy efficient a building is, using information on potential energy costs and carbon dioxide emissions, with a coloured chart showing how efficient the building is and how efficient it could be⁴. It is a widely used measure of the energy performance of buildings in both the residential and commercial sectors, and it is the basis of many energy efficiency policies in the domestic built environment⁵. In other words, the certificate is not just a document for the buyer or tenant standing in a hallway: it is the input to rental standards, grant schemes and fuel poverty targets.

Alongside the rating, each EPC comes with a report setting out cost effective measures to improve the building's energy efficiency and its rating, such as low energy bulbs or upgraded insulation⁴. The Scottish guidance describes the same content: buildings are rated from A to G, with A the most efficient, and the certificate includes information on measures which could improve the building, with an indicative cost for each improvement⁶.

A copy of every certificate is lodged on a national register, where it can be accessed through the EPC search facility⁴. The certificates are produced for buildings when constructed, sold or let, which is why the register grows with every housing transaction rather than with every home⁷.

EPC scores explained: bands, points and the 1 to 100 range

The assessment generates an EPC score, typically ranging from 1 to 100². That score is split into seven bands, each with a fixed score range²:

The ONS article gives the bands from B downwards as 81 to 91, 69 to 80, 55 to 68, 39 to 54 and 1 to 20 for band G, with band A at the top of the scale². Both the energy efficiency rating and the environmental impact rating are scored this way: each is rated on a scale of 1 to 100 and split into bands A to G⁸. For non-domestic properties the banding extends to A+, which is the most efficient in terms of lighting, heating and cooling¹.

The score is presented on a distinctive graphic showing how it maps onto the seven bands, and the scale runs beyond 100 at the top end for particularly efficient dwellings⁹. The bands matter in policy terms as much as in household terms: rental standards, fuel poverty targets and local authority area profiles are all expressed as band thresholds rather than raw scores.

The methods behind the score: SAP and RdSAP

To determine the energy efficiency rating of a home, EPC assessors use the standard assessment procedure, SAP⁸. The content of the domestic EPC, including the ratings and the potential rating, is produced by calculations carried out in the SAP methodology¹⁰. The National Calculation Methodology describes SAP as the Standard Assessment Procedure for Energy Rating of Dwellings, and lists among its uses the production of EPCs¹¹.

For new dwellings, the government approved version 10.3 of SAP for the energy rating of dwellings in England with effect from 24 March 2026, alongside its calculated outputs including the target CO2 emission rate for the dwelling as designed and constructed¹¹. New homes are assessed from the full design and construction information available at completion.

Existing homes are different. EPCs for existing dwellings are produced using the Reduced Standard Assessment Procedure, RdSAP, which is a simplified implementation of the SAP methodology, based on a site survey when the complete data set for a SAP calculation is not available¹². An assessor visits the property, records what can be seen, and the methodology fills the gaps with standard assumptions about construction of the property's age and type. This is the practical reason a rating is a modelled figure rather than a metered one, and it is why two assessments of the same home can differ. For a fuller treatment of what the methodology assumes, see SAP, RdSAP and the assumptions behind home energy ratings and measured versus modelled home energy performance.

EPC obligations: when one is needed and who supplies it

EPCs are needed whenever a property is built, or marketed for sale or rent⁴. The same trigger points appear across the UK's guidance: EPCs must be provided when a building is advertised for sale or for let to a new tenant, and they are also required upon completion of construction of a new building³. Certain large non-domestic buildings must display one³. It is a legal requirement for all new build domestic dwellings in England and Wales to have an EPC when completed¹³.

The responsibility sits with the owner. It is the owner's or landlord's responsibility to make sure there is an EPC, to make it available to potential buyers or tenants, and to give a copy to the new owner when selling⁴. In Scotland, the Energy Performance of Buildings (Scotland) Regulations 2008 place obligations on building owners to provide an energy performance certificate when buildings are to be sold or rented out, and introduced a requirement to issue EPC data to a register¹⁴.

Scotland has some differences worth knowing. An EPC is required as part of the Home Report when a building is marketed for sale¹⁵, and an EPC is required for every individual dwelling that is rented out, not one per building¹⁶. The Planning Portal summarises the position for England and Wales similarly: an EPC is required when selling or letting an existing building¹⁷. At UK policy level, EPCs are required when any building is sold, rented out or constructed, and sometimes after refurbishment work¹⁸.

In the private rented sector in England and Wales, the certificate is not just paperwork: a property must have an EPC rating of E or above before it can lawfully be let, subject to registered exemptions¹⁹.

Quarterly EPC lodgement volumes

The headline quarterly figures come from the Energy Performance of Buildings Certificates statistical release. In the quarter January to March 2026, 460,000 EPCs were lodged on the register in England and Wales, covering domestic and non-domestic properties, a 2% decrease compared to the same quarter in 2025¹.

The domestic picture in England for that quarter breaks down as follows¹:

Over the 12 months to March 2026, 1,649,000 domestic EPCs were lodged in England, a 4% increase on the previous 12 months, of which 204,000 were for new dwellings, a 2% increase, and 87,000 were non-domestic, an 8% decrease¹. In Wales, 22,000 domestic EPCs were lodged in Q1 2026, an 8% decrease: 20,000 for existing dwellings, an 11% decrease, and 2,000 for new dwellings, a 43% increase¹.

The previous quarter's release shows how sharply the counts move with the market. In April to June 2025, 544,000 EPCs were lodged in England and Wales, and 495,000 domestic EPCs in England, a 21% increase on the same quarter a year earlier²⁰. Because a certificate is required at the point of sale or letting, lodgement counts are widely read as a proxy for housing activity, though they also capture re-assessments of homes already on the register.

What the ratings show about the housing stock

The ratings attached to those lodgements give a picture of how efficient the housing stock is, with clear improvement over time. In 2010, just 14% of UK homes had an Energy Performance rating of C or above; the government put that figure at 46% and rising as of September 2022²¹. New build has moved fastest: in England, the median EPC score for new dwellings rose from 82 in the five-year period to March 2013 to 84 in the five-year period to March 2025². In the quarter January to March 2026, 87% of new dwellings in England were rated A or B, up from 86% in the same quarter of 2025¹.

The social sector stands out. In Scotland, homes in the social rented sector are now some of the most energy efficient in the country, with 85% already achieving EPC band C or above²². The Scottish Government's impact assessment for its heat in buildings strategy likewise found social housing generally more energy efficient, with 56% of homes having attained EPC C, against lower shares in other tenures²³. The Scottish House Condition Survey 2024 reports a median energy efficiency rating of 70 points for all dwellings under the SAP 2012 methodology²⁴.

For context on how these figures fit the wider picture of home energy data, see the full guide to UK home energy statistics, and for the new build figures in detail, new build energy performance statistics.

How ratings vary by ownership, property type and build year

The ONS analysis of EPC data for England and Wales shows the pattern by property type and age. Flats and maisonettes were the most energy efficient property type, with a median score of 74, while urban or larger rural areas both scored a median of 69, similar to the rating for existing larger rural properties at 67². The gap between new and existing homes is the largest of all: a median of 84 for new dwellings against a stock-wide picture dominated by older, lower-rated homes². For a direct comparison, see EPC ratings: new build homes compared with older homes.

Tenure differences are consistent across sources. The Scottish House Condition Survey 2024 found that around 2% of dwellings in the social sector are within EPC bands E, F or G, while 12% of owner-occupied dwellings and 14% of the private rented sector are within these bands²⁴. That is the tenure gap in its starkest form: the worst-rated homes are concentrated in the private rented and owner-occupied sectors, while social landlords have systematically upgraded their stock. For more on that divide, see social rent versus private homes: EPC ratings compared.

Northern Ireland's evidence comes from a different source: Census 2021 estimates that classify usual residents living in households by EPC band, by household tenure and by resident characteristics, published by NISRA in December 2024²⁵. Nation-specific housing stock data is collected on our pages for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Share of homes with a current EPC

The register does not cover every home, and the coverage figures differ depending on the basis of the count. The April to June 2025 statistical release states that EPCs cover around 60% of the housing stock in England and around 55% in Wales, based on Census 2021 analysis by the ONS²⁰. The January to March 2026 release gives higher figures, around 71% of the housing stock in England and around 67% in Wales, also based on Census 2021 analysis¹. The ONS article on energy efficiency reports that just over 71% of all residential dwellings in England, and 67% in Wales, had at least one EPC registration since records began in 2007, as of March 2025². The two bases differ: coverage of the current stock at a point in time, and the share of dwellings that have ever had a certificate, and the figures should be read with that in mind.

Coverage is not even across the stock. A much smaller proportion of dwellings built before 1930 were covered by an EPC, at 58%, reflecting that older homes change hands less often and are less likely to have been built or let since 2007². This matters for how the statistics are read: the register over-represents recently transacted homes, which tend to be newer and better rated, so the register's own band distribution is not a clean sample of the whole stock. Dwelling stock estimates for England, published as accredited official statistics on 31 March 2025, provide the denominator against which coverage is judged²⁶.

Uses of the register and who may see it

The certificate itself is public. A copy is lodged on a national register and can be accessed via the EPC search facility on the EPC Register⁴. Beyond the published certificates, some of the underlying data may be shared for monitoring and compliance of the EPB regulations, and the government may use some data for research or statistical purposes⁴. The register has a formal keeper: the Secretary of State for the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is the keeper of the register, and the unauthorised disclosure of data is a criminal offence⁷.

User research into the statistics, based on interviews with seven users of the quarterly and weekly releases and the open data, found the data is generally split between needs such as communication methods for journalist or social media posts, comparing areas of housing to help understanding of possible improvements, gathering data on rating and floor area to create price per metre data, and enabling up to date calculation of the carbon score²⁷. The most useful data, users reported, is the current EPC, its potential and the floor area²⁷. A dashboard was introduced to provide more accessibility to the data underlying the live tables²⁷.

The statistics themselves carry weight. The figures in the release were changed from "Official Statistics in development" to "Official Statistics" in October 2024¹. The next release, covering April to June 2026 for England and Wales, is expected on 30 July 2026¹. For how to treat revisions and designation status generally, see how to read UK energy statistics.

Proposed changes: fresh ratings, shorter lifespans and the Home Energy Model

The certificate is about to change substantially. The Scottish Government's response to its EPC reform consultations commits to reforming EPCs by introducing new ratings, redesigning the certificates, and improving the operational infrastructure³. Scotland is also reducing the validity period of EPCs from ten to five years²⁸. EPCs in Scotland are to be generated using the UK Government's new Home Energy Model, which will replace the current Standard Assessment Procedure methodology in autumn 2026²⁸.

The UK Government expects the Home Energy Model to be introduced as the basis for calculating EPC ratings in the second half of 2026, establishing a new technical infrastructure to replace SAP with the new UK Home Energy Model calculation methodology, together with a new EPC Register²⁹. The England and Wales statistical release notes that the Standard Assessment Procedure is planned to be replaced by the Home Energy Model in 2027, and that reforms to EPC regulations and the information displayed on certificates are planned for the same year¹. The technical annex to the UK Government's consultation on reforms to the energy performance of buildings regime sets out what EPCs measure and how that would change¹⁰.

The policy stakes are high because so much hangs on the bands. Upgrading fuel poor homes in England to EPC band C "where reasonably practicable" is government policy³⁰, and the certificate is the instrument that decides which homes qualify. For households thinking about their own energy independence, the practical significance is direct: the rating a home holds determines what can be let, what grants may attach to it, and how a future buyer will see it. A home that improves its band reduces its dependence on imported heat, but the rating itself remains a modelled snapshot, produced under rules set in Westminster and Edinburgh, and those rules are being rewritten now.