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See what a home really costs — to run, and to fix.
Look up any address to see what it costs to run, what it would take to improve, and the decisions that matter before you buy, own or let it.
Built from official EPC and Land Registry data. The check is free; detailed action plans are available when you need one.
The national finding
48.9%
of rated homes sit below EPC band C — the retrofit gap between today's housing stock and the band C standard.
We matched 44.1% of retained dwellings to recent Land Registry sales: below-C rated stock has an estimated matched-sale exposure of £1.7tn. Methodology
18,149,673 rated dwellings, de-duplicated to the latest certificate · EPC register + HM Land Registry · last updated 2026-Q2.
The scale of the problem — and whether it is shifting
A national view of the homes still below band C, the modelled cost of closing the gap, and the direction of travel.
Homes below band C
8,875,483
dwellings rated D–G across England & Wales.
Modelled cost to reach band C
The deadline
2030
Rented homes are set to need EPC band C by 2030 (MEES).
Fig.1The retrofit gap over time
Stock · year-endShare of all rated dwellings below band C at each year-end — the headline metric over time, ending at today's 48.9%. Tracks every home by its latest certificate; the decline reflects both reassessments and the growing rated stock. EPC register.
Where below-C housing value is concentrated
Most EPC trackers stop at the energy rating. We match HM Land Registry sales to EPC certificates to estimate matched-sale exposure, price per m², the observed C-or-above price/m² spread, and transaction-rate signals. These are modelled estimates shown with coverage, not valuations. Methodology
44.1% coverageMatched-sale estimate from recent HM Land Registry sales. Not a valuation. Methodology.
- £3,295/m²
- £1.7tnmatched-sale estimate of below-C rated stock value; not a valuation
- +7.1%
- Homes rated C or better sell for ~+7.1% more per m², holding size, type and location constant (95% CI +7.1%–+7.1%).
- 1.08×
Matched sale £/m²
Matched-sale exposure
C+ sale-price premium — size/type/location controlled
Below-C transaction rate
Where the gap is widest — and where it's closing
Areas ranked by their retrofit gap. Rank 1 is the widest gap.
Widest gap — local authorities
| # | Local authority | Retrofit gap |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Isles of Scilly | 83.3% |
| 2 | Gwynedd | 70.0% |
| 3 | Castle Point | 68.4% |
| 4 | Ceredigion | 67.9% |
| 5 | Staffordshire Moorlands | 67.5% |
| 6 | Pendle | 67.0% |
| 7 | North Norfolk | 64.4% |
| 8 | Isle of Anglesey | 64.3% |
| 9 | Southend-on-Sea | 64.2% |
| 10 | Blackpool | 63.8% |
Narrowest gap — local authorities
| # | Local authority | Retrofit gap |
|---|---|---|
| 309 | Vale of White Horse | 37.0% |
| 310 | Telford and Wrekin | 36.2% |
| 311 | Cambridge | 36.0% |
| 312 | Hackney | 34.5% |
| 313 | Southwark | 33.8% |
| 314 | Milton Keynes | 32.1% |
| 315 | City of London | 31.7% |
| 316 | Knowsley | 31.3% |
| 317 | Salford | 30.3% |
| 318 | Tower Hamlets | 20.3% |
Widest gap — constituencies
| # | Constituency | Retrofit gap |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dwyfor Meirionnydd | 73.8% |
| 2 | Birmingham Yardley | 72.6% |
| 3 | Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley | 69.2% |
| 4 | Ceredigion Preseli | 69.0% |
| 5 | Southend West and Leigh | 68.8% |
| 6 | Castle Point | 68.4% |
| 7 | Staffordshire Moorlands | 68.2% |
| 8 | Caerfyrddin | 67.4% |
| 9 | Rhondda and Ogmore | 66.4% |
| 10 | Barrow and Furness | 65.3% |
Narrowest gap — constituencies
| # | Constituency | Retrofit gap |
|---|---|---|
| 566 | Hackney South and Shoreditch | 28.9% |
| 567 | Knowsley | 28.9% |
| 568 | Greenwich and Woolwich | 28.2% |
| 569 | Stratford and Bow | 28.2% |
| 570 | West Ham and Beckton | 27.8% |
| 571 | Milton Keynes Central | 25.1% |
| 572 | Manchester Central | 24.2% |
| 573 | Bermondsey and Old Southwark | 23.9% |
| 574 | Salford | 21.4% |
| 575 | Poplar and Limehouse | 14.2% |
Everyone ranks by the gap. We rank by exposure.
We match HM Land Registry sales to EPC certificates, so we can rank areas by below-C matched-sale exposure, the observed C-or-above price/m² spread, and how fast below-C homes are transacting. Modelled estimates; rate tables limit to areas with 20,000+ rated homes. Methodology
Matched-sale spread vs cost
Nationally, the observed C-or-above matched-sale spread is 1.59× the modelled per-dwelling cost-to-C. This is a market signal, not evidence that works caused the price difference.
Most matched-sale exposure — local authorities
| # | Local authority | Exposure |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kensington and Chelsea | £27.6bn |
| 2 | Buckinghamshire | £26.9bn |
| 3 | Cornwall | £26.9bn |
| 4 | North Yorkshire | £24.7bn |
| 5 | Westminster | £21.9bn |
| 6 | Somerset | £21.0bn |
| 7 | Wandsworth | £18.6bn |
| 8 | Wiltshire | £17.8bn |
| 9 | Birmingham | £17.4bn |
| 10 | Barnet | £17.1bn |
Largest spread vs cost — local authorities
| # | Local authority | Spread/cost |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Newham | 16.60× |
| 2 | Greenwich | 13.12× |
| 3 | Westminster | 12.97× |
| 4 | Hammersmith and Fulham | 9.58× |
| 5 | Tower Hamlets | 9.35× |
| 6 | Hartlepool | 8.55× |
| 7 | Rhondda Cynon Taf | 8.03× |
| 8 | Blackburn with Darwen | 7.62× |
| 9 | Middlesbrough | 7.62× |
| 10 | Salford | 7.60× |
Largest C+ sale-price premium — local authorities
| # | Local authority | C+ premium |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hartlepool | +46.1% |
| 2 | Hyndburn | +38.1% |
| 3 | Burnley | +36.7% |
| 4 | Bolsover | +34.1% |
| 5 | County Durham | +33.0% |
| 6 | Neath Port Talbot | +30.8% |
| 7 | Sunderland | +29.0% |
| 8 | Rossendale | +29.0% |
| 9 | Pendle | +28.7% |
| 10 | Blackburn with Darwen | +28.6% |
Fastest below-C transactions — local authorities
| # | Local authority | Rate ratio |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Derbyshire Dales | 1.66× |
| 2 | South Norfolk | 1.64× |
| 3 | Cotswold | 1.62× |
| 4 | West Oxfordshire | 1.59× |
| 5 | Wychavon | 1.57× |
| 6 | Cherwell | 1.56× |
| 7 | Stratford-on-Avon | 1.53× |
| 8 | Tewkesbury | 1.52× |
| 9 | Tower Hamlets | 1.52× |
| 10 | Forest of Dean | 1.49× |
From national evidence to your property
The averages stop here. Check the home you actually own.
Get the real EPC, likely running costs and route to band C for one address. Landlords can then rank a portfolio by 2030 exposure, modelled cost and the decision they are weighing: fix or sell.
The deadline has moved before. See where the rule stands now.
Live beta. Start with one property free; unlock the beta portfolio report for modelled cost-to-C, matched-sale value context, exemption prompts, and fix-or-sell priority. Figures are modelled estimates, not valuations or quotes.
Where homes are hardest to heat and to fix
The Cold Homes Index: a four-part cross of official data — off-gas-grid heating and fuel poverty (hard to heat) against solid-wall construction and deprivation (hard to fix). These English local authorities sit worst on the composite. A cross-reference for researchers and reporters — not a causal claim. Ranked by the 0–100 index.
| # | Local authority | Cold Homes Index |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Great Yarmouth | 88 / 100 |
| 2 | Birmingham | 85 / 100 |
| 3 | Leicester | 84 / 100 |
| 4 | Nottingham | 84 / 100 |
| 5 | Hastings | 81 / 100 |
| 6 | East Lindsey | 81 / 100 |
| 7 | Liverpool | 80 / 100 |
| 8 | Enfield | 80 / 100 |
| 9 | Manchester | 80 / 100 |
| 10 | Wolverhampton | 79 / 100 |
Off-gas-grid & solid-wall: EPC certificates. Fuel poverty: DESNZ sub-regional LILEE (England). Deprivation: English Indices of Deprivation 2019. England local authorities only; see the methodology. Explore the full Cold Homes Index →
Reading the data
Data-led analysis of the retrofit gap, prices and the 2030 deadline.
- Insights
The C-or-above price spread is modest — and widest where margins are thinnest
Matched sales show EPC C-or-above homes selling for 4.6% more per square metre than below-C homes in England & Wales. It is an observed spread, not a causal valuation.
Read - Insights
8.9 million homes in England & Wales are below EPC band C
Almost half — 48.9% — of rated homes in England & Wales sit below EPC band C: 8.9 million properties facing the 2030 standard. Where the retrofit gap is widest, and how fast it is closing.
Read - Insights
1.9 million rented homes are below EPC band C as 2030 nears
53.7% of privately-rented homes in England & Wales are below EPC band C — 1.9 million properties landlords must bring up to standard by 2030 or stop letting. The most exposed areas, and what it costs.
Read
From the gap to the fix
The same EPC record that measures the gap also shows what moves a home up a band — and what it costs. These tools run on real register data.
- Check a home →Real EPC, cost-to-C, grants and 2030 exposure for one address.
- EPC improvement simulator →What band a home like yours can reach, and what each measure does.
- Cost to reach band C →The median cost to get there, broken down by measure.
- Energy savings & payback →Annual saving at today's prices, payback, and 10-year net.
- Heat pump calculator →Suitability, the £7,500 grant, and the running-cost case.
- Retrofit grant checker →Which grants you may qualify for, by tenure, band and income.
- MEES exemption checker →For landlords: whether a below-C rental qualifies for an exemption, and how to register it.
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