What percentage of homes in Dorset are below EPC band C?

51.6% of rated homes in Dorset are below EPC band C (as of 2026-Q2) — 60,776 of 117,755 rated dwellings. Source: The Home Index, from EPC Open Data under the Open Government Licence.

How many homes in Dorset need upgrading to reach EPC band C?

60,776 rated dwellings in Dorset sit below EPC band C and would need improvement to reach the band-C standard.

How does Dorset rank for the EPC band C retrofit gap?

Dorset ranks #116 for the widest retrofit gap among local authority areas in England and Wales.

Local authority diagnosis

Dorset

Name: The Home Index — Dorset
Creator: The Home Index
License: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

E06000059vintage 2026-Q2#116 by retrofit gap

In Dorset, 60,776 rated homes sit below EPC band C. That puts the area at #116 for the widest gap among local authority areas in England & Wales.

Direction of travel

On current pace, reaches band C by 2057

Projection from the 15-year rated-stock trend; not a forecast.

Retrofit gap

51.6%

of 117,755 rated domestic dwellings are below band C.

EPC Open Data · Open Government Licence · free to cite with attribution.

Homes below band C

60,776

League rank

#116

1 = widest gap.

Cost to reach band C

£552.2m(modelled estimate of the cost to reach band C)

Position and trajectory

Is the gap closing?

The latest position for Dorset, set against the recent direction of travel.

Fig.1Retrofit gap over time

Stock · year-end

Share of Dorset's rated dwellings below band C at each year-end, ending at its headline 51.6%. Tracks every home by its latest certificate. EPC register.

Cold Homes Index

51 / 100

#153 of 296 English local authorities (hardest to heat & fix). How it's built →

Land Registry × EPC — matched-sale signals

What is at stake in the local market

We match HM Land Registry sales to EPC certificates: price per m², below-C matched-sale exposure, the observed C-or-above price/m² spread, and transaction-rate signals. Modelled estimates, shown with match coverage; not valuations. Methodology

Matched-sale exposure

£16.7bn

estimate for below-C stock; not a valuation.

Median sale price

£365k

typical matched sale here.

Matched sale £/m²

£3,801/m²

median, from matched sales.

54.1% coverageMatched-sale estimate from recent HM Land Registry sales. Not a valuation. Methodology.

Matched sale £/m²

£3,801/m²

Matched-sale exposure

£16.7bnmatched-sale estimate of below-C rated stock value; not a valuation

C+ sale-price premium — size/type/location controlled

+2.5%

Homes rated C or better sell for ~+2.5% more per m², holding size, type and location constant (95% CI +2.5%–+2.5%).

Below-C transaction rate

1.18×

Local context

Fuel poverty & deprivation here

Current official local-authority data for gauging household hardship, grant-funding focus and where retrofit support is targeted.

Households in fuel poverty

9.8%

DESNZ sub-regional fuel poverty (LILEE), England.

Neighbourhoods in the most-deprived 10%

2.2%

share of LSOAs in the most-deprived national decile · English Indices of Deprivation 2025.

Retrofit funding available here

Retrofit grants concentrate in areas like this — schemes that may help fund work on below-C homes in Dorset:

Boiler Upgrade Scheme ↗ — £7,500 towards an air- or ground-source heat pump (or biomass).
Warm Homes: Local Grant ↗ — Insulation and low-carbon heating, delivered by your local authority.
Energy Company Obligation (ECO) / insulation schemes ↗ — Supplier-funded insulation and heating measures.

Schemes, eligibility rules and funding windows change. These are signposts, not an eligibility decision — confirm current rules via each scheme's official page. Eligibility usually depends on the household's income or benefits and the property.

Private rented sector

The rented-stock cut

60.6% (based on 85.3% tenure coverage)

Make it specific

Area averages cannot tell you what one home needs.

Check a real address in Dorset for its EPC, running costs, route to band C and available support. Landlords can then compare that home across a portfolio.

Check a home →Check a portfolio →

Prefer a general estimate? Model a home type in the cost calculator.

For local reporters: this is Dorset's citable figure — copy the line below or embed the live widget, free to use with attribution.

Cite this figure / embed

Citation

The Home Index (2026-Q2): Dorset has a retrofit gap of 51.6% — the share of rated homes below EPC band C. Source: EPC Open Data (Open Government Licence).

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