EPC Ratings Explained: Bands, Scores and What's a Good Rating

What Your Score Means

The Bands

Under the official EPC method (RdSAP), the score comes from a model of the home's running costs at fixed prices, not from your bills, so how a household actually uses energy doesn't change it.

What's a Good EPC Rating?

Our view: C or better is a good rating for an existing home. The English Housing Survey figures Nationwide quotes show how much age matters: around 97% of new builds are rated C or above, while around 24% of homes built before 1919 are rated E to G, against 2% of those built after 1990. Ten years ago only 21% of owner-occupied homes in England were A to C; now it's 53%. All of these are English figures.

Why It Matters

• Bills: DESNZ figures quoted by Nationwide put median equivalised fuel costs (adjusted for household size) for A to C homes around £400 a year lower than for D-rated homes, and £1,200 lower than for E-rated homes.
• Price: Nationwide found (26 June 2026, England) that A or B homes sold for 1.6% more than similar D-rated homes, C and E showed little difference, and F or G homes were valued 1.4% lower.
• Letting: private rented homes in England and Wales must reach E now, with a £3,500 spending cap before an exemption and fines of up to £5,000 per property. From 1 October 2030 the government's new standard is a C-level one measured on two of the new metrics (fabric performance first, then the landlord's choice of heating system or smart readiness), with a £10,000 cap and exemptions lasting 10 years. A home graded C or better on today's rating before 1 October 2029 counts as compliant until that certificate expires.
• Cost to improve: Nationwide's reading of English Housing Survey data for 2024 puts the average cost to bring a home in England up to C at around £7,500: about £6,000 from D and £17,000 from F or G. Our EPC improvement calculator works out the cheapest route for your home.

Finding and Getting an EPC

Look up any home's EPC free with gov.uk's find an energy certificate service (England, Wales and Northern Ireland; Scotland has its own register). If there isn't a valid one, you pay an accredited assessor for a new one, and gov.uk says you can be fined if you need one and don't have it. You must order it before you market a home for sale or rent; in Scotland it also has to be displayed in the property, for example in the meter cupboard. Some buildings don't need one, including standalone buildings under 50 square metres and, in some cases, listed buildings.

EPCs Are Changing

Scotland: new EPC regulations come into force on 31 October 2026. Certificates will last 5 years instead of 10, and show new ratings including a Heat Retention Rating and an Energy Cost Rating; an existing EPC that's still within its 10 years can be used until 31 October 2027.

England and Wales: the government says it will replace the single rating with four headline metrics, energy cost, fabric performance, heating system and smart readiness, and in March 2026 it said it was "working hard to deliver new EPCs from October 2026". We couldn't confirm they've launched, so check what your certificate shows. In Northern Ireland, EPCs are on the same gov.uk register, but the landlord standard and these reforms are for England and Wales; check nidirect for Northern Ireland's rules.