UK areas where landlord-owned properties have the worst EPC ratings revealed

With the countdown on to bring the UK rental market up to scratch, new data from Spring’s MoveSmart platform, utilising data from Propalt, has revealed the areas where energy performance certificate (EPC) ratings are at their lowest.

Rented out homes in Cleethorpes (Lincolnshire), Barrow-in-Furness (Cumbria), Westcliff-on-Sea (Essex), Grimsby (Lincolnshire) and Accrington (Lancashire) have the worst ratings in the UK. Of the 683 landlord-owned homes in Cleethorpes, 80% have a D-G rating; while in Barrow-in-Furness 1,067 (79%) rented properties have the lower ratings. Seventy-two percent of Westcliff-on-Sea and Grimsby rental homes have D-G ratings, while Accrington stands at 71%, meaning costly works for landlords to bring their homes up to the required standards.

At a time when energy prices are soaring and tenants are feeling the cost of living crisis, the Government has advised landlords across England and Wales that by 2025 all rental properties will need an EPC rating of ‘C’ or above. An EPC rating gives detailed information about property’s energy efficiency and carbon dioxide emissions. Whenever a property is built, sold or rented out in England and Wales, property developers and homeowners need to have an EPC ratings report carried out by an accredited assessor. However, research reveals that only 53% of all UK properties have a registered EPC and 58% of those with a registered EPC are rated between categories D-G, which means they are more expensive to run and not as environmentally friendly.

Research from Habito suggests costs of up to £6,000 to upgrade a one-bedroom property from rating D-C, rising significantly for larger homes. So, for landlords who may not have funds to spend money to bring their homes up to spec, offloading their properties to Spring may be a quicker route to sell. For landlords looking to move, Spring can offer completions in as little as seven days. Much shorter, than the UK’s average completion time that Zoopla recently recorded as taking up to five and a half months on average.

Cormac Henderson, CEO of Spring, comments: “A staggering amount of homes in the UK are not up to scratch in terms of energy performance, not only making them expensive to run but having a significant negative impact on the environment at a time when the climate crisis is front and centre of the global agenda. There appears to be a trend with a higher proportion of properties in the north having poorer energy efficiency.”

“With many landlords already facing rising costs, many of which are passed onto tenants, they will have a decision to make as to whether the cost of upgrading their properties is worth it or consider exiting the market as many have suggested.”

Using the MoveSmart search tool, comparing all areas across the UK, home sellers, buyers and renters can find out property affordability information from EPC ratings to average bill costs for lighting, heating and hot water. Movers can also find out completion times and average sale prices. The data for this research includes areas where there are 500 or more landlord-owned properties and pulls together information from Government sources including the Land Registry and from statistical technology firm, Propalt into one place. Landlord-owned properties include private landlords as well as those also owned by government authorities and Housing Associations.

Table of results

The data used to compile the lists with the areas that have the most and least D-G EPC Rating properties owned by landlords is based on areas where there are more than 500 landlord owned properties.

Areas with the most landlord-owned properties with a D-G EPC rating:

Town/Area	Number of D-G EPC Rating, landlord owned properties	Total number of landlord owned properties	% of D-G EPC Ratings owned by landlords
Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire	544	683	80%
Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria	1,067	1,351	79%
Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex	945	1,314	72%
Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire	1,333	1,857	72%
Accrington, Lancashire	553	780	71%
Southend-on-Sea, Essex	1,182	1,679	70%
Kingston-Upon-Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire	4,628	6,703	69%
Blackpool, Lancashire	2,112	3,064	69%
Bootle, Merseyside	763	1,136	67%
Darwen, Lancashire	532	797	67%
Darlington, County Durham	929	1,397	66%
Edmonton, North London	1,417	2,165	65%
Halifax, West Yorkshire	1,103	1,548	65%
Hove, East Sussex	3,246	5,041	64%
Lytham St Annes, Lancashire	981	1,525	64%

Areas with the least landlord-owned properties with a D-G EPC rating:

Town/Area	Number of D-G EPC Rating, landlord owned properties	Total number of landlord owned properties	% of D-G EPC Ratings owned by landlords
Wembley, North West London	997	4,811	23%
Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire	611	2,588	24%
Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire	671	2,838	24%
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire	1,051	3,621	29%
Salford, Greater Manchester	2,129	6,796	31%
Rochester, Kent	1,304	4,055	32%
Telford, Shropshire	875	2,665	33%
Chelmsford, Essex	839	2,474	34%
Bromsgrove, Kent	583	1,714	34%
Harlow, Essex	597	1,738	34%
Hayes, West London	589	1,629	36%
Acton, West London	1,056	2,765	38%
London (overall)	64,533	162,122	40%
Poole, Dorset	915	2,278	40%
Colchester, Essex	739	1,839	40%

Full data is available on request.

As featured in The Times, Property Reporter, Landlord Today, PBC Today and Property Investor Post.

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