EPC Ratings in Birmingham: How Many Homes Are Below Band C Before the 2030 Rule

EPC bands in Birmingham, July 2025 to June 2026

44% below C (bands D to G) against 44% in the West Midlands and 40% across England and Wales. Birmingham ranks 121 of 318 local authorities for the share below C (1 = highest share). Since 2008, 528,916 EPCs have been lodged for existing homes in Birmingham and 66% of them were below C — recent certificates run better than the long-run stock because newer and improved homes transact more.

Birmingham splits fairly evenly. 56% of recent certificates are already C or better, 39% are one band short at D, and 5.2% are E, F or G. For a landlord that means the register is worth checking property by property: the same street can hold a certificate that needs nothing and one that needs two bands of work.

Is Birmingham moving towards C?

Little movement year on year in Birmingham: 41% of certificates were below C in July 2024 to June 2025 and 44% in July 2025 to June 2026 (+2.6 points; England and Wales −2.5 points). The area is 275th of 318 for the size of its year-on-year change, so the picture here is stable rather than shifting.

The homes certified here are smaller than typical (78.2 m² on average against 87.1 m² across England and Wales), which keeps material costs down but, where they are flats, adds the practical hurdle of freeholder consent and shared heating or roof systems.

What the 2030 rule costs in Birmingham

Privately rented homes need band C from 1 October 2030, with a £10,000 cap on what a landlord must spend before an exemption can be registered; the rules, exemptions and what counts towards the cap are on the EPC C for rentals by 2030 guide.

Put the £10,000 cap in local terms: average private rent in Birmingham is £1,093 a month (ONS, July 2026), so the cap is roughly 9.1 months of rent — and every month a property stands empty for works costs another £1,093 on top of the bill. The area’s rents, prices and yields are on Birmingham: rents, house prices and yield.

Council tax keeps running while a home is empty for works — Band D in Birmingham is £2,363 for 2026/27, and the council adds a 100% premium once a home has stood empty for one year (council tax in Birmingham). Whether the certificate and the works are deductible is on EPC, gas and electrical certificates: deductible? — revenue repairs come off the year’s rent, improvements that add capital value do not (allowable expenses guide).

Nearest neighbours in the ranking, in the West Midlands

All 318 areas ranked · council tax in Birmingham 2026/27 · rent, prices and yield in Birmingham.

MHCLG, Live tables on Energy Performance of Buildings Certificates, table EB1 — domestic EPCs lodged for existing dwellings by energy-efficiency band, published 30 July 2026, latest four quarters (July 2025 to June 2026) summed per local authority; cumulative figures from 2008. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. An EPC is lodged when a home is sold, let or newly built, so these are certificates issued, not a census of the housing stock. Shares, ranks and regional figures are ours, computed across 318 local authorities. Download: CSV.