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

EPC bands in Braintree, July 2025 to June 2026

46% below C (bands D to G) against 41% in the East of England and 40% across England and Wales. Braintree ranks 96 of 318 local authorities for the share below C (1 = highest share). Since 2008, 58,324 EPCs have been lodged for existing homes in Braintree and 61% of them were below C — recent certificates run better than the long-run stock because newer and improved homes transact more.

The deeper problem here is the bottom of the scale. 12% of recent certificates in Braintree were E, F or G — against 8.6% in the East of England. F and G have been unlettable since the 2018–2020 minimum-E rules unless an exemption is registered, and an E-rated home has two bands to climb, not one; check the register before any new tenancy and budget for the cap being reached.

Is Braintree moving towards C?

Little movement year on year in Braintree: 44% of certificates were below C in July 2024 to June 2025 and 46% in July 2025 to June 2026 (+1.6 points; England and Wales −2.5 points). The area is 264th of 318 for the size of its year-on-year change, so the picture here is stable rather than shifting.

Average floor area per certificate is 93.8 m², close to the 87.1 m² England-and-Wales figure, so national cost guides apply here without much adjustment.

What the 2030 rule costs in Braintree

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 Braintree is £1,217 a month (ONS, July 2026), so the cap is roughly 8.2 months of rent — and every month a property stands empty for works costs another £1,217 on top of the bill. The area’s rents, prices and yields are on Braintree: rents, house prices and yield.

Council tax keeps running while a home is empty for works — Band D in Braintree is £2,280 for 2026/27, and the council adds a 100% premium once a home has stood empty for two years (council tax in Braintree). 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 East of England

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

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.