EPC Ratings in Cheltenham: How Many Homes Are Below Band C Before the 2030 Rule
Of the 3,050 homes in Cheltenham that had an EPC lodged from July 2025 to June 2026, 40% were rated D to G — the bands a privately rented home must leave by 1 October 2030. The South West figure is 44%; England and Wales 40%.
EPC bands in Cheltenham, July 2025 to June 2026
| Rating | Certificates | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Band A | 10 | 0.3% |
| Band B | 134 | 4.4% |
| Band C | 1,671 | 55% |
| Band D | 1,028 | 34% |
| Band E | 160 | 5.2% |
| Band F | 41 | 1.3% |
| Band G | 6 | 0.2% |
40% below C (bands D to G) against 44% in the South West and 40% across England and Wales. Cheltenham ranks 168 of 318 local authorities for the share below C (1 = highest share). Since 2008, 59,850 EPCs have been lodged for existing homes in Cheltenham and 59% of them were below C — recent certificates run better than the long-run stock because newer and improved homes transact more.
Cheltenham splits fairly evenly. 60% of recent certificates are already C or better, 34% are one band short at D, and 6.8% 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 Cheltenham moving towards C?
The share below C in Cheltenham rose year on year, from 37% (July 2024 to June 2025) to 40% (July 2025 to June 2026) — up 3.3 points against −2.5 points across England and Wales. A rise usually says more about which homes happened to sell or let — older, unimproved stock coming to market — than about homes getting worse; what it does mean is that more of what is on the market here needs work before it can be let after 2030.
Average floor area per certificate is 85.9 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 Cheltenham
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 Cheltenham is £1,259 a month (ONS, July 2026), so the cap is roughly 7.9 months of rent — and every month a property stands empty for works costs another £1,259 on top of the bill. The area’s rents, prices and yields are on Cheltenham: rents, house prices and yield.
Council tax keeps running while a home is empty for works — Band D in Cheltenham is £2,370 for 2026/27, and the council adds a 100% premium once a home has stood empty for one year (council tax in Cheltenham). 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 South West
| Area | Below C | Year-on-year (pts) |
|---|---|---|
| Bath and North East Somerset | 45% | −1 |
| Wiltshire | 44% | −3.4 |
| Somerset | 43% | −3.6 |
| Gloucester | 40% | −2.1 |
| North Somerset | 40% | −3.4 |
| Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole | 39% | +0.2 |
All 318 areas ranked · council tax in Cheltenham 2026/27 · rent, prices and yield in Cheltenham.
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.
Asked about EPCs here
Of EPCs lodged for existing homes from July 2025 to June 2026, 60% were band C or better and 40% were D to G; band D alone was 34%. (MHCLG live table EB1.)
The share below C moved from 37% (July 2024 to June 2025) to 40% (July 2025 to June 2026): +3.3 percentage points, against −2.5 across England and Wales.
From 1 October 2030 under the government's EPC consultation response, with a £10,000 spending cap before an exemption. Until then the minimum for a new letting is band E.
40% below C against 44% in the South West — a smaller share needing work.
No — only homes with an EPC lodged in the period (sold, let or built). Since 2008 the cumulative share below C is 59%, higher because older certificates and unimproved homes sit in that total.