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

EPC bands in Cornwall, July 2025 to June 2026

55% below C (bands D to G) against 44% in the South West and 40% across England and Wales. Cornwall ranks 12 of 318 local authorities for the share below C (1 = highest share). Since 2008, 270,457 EPCs have been lodged for existing homes in Cornwall and 72% 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. 24% of recent certificates in Cornwall were E, F or G — against 12% in the South West. 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 Cornwall moving towards C?

Little movement year on year in Cornwall: 56% of certificates were below C in July 2024 to June 2025 and 55% in July 2025 to June 2026 (−0.4 points; England and Wales −2.5 points). The area is 230th 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 91.1 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 Cornwall

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 Cornwall is £1,004 a month (ONS, July 2026), so the cap is roughly 10 months of rent — and every month a property stands empty for works costs another £1,004 on top of the bill. The area’s rents, prices and yields are on Cornwall: rents, house prices and yield.

Council tax keeps running while a home is empty for works — Band D in Cornwall is £2,591 for 2026/27, and the council adds a 100% premium once a home has stood empty for one year (council tax in Cornwall). 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

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

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.