EPC Ratings in Vale of White Horse: How Many Homes Are Below Band C Before the 2030 Rule
Of the 2,924 homes in Vale of White Horse that had an EPC lodged from July 2025 to June 2026, 42% were rated D to G — the bands a privately rented home must leave by 1 October 2030. The South East figure is 39%; England and Wales 40%.
EPC bands in Vale of White Horse, July 2025 to June 2026
| Rating | Certificates | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Band A | 35 | 1.2% |
| Band B | 231 | 7.9% |
| Band C | 1,431 | 49% |
| Band D | 924 | 32% |
| Band E | 249 | 8.5% |
| Band F | 45 | 1.5% |
| Band G | 9 | 0.3% |
42% below C (bands D to G) against 39% in the South East and 40% across England and Wales. Vale of White Horse ranks 144 of 318 local authorities for the share below C (1 = highest share). Since 2008, 51,983 EPCs have been lodged for existing homes in Vale of White Horse and 59% of them were below C — recent certificates run better than the long-run stock because newer and improved homes transact more.
Vale of White Horse splits fairly evenly. 58% of recent certificates are already C or better, 32% are one band short at D, and 10% 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 Vale of White Horse moving towards C?
Little movement year on year in Vale of White Horse: 40% of certificates were below C in July 2024 to June 2025 and 42% in July 2025 to June 2026 (+1.8 points; England and Wales −2.5 points). The area is 267th 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 larger than typical — an average of 102.5 m² against 87.1 m² across England and Wales — and insulation, glazing and heating measures scale with floor area, so a D-to-C job here tends to sit at the upper end of any national cost guide.
What the 2030 rule costs in Vale of White Horse
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 Vale of White Horse is £1,343 a month (ONS, July 2026), so the cap is roughly 7.4 months of rent — and every month a property stands empty for works costs another £1,343 on top of the bill. The area’s rents, prices and yields are on Vale of White Horse: rents, house prices and yield.
Council tax keeps running while a home is empty for works — Band D in Vale of White Horse is £2,577 for 2026/27, and the council adds a 100% premium once a home has stood empty for two years (council tax in Vale of White Horse). 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 East
| Area | Below C | Year-on-year (pts) |
|---|---|---|
| Gravesham | 44% | +0.2 |
| Oxford | 42% | +3.5 |
| Thanet | 42% | −3.9 |
| Runnymede | 42% | −4.8 |
| Horsham | 42% | −6.6 |
| Canterbury | 41% | −4 |
All 318 areas ranked · council tax in Vale of White Horse 2026/27 · rent, prices and yield in Vale of White Horse.
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, 58% were band C or better and 42% were D to G; band D alone was 32%. (MHCLG live table EB1.)
The share below C moved from 40% (July 2024 to June 2025) to 42% (July 2025 to June 2026): +1.8 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.
42% below C against 39% in the South East — a larger 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.