EPC rating C: what it means
If your home has an EPC rating of C, it scored somewhere between 69 and 80 on the scale that energy performance certificates use. No other band appears more often on freshly issued certificates for homes in England and Wales, and private rentals are meant to reach this level by 2030.
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- SAP points in band C
- 69 to 80
- of 2025 EPCs in England and Wales
- 48.1%
- most a landlord must spend to reach C
- £10,000
- can be let today and after the 2030 rule
- Yes
What does band C mean for your score?
Alongside the letter, every certificate gives your home a number. That number is the SAP score, and it's just the figure the energy assessor calculates to show how efficient your home is. The higher the number, the more efficient the home.
Band C runs from SAP scores of 69 to 80. A home at 69 has only just scraped into the band, while a home at 80 is at the very top of it.
Your certificate shows a potential rating as well as your current one. According to the government guide to EPCs, that's the letter your home could get if you carried out all the cost-effective improvements listed on the certificate.
How common is band C?
These days, C is the letter you'll most often find on a new certificate. Once an assessor finishes a certificate, they add it to the official register. That step is known as lodging it.
In 2025, 838,658 of the home certificates filed for England and Wales fell into this band. That works out at 48.1%, close to half of the total. The year before, in 2024, the figure was 730,195, which represented 44.4% of that year's certificates.
Most homes only just make it into this band. Looking at records covering the decade up to March 2025, the typical English home scored 69, which is the lowest score that still qualifies as a C. In Wales the median came out at 68, a single point lower. The median is the score in the middle, splitting homes evenly between those doing better and those doing worse.
| Year | Certificates in band C | Share of home certificates |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 730,195 | 44.4% |
| 2025 | 838,658 | 48.1% |
Why is C the 2030 target?
The government has a target for tackling fuel poverty. A household is in fuel poverty when it has a low income and the home itself wastes a lot of energy. The aim is to get as many of these homes as reasonably practicable up to a C by 2030.
Renters make up a large share of this group. Across England, 22% of households renting privately were classed as fuel poor. This is the reason the government set a target of EPC C for every private tenancy by 2030.
What landlords with a band C home need to know
The government response on privately rented homes requires all tenancies to comply by 1 October 2030.
There's good news if your rental already rates C or better before 1 October 2029. It's treated as meeting the standard from that point, and it stays that way until the certificate runs out or gets replaced. So the date printed on your current certificate is worth checking.
Landlords must spend up to £10,000 per property on improvements. An EPC done before the work and another done afterwards both count within that cap.
Selling with a band C rating
A C rating can work in your favour when you put your home on the market. One study cited in the government's impact assessment found that homes in this band fetched 10% more per square metre than comparable band G homes.
That study drew on English house sales from 1995 to 2011, so its figures come from that time. Buyers curious about how much better the home could get can check the potential rating shown on the certificate.