EPC rating G: what it means
EPC rating G is a SAP score of 1 to 20, which puts a home in the least efficient band. Band G homes now show up rarely on new certificates.
Check your home's EPC ratingOur EPC checker opens the free GOV.UK register search for any postcode.
- SAP points for band G
- 1 to 20
- of England and Wales 2025 EPCs
- 0.4%
- can't be let unless you hold a registered exemption
- No
Where band G falls on the scale
The least efficient end of the scale is band G, which the ONS puts at 1 to 20 points.
Running costs usually run high when the letter is low. Homes rated G generally cost more to heat, since the government guide pairs better ratings with cheaper fuel bills.
Register figures for band G
Homes in England and Wales received 39,661 band G certificates in 2009, the register shows. The yearly number had dropped to 6,661 by 2025, only 0.4% of all certificates.
In total, 318,371 band G EPCs have gone on the register since 2008.
Letting a home with an EPC rating G
Landlords were stopped, as of 1 April 2018, from creating new tenancies in F or G homes where the rules applied. Existing tenancies came under the ban as well from 1 April 2020.
If you breach the rules, a council can fine you:
- £2,000 at most when you let for under 3 months
- £4,000 at most when you let for 3 months or longer
- £5,000 is the cap per property overall
Exemptions that band G homes can use
For some homes, reaching E costs more than makes sense. When the cheapest recommended improvement would still cost over £3,500, a high cost exemption can be registered.
To prove it, you'll need 3 quotes from installers who are qualified. This exemption covers a 5 year period.
By June 2025, 20,200 properties on the register had an exemption, according to the impact assessment. Our exemptions check can show which might fit.
What a home gains by leaving band G
There are real effects when you move up. The impact assessment studied rented homes that moved out of F or G and reached E or higher. Winter temperatures in the average home would rise by 0.1 to 0.3 degrees, it estimates.
Price plays a part here as well. Research it cites showed that, per square metre, homes in any other band fetched a higher price than one with an EPC G rating. Homes in A and B went for 14% more.