Key findings
- 31,987 of the 66,821 Middlesbrough homes with an EPC (48%) are rated D or below, short of the C the government plans to require of every private rental from 1 October 2030.
- TS5 (Middlesbrough) has the highest share below C: 61% of 12,306 homes. TS8 (Middlesbrough) has the lowest, at 31%.
- 7,099 homes (11%) are rated E, F or G, two bands or more short of C. Of those, 960 are F or G: below the legal minimum for letting today, unless an exemption is registered.
- 34% of the latest certificates (22,447) have expired, so many ratings are more than ten years old.
- 66,821Middlesbrough homes with an EPC on the register
- 31,987Rated D or below, short of the planned C
- 1 Oct 2030Planned deadline for C in private rentals
8 districts, ranked
Share of homes with an EPC rated D or below, highest first. Districts with under 1,000 homes on the register are marked: their shares move more with a few homes.
| District | Homes | Below C | E–G | Expired |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TS5 Middlesbrough | 12,306 | 61% | 18% | 39% |
| TS1 Middlesbrough | 8,201 | 55% | 15% | 26% |
| TS7 Middlesbrough | 7,117 | 55% | 12% | 39% |
| TS3 Middlesbrough | 11,382 | 48% | 7% | 29% |
| TS6 Middlesbrough | 11,127 | 45% | 9% | 37% |
| TS4 Middlesbrough | 7,489 | 39% | 8% | 29% |
| TS8 Middlesbrough | 8,614 | 31% | 4% | 35% |
| TS2 Middlesbrough(small) | 585 | 23% | 4% | 25% |
By town
How the North East compares
Across all its homes the North East is 4th of England's 9 regions for the share rated C or above, slightly ahead of England as a whole. Its privately rented houses tell a different story: detached, semi-detached and terraced all have a typical score in band D. Rented terraced houses are at 65, 4 points short of C, and below England's 66.
Homes rated C or above
- London57.9%
- South East55.6%
- East of England54.8%
- North East53.5%
- England53.3%
- North West52.7%
- South West52.1%
- East Midlands51.8%
- West Midlands50.0%
- Wales47.3%
- Yorkshire and The Humber47.1%
Privately rented homes: typical score
Median EPC score. C starts at 69.
| Type | North East | England |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | 65 D | 63 |
| Semi-detached | 67 D | 65 |
| Terraced | 65 D | 66 |
| Flats and maisonettes | 70 C | 71 |
Source: Office for National Statistics, Energy efficiency of housing in England and Wales: 2025 (EPCs lodged April 2015 to March 2025; Open Government Licence v3.0). The ONS uses its own quality checks and period, so its figures differ slightly from our register snapshot above.
What would get them to C
We read 200 certificates of Middlesbrough homes rated D to G in full. Doing everything on its certificate would take 91% of them to C or better, though most lists end with solar panels. These are the improvements suggested most often, with the register's typical costs.
- Low-energy lightingTypically £3049%
- Heating controls (thermostat and radiator valves)Typically £350 – £45041%
- Floor insulation (suspended floor)Typically £800 – £1,20038%
- Solid wall insulation (internal or external)Typically £4,000 – £14,00028%
- Floor insulation (solid floor)Typically £4,000 – £6,00028%
- New condensing boilerTypically £2,200 – £3,00028%
Percentages are the share of those certificates suggesting it. Costs are typical ranges printed on the certificates, not quotes.
What the government plans
Private rentals in England and Wales must be rated E or better today. In its January 2026 response the government confirmed plans to raise that to C for every tenancy by 1 October 2030. Landlords would spend up to £10,000 per property (less on homes worth under £100,000) before they could register an exemption, and face fines of up to £30,000. The plans still need legislation, expected in 2027.
The register covers homes sold or let since 2008, owner-occupied as well as rented, so these figures describe Middlesbrough's housing with an EPC, not rentals alone.
How we did it
- We looked up every postcode in TS1–TS8 on the government's EPC register on 7 November 2026, using the postcode lists in OS Code-Point Open.
- Each home counts once, by its latest certificate. A certificate expires ten years after it was lodged.
- Districts are grouped into towns as our town pages are (whole postcode districts by post town), not by council boundaries.
- Improvements come from a random sample of 200 D–G certificates per town, read in full. Solar panels, solar water heating and wind are left out of the list because nearly every certificate ends with one.
- Ratings describe each home when it was assessed: improvements made since only show on a new EPC.
For journalists
Free to use with credit. Please cite SwiftCerts analysis of the GOV.UK EPC register, 7 November 2026
and link to this page. We can run the figures for a particular district or town, or comment on what they mean for landlords.
Own a home in Middlesbrough?
Check its current rating free, and see what its certificate says would get it to C.