Most new homes included in the energy performance certificate (EPC) register in England and Wales in the first quarter of 2024 had a B rating. The second most common rating band was C for England, and A for Wales. Meanwhile, homes with a rating ranging from E to G amounted to less than one percent. The percentages shown here indicate the relative weight of each energy efficiency band among new EPC registrations. Housing units that have not been registered are not considered.

A survey of the design quality, as measured by CABE Building For Life criteria, of affordable housing in England, commissioned by the Homes and Communities Agency.

Source agency: Communities and Local Government

Designation: Official Statistics not designated as National Statistics

Language: English

Alternative title: HCA survey

As of the first quarter of 2024, most housing units in England and Wales had a D rating in energy efficiency and environmental impact. Meanwhile, there were around 357,000 housing units in England and Wales with an environmental impact rating of A, meaning that they were very sustainable. However, it should be considered that these figures do not show the overall number of homes in these regions, just the ones that were in the registers.

In 2022, the majority of owner-occupied homes in the United Kingdom (UK) had energy efficiency rating D. Local authority and housing association homes were the most energy efficient, with the largest share of properties with rating A, B, or C. The energy performance certificate is legally required when buying or renting a home and shows the energy efficiency of a property.

Energy efficiency of dwellings, estimated CO2 emissions and main fuel type of central heating in England and Wales for five-year groups, by property type, tenure and whether new or existing.

This dataset provides Census 2021 estimates that classify households in England and Wales by number that are HMOs by occupancy rating (bedrooms). The estimates are as at Census Day, 21 March 2021.

Improvements to the Census address frame allowed us to accurately list multiple household spaces within the same building. This means the data are more often counted as distinct households within separate dwellings reflecting living arrangements. Read more about this quality notice.

Area type

Census 2021 statistics are published for a number of different geographies. These can be large, for example the whole of England, or small, for example an output area (OA), the lowest level of geography for which statistics are produced.

For higher levels of geography, more detailed statistics can be produced. When a lower level of geography is used, such as output areas (which have a minimum of 100 persons), the statistics produced have less detail. This is to protect the confidentiality of people and ensure that individuals or their characteristics cannot be identified.

Coverage

Census 2021 statistics are published for the whole of England and Wales. Data are also available in these geographic types:

• country - for example, Wales
• region - for example, London
• local authority - for example, Cornwall
• health area – for example, Clinical Commissioning Group
• statistical area - for example, MSOA or LSOA

Households of multiple occupancy (HMO)

A dwelling where unrelated tenants rent their home from a private landlord is a HMO, if both of the following apply:

• at least three unrelated individuals live there, forming more than one household
• toilet, bathroom or kitchen facilities are shared with other tenants

A small HMO is shared by 3 or 4 unrelated tenants. A large HMO is shared by 5 or more unrelated tenants.

Occupancy rating for bedrooms

Whether a household's accommodation is overcrowded, ideally occupied or under-occupied. This is calculated by comparing the number of bedrooms the household requires to the number of available bedrooms.

The number of bedrooms the household requires is calculated according to the Bedroom Standard, where the following should have their own bedroom:

1. adult couple
2. any remaining adult (aged 21 years or over)
3. two males (aged 10 to 20 years)
4. one male (aged 10 to 20 years) and one male (aged 9 years or under), if there are an odd number of males aged 10-20
5. one male aged 10-20 if there are no males aged 0-9 to pair with him.
6. repeat steps 3-5 for females
7. two children (aged 9 years or under) regardless of sex
8. any remaining child (aged 9 years or under)

An occupancy rating of:

• -1 or less implies that a household’s accommodation has fewer bedrooms than required (overcrowded)
• +1 or more implies that a household’s accommodation has more bedrooms than required (under-occupied)
• 0 suggests that a household’s accommodation has an ideal number of bedrooms

Average Standard Assessment Procedure energy rating score

How the figure is calculated:

The sum of SAP energy rating scores for each new home for which an energy performance certificate has been issued in the reporting period, divided by the number of new homes for which a certificate has been issued. It is the average of the large number of scores calculated for new dwellings during the reporting period.

Why is this indicator in the business plan?

This is a key housing measure for which DCLG has policy responsibility. It monitors the energy efficiency of new build homes.

How often is it updated?

Quarterly

Where does the data come from?

National Energy Performance Certificate Register. Published figures are available here

What area does the headline figure cover?

England

Are further breakdowns of the data available?

Yes, can be split by dwelling type.

What does a change in this indicator show?

An increase in this indicator would show an average increase in the energy efficiency of new homes. The average SAP rating is expected to gradually rise over the long-term as a growing proportion of new homes are completed to the 2010 Building Regulations standard, which requires more energy efficient new homes.

Time Lag

Published within two months of the end of the reporting period

Next available update

To be confirmed.

Type of Data

Official Statistics.

Robustness and data limitations

Average figures are volatile due to a number of factors including the small number of new homes being assessed, the mix of dwelling types, the mix of heating systems used in new developments and the location of those developments.

Links to Further Information

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-communities-and-local-government/series/code-for-sustainable-homes-statistics#publications

Contact Details

CorporatePerformance@communities.gsi.gov.uk

Office for National Statistics' national and subnational Census 2021. Occupancy rating for roomsThis dataset provides Census 2021 estimates that classify households in England and Wales by occupancy rating based on the number of rooms in the household. The estimates are as at Census Day, 21 March 2021. Occupancy rating for rooms definition: Whether a household's accommodation is overcrowded, ideally occupied or under-occupied. This is calculated by comparing the number of rooms the household requires to the number of available rooms.The number of rooms the household requires uses a formula which states that:one-person households require three rooms comprised of two common rooms and one bedroomtwo-or-more person households require a minimum of two common rooms and a bedroom for each person inline with the Bedroom StandardPeople who should have their own room according to the Bedroom Standard are:married or cohabiting couplesingle parentperson aged 16 years and overpair of same-sex persons aged 10 to 15 yearsperson aged 10 to 15 years paired with a person under 10 years of the same sexpair of children aged under 10 years, regardless of their sexperson aged under 16 years who cannot share a bedroom with someone in 4, 5 or 6 aboveAn occupancy rating of: -1 or less: implies that a household's accommodation has fewer rooms than required (overcrowded)+1 or more: implies that a household's accommodation has more rooms than required (under-occupied)0: suggests that a household's accommodation has an ideal number of roomsThe number of rooms is taken from Valuation Office Agency (VOA) administrative data for the first time in 2021. The number of rooms is recorded at the address level, whilst the 2011 Census recorded the number of rooms at the household level.This means that for households that live in a shared dwelling, the available number of rooms are counted for the whole dwelling in VOA, and not each individual household.VOA's definition of a room does not include bathrooms, toilets, halls or landings, kitchens, conservatories or utility rooms. All other rooms, for example, living rooms, studies, bedrooms, separate dining rooms and rooms that can only be used for storage are included. Please note that the 2011 Census question included kitchens, conservatories and utility rooms while excluding rooms that can only be used for storage. To adjust for the definitional difference, the number of rooms required is deducted from the actual number of rooms it has available, and then 1 is added.Quality information: It is inappropriate to measure change in number of rooms from 2011 to 2021, as Census 2021 used Valuation Office Agency data for this variable. Instead use Census 2021 estimates for number of bedrooms for comparisons over time.Comparability with 2011: Not comparable. This variable cannot be compared with the variable used in the 2011 Census. This is because in Census 2021 the data are collected using administrative data instead of data from Census 2021. This data is issued at (BGC) Generalised (20m) boundary type for:Country - England and WalesRegion - EnglandUTLA - England and WalesLTLA - England and WalesWard - England and WalesMSOA - England and WalesLSOA - England and WalesOA - England and WalesIf you require the data at full resolution boundaries, or if you are interested in the range of statistical data that Esri UK make available in ArcGIS Online please enquire at content@esriuk.com.The data services available from this page are derived from the National Data Service. The NDS delivers thousands of open national statistical indicators for the UK as data-as-a-service. Data are sourced from major providers such as the Office for National Statistics, Public Health England and Police UK and made available for your area at standard geographies such as counties, districts and wards and census output areas. This premium service can be consumed as online web services or on-premise for use throughout the ArcGIS system.Read more about the NDS.

This dataset provides Census 2021 estimates that classify households in England and Wales by occupancy rating (rooms) and by household composition. The estimates are as at Census Day, 21 March 2021.

It is inappropriate to measure change in number of rooms from 2011 to 2021, as Census 2021 used Valuation Office Agency data for this variable. Instead use Census 2021 estimates for number of bedrooms for comparisons over time. Read more about this quality notice.

Data about household relationships might not always look consistent with legal partnership status. This is because of complexity of living arrangements and the way people interpreted these questions. Take care when using these two variables together. Read more about this quality notice.

Area type

Census 2021 statistics are published for a number of different geographies. These can be large, for example the whole of England, or small, for example an output area (OA), the lowest level of geography for which statistics are produced.

For higher levels of geography, more detailed statistics can be produced. When a lower level of geography is used, such as output areas (which have a minimum of 100 persons), the statistics produced have less detail. This is to protect the confidentiality of people and ensure that individuals or their characteristics cannot be identified.

Lower tier local authorities

Lower tier local authorities provide a range of local services. There are 309 lower tier local authorities in England made up of 181 non-metropolitan districts, 59 unitary authorities, 36 metropolitan districts and 33 London boroughs (including City of London). In Wales there are 22 local authorities made up of 22 unitary authorities.

Coverage

Census 2021 statistics are published for the whole of England and Wales. However, you can choose to filter areas by:

• country - for example, Wales
• region - for example, London
• local authority - for example, Cornwall
• health area – for example, Clinical Commissioning Group
• statistical area - for example, MSOA or LSOA

Occupancy rating for rooms

Whether a household's accommodation is overcrowded, ideally occupied or under-occupied. This is calculated by comparing the number of rooms the household requires to the number of available rooms.

The number of rooms the household requires uses a formula which states that:

• one-person households require three rooms comprised of two common rooms and one bedroom

• two-or-more person households require a minimum of two common rooms and a bedroom for each of the following:

  1. married or cohabiting couple
  2. single parent
  3. person aged 16 years and over
  4. pair of same-sex persons aged 10 to 15 years
  5. person aged 10 to 15 years paired with a person under 10 years of the same sex
  6. pair of children aged 10 years, regardless of their sex
  7. person aged under 16 years who cannot share a bedroom with someone in 4, 5 or 6 above

An occupancy rating of:

• -1 or less implies that a household’s accommodation has fewer rooms than required (overcrowded)
• +1 or more implies that a household’s accommodation has more rooms than required (under-occupied)
• 0 suggests that a household’s accommodation has an ideal number of rooms

The number of rooms is taken from Valuation Office Agency (VOA) administrative data for the first time in 2021. The number of rooms is recorded at the address level, whilst the 2011 Census recorded the number of rooms at the household level. This means that for households that live in a shared dwelling, the available number of rooms are counted for the whole dwelling in VOA, and not each individual household.

VOA’s definition of a room does not include bathrooms, toilets, halls or landings, kitchens, conservatories or utility rooms. All other rooms, for example, living rooms, studies, bedrooms, separate dining rooms and rooms that can only be used for storage are included. Please note that the 2011 Census question included kitchens, conservatories and utility rooms while excluding rooms that can only be used for storage. To adjust for the definitional difference, the number of rooms required is deducted from the actual number of rooms it has available, and then 1 is added.

Household composition

Households according to the relationships between members.

One-family households are classified by:

• the number of dependent children
• family type (married, civil partnership or cohabiting couple family, or lone parent family)

Other households are classified by:

• the number of people
• the number of dependent children
• whether the household consists only of students or only of people aged 66 and over

This statistic shows the distribution of small and medium enterprises (SME) in the real estate sector in the United Kingdom (UK) in the years ending June 2014 to June 2019, by financial risk rating. In June 2014, it was found that 49 percent of real estate sector SMEs were rated as having worse than average financial risk, by 2019 the number had slightly decreased to 47 percent.

Ethnic group (19 tick-box level) by dwelling tenure and by occupancy rating, for England and Wales combined. The data are also broken down by age and by sex.

Important Note

The Brownfield data was handed over from LDA to the Homes and Communities Agency so that HCA could maintain it as part of the National Land Use Database (NLUD). The HCA’s online mapping site displays a points only version of NLUD from 2010 (password protected):

<https://signet.hca-online.org.uk/live/custom/login/SIGnet.aspx>

The links to the files below will remain here as a matter of historical record.

Polygons showing the boundaries of Brownfield land in London along with their addresses.

This database of Brownfield land replaces in more detail and accuracy the EP National Land Use Database (NLUD) for London. The current NLUD assessment covers sites in excess of 0.25ha. This project validates, checks and updates this information for existing NLUD sites plus new sites down to a smaller threshold of 0.1 hectares and above.

The Database records over 2,000 Brownfield sites across London, equivalent to more than 2% of the land in Greater London (an increase of over 1,000 sites than recorded on the previous system). The Homes and Communities Agency will use the database as their preferred platform for boroughs to record brownfield sites.

The London Database uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping. It includes transport routes, deprivation, social infrastructure, as well as heritage and natural environment assets that can be overlaid over the dataset of brownfield land. Visitors to the Database website can identify sites suitable for development, and better explore and understand a site’s context.

For more information visit the HCA website

Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are needed whenever a property is built, sold or rented. An EPC contains information about a property's energy use and typical energy costs and recommendations about how to reduce energy use and save money. An EPC gives a property an energy efficiency rating from A (most efficient) to G (least efficient) and it is valid for 10 years. The Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) used to create the EPC is the methodology used by the Government to assess and compare the energy and environmental performance of dwellings. It aims to provide accurate and reliable assessments of dwelling energy performances that are needed to underpin energy and environmental policy initiatives. The data come from an IBM Fuel Poverty report and provide SAP/EPC energy rating by post code within the Glasgow Housing Association (GHA) stock register. The fields are: Post Code, Current Energy Efficiency Rating, Potential Energy Efficiency Rating, Current Environmental Impact Rating and Potential Environmental Impact Rating. Date extracted 2011-05-19. Data supplied by Glasgow Housing Association Licence: None

Wall insulation ratings in England and Wales at the country and subnational level and for five-year groups. These are broken down by property type, tenure, and property age.