The Tees Valley EPC Report · 2026 edition review
The Tees Valley just crossed the halfway line
A year ago, 51.9% of the region's assessed homes sat below EPC C. Our July 2026 data refresh shows that figure has fallen to 50.0% — and because we hold every certificate ever lodged, we can show not just that the region improved, but what was actually installed, in which streets, and by which kinds of owner.
homes re-assessed this year with a prior certificate
average score change on re-assessment
homes crossed into the A–C band
homes now in the dataset (was 238,159)
1. Two editions, one honest comparison
Our EPC dataset is refreshed from the national register, and we publish each edition's headline figures rather than quietly overwriting them. Comparing like with like — the latest certificate per home in each edition:
of 238,159 assessed homes below EPC C
of 244,391 assessed homes below EPC C
Nearly two points in a year. At that pace the region's assessed stock reaches the 2030 rental standard around the early 2050s — which is precisely why the deadline exists to accelerate it, and why the detail below matters more than the headline.
2. What actually got installed
When a home is re-assessed, we compare its new certificate's recommendations against its old one. A measure that was recommended before and is gone now was, in most cases, done. Across the 12,070 homes re-assessed this year:
| Measure | Homes where it cleared |
|---|---|
| Low-energy lighting | 5,508 |
| New condensing boiler | 3,009 |
| Heating controls (thermostats & TRVs) | 3,107 |
| Floor insulation (all types) | 3,192 |
| Internal or external wall insulation | 2,794 |
| Loft insulation topped up to 270mm | 1,342 |
| Cavity wall insulation | 1,117 |
The honest footnote: what we left out, and why
Two measures "disappeared" even more often than lighting: solar water heating (7,864 homes) and wind turbines (822). The Tees Valley did not install eight thousand solar thermal systems last year. On 15 June 2025 the national assessment methodology was overhauled (RdSAP 10, the biggest change in over a decade, including a revised recommendation set) — and the fingerprint is unmissable in the register: solar water heating appeared as a recommendation on 71% of certificates lodged before that date, and just 6% after; wind turbines fell from 5.8% to 0.3%. Disappearance usually means installed, but not always, so we exclude measures whose drop-off is explained by rule changes rather than builders. That's also your reminder to treat any single-measure figure as an estimate, not an invoice count.
3. Where the region improved most
Start with the five councils — because this year two of them crossed the halfway line. Middlesbrough and Hartlepool both moved to having a minority of homes below C for the first time, joining Stockton-on-Tees, which got there first. Hartlepool posted the biggest single-year drop of any council.
| Council | Jul 2025 | Jul 2026 | Below C today |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stockton-on-Tees | 49.0% | 47.3% | already under half |
| Middlesbrough | 50.1% | 48.4% | crossed this year |
| Hartlepool | 51.4% | 48.7% | crossed this year — biggest drop |
| Darlington | 54.7% | 53.0% | majority below C |
| Redcar & Cleveland | 55.9% | 53.9% | majority below C |
Zooming in, change in the share of homes below EPC C by postcode district (edition vs edition, districts with 2,000+ assessed homes):
| District | Jul 2025 | Jul 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| TS1 — Middlesbrough centre most improved — again | 58.5% | 55.4% | −3.0 pts |
| TS11 — Redcar & Marske | 67.3% | 64.5% | −2.8 pts |
| TS24 — Hartlepool north | 45.7% | 42.9% | −2.7 pts |
| TS26 — Hartlepool west | 54.4% | 51.6% | −2.7 pts |
| TS25 — Hartlepool south | 55.3% | 52.8% | −2.5 pts |
| TS6 — Eston & South Bank | 48.1% | 45.8% | −2.3 pts |
| TS4 — Middlesbrough east | 40.9% | 38.7% | −2.2 pts |
| TS16 — Eaglescliffe | 51.1% | 49.0% | −2.1 pts |
TS1 holds its crown for a second year — and three of the top five movers are Hartlepool districts, which tallies with the council-led regeneration activity there. A full anatomy of TS1's improvement (which streets, which measures, which landlords) is coming as its own deep-dive.
4. Who's doing the work? Landlords, quietly leading
Average score change among homes re-assessed this year, by tenure:
Private rented · 3,432 homes re-assessed
Owner-occupied · 4,773 homes
Social rented · 3,752 homes
The 2030 rental standard appears to be working exactly as intended: private landlords who re-assessed this year gained more than nine points on average — the strongest improvement of any tenure. The counterweight for honesty: of all 12,070 re-assessed homes, 8,329 improved but 3,114 scored lower than before. Re-assessment is not a guaranteed victory lap — condition changes, methodologies tighten, and extensions add heated space.
About this analysis
Source: the official Energy Performance of Buildings Register (MHCLG), analysed by North Yield. "Editions" compare the latest certificate per property using data lodged to 31 July 2025 versus 2 July 2026. Year figures cover homes re-assessed between those dates that had at least one earlier certificate. EPC scores are modelled, not measured; certificates only update when a home is re-assessed, so the true current state of the stock is likely better than any register snapshot. We publish area-level statistics only — never individual addresses.
Explore the full interactive report →On the Wrong Side of the Halfway Line?
4,228 Tees Valley homes crossed into the C band this year — most with work costing four figures, not five. Our in-house assessor can tell you exactly where your property stands and the cheapest honest route up. EPCs from £65, full Retrofit Roadmap £169.