Quarterly statistics rarely make anyone’s day, but this set is worth a look — partly for what it says about new-build volumes heading into the Future Homes Standard, and partly because MHCLG has changed how it counts.
The Energy Performance of Buildings Certificates statistical release for April to June 2026 was published on 30 July 2026, followed on 12 August by the companion release, Energy efficiency characteristics of new dwellings, which is MHCLG’s Part L monitoring series. Here’s the plain-English version of the headline data.
New build held up; the rest of the market didn’t
In England in Q2 2026, 440,000 domestic EPCs were lodged on the Register — an 11% fall on the same quarter in 2025. But that fall is almost entirely on the existing-stock side:
- New dwellings: 51,000 EPCs, up 2% on Q2 2025
- Existing dwellings: 389,000 EPCs, down 12%
Over the 12 months to June 2026, England recorded 203,000 new-dwelling EPCs, a 3% increase on the previous year. Across England and Wales combined, new-dwelling lodgements rose 2% to 53,000 in the quarter while existing-dwelling lodgements fell 12% to 411,000.
Because EPCs for new dwellings are lodged as a matter of course on completion, they’re a reasonably good early read on housing supply — MHCLG uses them, adjusted for demolitions, as an indicator of progress towards the 1.5 million homes target. The divergence between the two lines is essentially the sales-and-lettings market cooling while completions hold steady.
Regionally, the biggest year-on-year rise in new-dwelling lodgements was in the West Midlands (up 24%); the biggest fall was in the South East (down 11%). In Wales, 2,000 new-dwelling EPCs were lodged, up 5%, against 22,000 for existing dwellings, down 6%.
Ratings: 89% A or B, and stuck there
89% of new dwellings in England were rated A or B — unchanged from the same quarter in 2025. Wales came in at the same 89%, with 10% at C or D.
That flatness is the interesting part. Under the 2021 Part L uplift, band B has become the default outcome rather than a stretch, and the ratings distribution has essentially stopped moving. The 2026 Approved Document L, with the new requirement L3 for on-site renewable electricity generation, is what shifts it again — and those homes won’t start appearing in these statistics in volume until 2027–28.
The methodology change worth noting
Buried in the “changes to this release” section: MHCLG has carried out additional de-duplication of new-dwelling EPCs that lack a UPRN. New dwellings often have more than one EPC on the Register — one lodged against the design and another after a change during construction — and the extra cleaning strips more of those duplicates out.
The practical effects:
- New-dwelling figures are slightly lower (less than 1%) across all quarters, historically as well as currently.
- The live tables have been revised back through the series; previously published statistical releases have not been changed.
- Existing dwellings, non-domestic EPCs and DECs are unaffected.
If you quote new-dwelling EPC counts in bids, land appraisals or board packs, make sure you’re pulling from the revised live tables rather than an older release, or your year-on-year comparison will be built on two different methodologies.
What to take from it
For assessors, the message is that new-build SAP work is holding up while RdSAP volumes on the existing stock are visibly softening — a useful thing to know if you’re deciding where to put your training and accreditation budget over the next year. For housebuilders, a flat 89% A-or-B tells you the current regime has been fully absorbed and the next step change is a regulatory one, not a market one.
The next quarterly release, covering July to September 2026, is expected on 29 October 2026.
If you’d like your new-build Part L and SAP 10.3 work handled properly — including bespoke thermal-bridging PSI values instead of punitive defaults — get in touch and we’ll tell you how we’d approach your scheme.
Sources: Energy Performance of Buildings Certificates Statistical Release: April to June 2026, England and Wales, GOV.UK · Energy efficiency characteristics of new dwellings: April to June 2026 (release announcement), GOV.UK