EPC Bolton

What Bolton’s housing stock means for your EPC

Bolton is a town of semis and terraces. The 2021 Census puts 35.9% of the borough’s households in a semi-detached house and 33.2% in a terrace, so close to seven homes in every ten are one or the other. Detached houses make up 17.5% and purpose-built flats 11.1%. In whole households that is 42,656 semi-detached, 39,464 terraced, 20,799 detached and 13,194 in a purpose-built block, out of 118,791. Those figures are for the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, which is wider than the town and takes in Farnworth, Horwich, Westhoughton, Kearsley and Blackrod.

The borough average hides a wide spread. Read at ward level, the same Census table puts Rumworth at 61.8% terraced, Crompton at 49.8%, Halliwell at 48.3%, Tonge with the Haulgh at 47.5% and Great Lever at 40.5%, while Bradshaw is 16.2% and Heaton and Lostock 11.6%. Rumworth is the most terraced of the twenty Bolton wards and Heaton and Lostock the least. Those are the Census 2021 ward boundaries, which do not match the ward names a postcode lookup returns today, so read them as a picture of the housing rather than of the current ward map.

Flats in Bolton are mostly purpose-built. 11.1% of households are in a purpose-built block, while only 0.9% live in a converted or shared house and 0.7% in another converted building. By ward the range is wide again: Halliwell is 29.1% purpose-built flats and Crompton 18.0%, against 5.0% in Bromley Cross and 4.2% in Bradshaw. Detached houses are the other end of the scale. At 17.5% of households they are roughly one home in six across the borough, but 53.2% in Heaton and Lostock and 37.2% in Bromley Cross. The fee follows bedroom count rather than floor area, so a four-bedroom house is £70 and a five-bedroom one £75.

Tenure is the other half of the picture. Bolton is 61.5% owner-occupied, and a third of all households, 33.2%, own outright with no mortgage. Private renting is 18.0% and social renting 19.8%, the latter split almost evenly between council housing at 10.6% and other social landlords at 9.3%. In households that is 73,083 owned, 23,555 social rented and 21,372 privately rented, out of 118,790. A valid certificate is needed whenever a home is sold or let, and for a rented home that duty sits with the landlord rather than the tenant.

Housing mix and tenure figures: ONS Census 2021, tables TS044 and TS054, Bolton local authority.

EPCs in Bolton, answered

You are based near Preston. Is Bolton really inside your area?

Yes. The centre of BL1 is 16 miles from central Preston in a straight line and we cover anywhere within 40 miles, so the whole borough is well inside, Bury side of the BL postcodes included. Coverage is checked by postcode district when you book.

My semi has four bedrooms. Does that change the price?

£65 covers up to three bedrooms and each bedroom after that adds £5, so a four-bedroom house is £70 and a five-bedroom house is £75. It is paid by card when you book, with nothing further on the day or afterwards.

Which parts of Bolton have the most terraced housing?

On the 2021 Census ward figures, Rumworth is 61.8% terraced, Crompton 49.8%, Halliwell 48.3%, Tonge with the Haulgh 47.5% and Great Lever 40.5%. At the other end, Heaton and Lostock is 11.6% and Bradshaw 16.2%. Those are Census 2021 wards rather than the ward names a postcode lookup returns today. The price is the same wherever in the borough the property sits.

I own my house outright and I am not selling. Is there any reason to get one?

Not a legal one. An EPC is needed when a home is sold or let. It is still useful for getting improvements you have paid for onto the public record. 39,475 Bolton households own outright, and a house that has not been sold or let since EPCs came in may never have had one.

Are flats in Bolton usually in purpose-built blocks?

Yes. 11.1% of Bolton households are in a purpose-built block, against 0.9% in a converted or shared house and 0.7% in another converted building, so a Bolton flat is far more likely to be in a block than in a subdivided house. By ward, Halliwell is 29.1% purpose-built flats and Bradshaw 4.2%. A flat is a domestic property like any other, so £65 covers up to three bedrooms.

How soon can you come out, and when does the certificate arrive?

We aim to book the visit within 24 hours of your order. You pay online, pick your preferred dates on the site, and we phone to confirm a time. A typical property takes about 45 minutes, longer for a large detached house. The certificate is then lodged on the register and the link emailed within 2 to 24 hours of lodgement.