Middlesbrough's cheapest postcode to buy a home is also its coldest to run. TS1, the town-centre postcode district, had a 2025 median sale price of £73,000 — the lowest of the borough's six main postcode districts — and just 20.7% of its homes with a current Energy Performance Certificate are rated C or above, also the lowest share of the six. But price doesn't explain the rest of the pattern: TS4, the second-cheapest district at £135,000, rates considerably greener than TS5 and TS7, both of which cost more to buy into.
This is a look at how energy ratings are distributed across Middlesbrough's TS postcode districts, using Energy Performance Certificate lodgements and HM Land Registry sold-price records for the local authority of Middlesbrough (E06000002). It describes the existing housing stock, not what any individual home is worth, and not what anyone should do about it.
Figures below were compiled on 3 November 2026 from the current EPC register (latest certificate per address, so re-lodged and superseded certificates aren't double-counted) and Land Registry price-paid records for 2025 (standard sales of houses and flats across the six Middlesbrough postcode districts with at least 50 sales and 2,500 linked certificates). Council tax is the 2026-27 Band D charge.
Energy ratings by postcode
| Postcode | Main areas | 2025 median price | 2025 sales | EPC C or better |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TS1 | Town centre | £73,000 | 121 | 20.7% |
| TS3 | North Ormesby, Thorntree, Ormesby | £90,000 | 212 | 37.6% |
| TS4 | Linthorpe, Grove Hill | £135,000 | 182 | 53.8% |
| TS5 | Acklam, Linthorpe, Whinney Banks | £161,750 | 628 | 35.0% |
| TS8 | Hemlington, Coulby Newham, Stainton | £185,000 | 357 | 61.3% |
| TS7 | Nunthorpe, Marton-in-Cleveland | £240,000 | 287 | 42.2% |
TS1, the cheapest district here, is also the coldest — at 20.7% C-or-better, its EPC share sits roughly half the borough-wide average (40.7% across 29,095 homes with a current certificate) and below every other district in this table.
But rank the other five by price and the EPC share doesn't follow in order. TS7, the priciest district at £240,000 — Nunthorpe and Marton-in-Cleveland, Middlesbrough's leafiest suburbs — rates worse on EPC (42.2%) than TS8, a cheaper neighbouring district at £185,000 (61.3%). And TS4, only the second-cheapest district at £135,000, rates considerably greener (53.8%) than TS3 (£90,000, 37.6%) and TS5 (£161,750, 35.0%), both of which cost as much or more to buy into.
Why the gap follows build era
| Build era | Share rated C or better |
|---|---|
| Before 1950 | 15.2% |
| 1950–1982 | 32.1% |
| 1983–2002 | 46.1% |
| 2003 onwards | 97.1% |
Homes built before 1950 make up 41.7% of Middlesbrough's certificates with a recorded construction date, and only 15.2% of that stock reaches band C or better. Anything built from 2003 onwards — after the 2002 revision to Part L of the Building Regulations tightened insulation, glazing and heating standards for new homes in England and Wales — clears band C or better almost without exception.
That explains most of the postcode table. TS1's low EPC share has a single dominant cause: 97.5% of its EPC-rated homes were built before 1950, the Victorian terraces of Middlesbrough's original street plan, with next to nothing built since 2003 (0.6%). TS8 sits at the opposite end — only 1.5% pre-1950, and 66.6% built from 1983 onwards, the postwar and more recent estate housing of Hemlington, Coulby Newham and Stainton.
TS4 and TS3 look alike on the oldest measure alone — 38.1% and 37.6% pre-1950 respectively — so a prediction based on that figure would expect them to rate about the same. They don't. TS4 is 20.1% built since 2003, more than five times TS3's 3.6%; its greener score tracks that newer infill alongside its older core, not a smaller share of Victorian terraces than TS3.
TS7 is the exception running the other way. Despite its £240,000 median — the highest in the borough — only 10.9% of its stock is pre-1950, but only 11.4% is built since 2003 either. The bulk, 70.4%, dates from 1950–1982: a generation of estate housing that improves on Victorian terraces but falls well short of modern Building Regulations standards, which is a plausible reason Middlesbrough's priciest postcode district isn't its greenest.
As in other cities Homecost has mapped this way, including Leicester's EPC ratings by postcode and the wider Teesside and County Durham terrace retrofit gap, this is a story about housing stock, not about the people who live in each postcode.
What a rating band means for running costs
An EPC estimates how efficiently a home uses energy, and a lower band generally implies higher modelled heating and lighting costs than a higher band of comparable size. The certificate also lists modelled improvements — insulation, glazing, heating upgrades — that would move a property up the scale. Those are modelled figures, not bills, and actual costs depend on the property, its occupants and prevailing energy prices. For how the bands translate into typical running costs, see EPC ratings explained for house buyers and the worked comparison in energy cost by EPC rating.
Across the borough, 1.7% of homes (505 of 29,095) sit in the lowest F or G bands — a small minority, concentrated in the same pre-1950 core that dominates TS1.
The cost side
Pooling all six districts, Middlesbrough's 2025 median stood at £158,000 from 1,787 standard sales. At that price, Stamp Duty Land Tax works out at £660 for a home mover, £0 for an eligible first-time buyer (the median sits well below the £300,000 nil-rate threshold), and £8,560 where the additional-property surcharge applies (HMRC rates, 2026).
Council tax is charged on top: Middlesbrough's 2026-27 Band D is £2,549.16. On a 25% deposit and a 25-year term at the Bank of England's latest quoted 75%-LTV five-year fixed rate of 4.32% (unchanged since April 2026), the mortgage on the pooled median works out at roughly £647 a month, plus around £212 a month in council tax — about £859 a month before energy, buildings insurance or maintenance, and before any energy-efficiency gap in the property itself is factored in.
For the city's full purchase-price picture, including the property-type breakdown, see the average house price in Middlesbrough, and for how it compares with its Teesside neighbours, Middlesbrough, Stockton and Hartlepool's true cost to buy.
This is general information, not advice. Energy-efficiency work, mortgage costs and stamp duty all depend on individual circumstances — speak to a qualified adviser before acting.
See the numbers for a street
Homecost pulls the sold-price history, council tax, energy rating and estimated running costs for every home on a street from one postcode. Try a Middlesbrough postcode such as TS1 4RG, or browse more area breakdowns in regional prices and the full guides library.
Based on 29,095 current Energy Performance Certificates and 1,787 Land Registry sales across Middlesbrough's TS1, TS3, TS4, TS5, TS7 and TS8 postcode districts (2025), with 2026-27 council tax rates.