Social housing tenants could save as much as £400 a year on their energy bills, as part of upgrades to their homes backed by millions of pounds of Government funding.
Claire Coutinho, the secretary of state for energy security has announced today that over £75million from the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund will be put towards offering free upgrades to tenants’ homes including insulation, double glazing and the installation of heat pumps.
While the scheme is already working to reach around 100,000 households, a further 8,800 social housing properties are now set to benefit from these free efficiency upgrades.
The funding will be available to 42 councils and housing associations across England while reportedly supporting 1,300 jobs in the UK’s retrofit industry.
This funding aims to benefit some of the lowest-income households, alleviate fuel poverty and “improve the comfort and well-being” of social housing tenants.
According to the Government, almost half of all homes in England are now rated Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) Band C or above, up from 14 percent in 2010.
Ms Coutinho said: “Our Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund is helping families to keep their homes warm and their bills down. We want to support hard-working families to make changes, rather than burdening them with unnecessary costs.
“This funding today will help up to a further 8,800 households save around £400 a year on their energy bills.”
The funding is open to applicants who had not received funding in the previous wave. This will bring many new social housing landlords into the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund for the first time and will help reach “as many social homes as possible”
Lord Callanan, Minister for Energy Efficiency and Green Finance, said: “Already working to deliver free home upgrades to around 100,000 social homes, the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund is helping low-income families have cheaper bills and a warmer home.
“We’re now going even further to cut energy bills for more social tenants, all while supporting an additional 1,300 jobs in the UK’s retrofit industry.”
Since 2019, the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund has allocated over £1billion to support various projects. For instance, Durham County Council has received over £5million to upgrade approximately 1,300 homes.
Manchester City Council and One Manchester were previously awarded around £3million to help install external wall insulation and air-source heat pumps.
Asked if the new measures had made a difference to her energy bills, One Manchester tenant Vicky Connor said: “Yeah, it works out. If you’re looking at it, if you’re watching it works out as being good. Works out at about £7 a day.”
Kate Henderson, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, said: “Housing associations play a crucial role in helping the country to meet its net zero targets and are already leading the way on energy efficiency, but funding is essential for maintaining this work.
“The sector is committed to providing energy-efficient and comfortable homes for their residents that are affordable to heat, and the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund is key to enabling them to do so; I’ve seen first-hand the difference it has made.
“The funding announced today will give housing associations the certainty and confidence they need to plan and deliver more retrofit projects, tackle fuel poverty, and improve their residents’ homes.”
