Tenants are set to benefit from warmer, greener social homes, with social housing providers given the chance to bid for government funding to make major improvements to their stock.
Local authorities and housing associations across England will have the chance to secure a share in a significant £160 million cash injection through the government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, set to enhance the country’s energy efficiency of socially rented homes.
In total, through this first wave of funding, up to 38,000 of the UK’s worst energy-performing social housing properties – with energy performance certificate (EPC) ratings of D or below – will have the chance to receive vital energy efficiency upgrades, including installation of insulation and more energy efficient doors, windows and heating systems.
This investment will help tenants save around £170 per year on energy bills, while making their homes warmer and reducing carbon emissions.
Today’s is the first wave of funding out of a total £3.8 billion to be spent over a 10-year period – with the aim of improving homes across the country to be cheaper to run, more energy efficient and fit for the future.
And with homes accounting for 15% of the UK’s carbon emissions, the investment will also help towards eliminating the country’s contribution to climate change by 2050.
Minister for Business, Energy and Corporate Responsibility, Lord Callanan, said: “(This) announcement is a vital step forward in eradicating UK fuel poverty and improving the lives and homes of low-income households, all while creating new work for local plumbers, builders and tradespeople who will be building homes fit for our greener future.
“With a real appetite among councils and housing associations to make their homes cheaper to heat and warmer to live in, this investment is putting the power in the hands of the people who know their communities best, allowing the right decisions to be made for each home they manage while ensuring the very best for their tenants and the environment.”
Taken together the funding will ensure that the government is achieving its aspiration to ensure as many homes as possible reach EPC Band C or above by 2035 in a way that is practical, cost effective, and affordable.
The government also plans to invest over £9 billion to increase the energy efficiency of homes, schools and hospitals, while supporting 50,000 jobs by 2030 and installing 600,000 heat pumps every year by 2028 – driving forward the Prime Minister’s 10 Point Plan for a green industrial revolution.
