The need for integrated repairs and retrofit

The need for integrated repairs and retrofit

The UK is in a housing quality crisis. An estimated 4.5 million households are in fuel poverty, spending more than 10% of their income on energy to provide a satisfactory heating regime. Energy debt and arrears currently stands at £3.85bn. Eight million people in England live in a home that presents a serious threat to their health and safety. For this reason, we welcome the Warm Homes Plan and recommend an integrated approach to retrofitting which includes repairs:

• Recommend in the Plan that local delivery partners include repairs as part of their Warm Homes planning.
• Give housing associations and local authorities the autonomy to design upgrade plans which solve repairs and retrofit together.
• Make funding flexible to suit local need.
• Set and enforce ambitious decency and energy efficiency targets for landlords, without tenants fearing eviction or rent rises subsequently.
• Involve communities in decision-making around their homes to reduce tenant refusal and limit disruption.

Stories of substandard housing

Citizens UK is the UK’s biggest, most diverse, and most effective people-powered alliance. We work with hundreds of civil society organisations, who we call our members - schools, universities, faith groups, charities, unions and more - to help them make change in their communities.

Through local conversations in these institutions, thousands of people have shared with us the problems they face with substandard housing. Disrepair is widespread and sadly stories like Jacob’s are not uncommon.

“Every week we have to clean the mould off the walls with anti-mould spray. My brother has critical asthma, he’s been hospitalised multiple times and the cold and damp conditions aggravates his asthma further… We just want a home that was big enough and safe. We’re not asking for luxury, we’re asking for dignity.” Jacob, Peterborough College

Our homes are leaking heat and wasting energy which makes bills expensive and contributes to rising temperatures. And as winters get wetter and summers get hotter, our homes are not fit to protect us.

The opportunity

If the UK is to meet its target of being net zero by 2050, 29 million of our homes need to be upgraded. A nationwide mass-retrofit programme provides an opportunity to deal with the basic repairs which bring poor health and impact mental wellbeing, as well as decarbonising our cold, draughty housing stock.

The risk is that the transition to low-carbon living and clean heat leaves behind those who are struggling daily. Insulation is installed and boilers left broken, solar panels fitted and taps continue to leak, take up of heat pumps is encouraged in households who are tackling vermin. Instead of bringing communities along in the journey towards net zero, implementing upgrades without repairs could alienate, and reinforces the narrative that bold climate action is in conflict with solving people’s immediate needs, rather than improving their lives. The green transition must be fair and reduce inequality.

Communities must be involved in decision-making around their homes. Trusted local messengers are more effective advocates for change than public bodies. Tenant refusal of retrofit measures will be reduced if basic repairs are part of the deal. Equally cost savings and efficiencies can be made by limiting tenant disruption and upgrading multiple homes in an area. This can only be achieved with community buy-in.

We back the Warm Homes Plan and ask that local delivery partners like housing associations and local authorities are recommended to include repairs work as part of their Warm Homes planning.

We look forward to working with representatives from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government on this further.