The UK’s social housing stock is under scrutiny and demands urgent attention. In this article, Regan Costello, pre-construction manager of retrofit and decarbonisation at Seddon, explores how retrofit can help
The UK’s social housing stock is in a dire state and landlords are having to reckon with the enormity of repair and retrofitting challenges.
With environmental performance and sky-high energy bills at the top of the agenda heading into an election year, the time has come to rapidly accelerate retrofitting efforts and challenge ourselves to do more.
The industry needs to change, prioritising those who are most affected by the work.
Engaging residents is critical to any successful retrofit process, and we should look to bring people on the journey with us rather than having work imposed on them, creating genuine advocates for new technologies in the process.
It’s time to change how we talk about retrofit
By bringing residents and communities with us, in the spirit of openness and collaboration, we will all be more successful. So, maybe it is time to change how we talk about ‘retrofit’?
While the industry is aware of the environmental and economic realities, more people on the street need to be conscious that retrofitting existing homes is urgent and necessary work that will have a marked impact.
It is indisputable that people in the social housing sector are living in cold homes and are less able to heat them, and poor-quality, badly performing housing stock is contributing to the climate emergency.
Homes are a major emitter of greenhouse gases, accounting for more than a quarter of total emissions in the UK on a residency basis, according to the ONS.
In 2023, 3.17m households were in fuel poverty in England
At the same time, people are suffering, hit hard by price rises and inflation across the board. Published on February 15th, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s latest Annual Fuel Poverty Statistic report laid out how serious the situation is.
Between 2022 and 2023, gas and electricity prices rose by 19 percent in real terms, and last year, a total of 13 percent of households (3.17m) were in fuel poverty in England, effectively unchanged from 13.1 percent in 2022.
Significant rises in housing costs have also brought an estimated 51,000 households into fuel poverty.
Despite people encountering these acute challenges every month they pay the gas bill, pursuing a retrofit agenda is proving to be a sisyphean task.
New technologies and retrofitting work are unpopular with the general public, and we need to work harder to convince people of their efficacy.
Around a third of adults think that any changes they were to make would not make a difference and a similar number, who have yet to make a lifestyle change, believe that large polluters should make changes before individuals.
Unfortunately, there are several examples of work already completed that has been ill-thought-out and counter-effective.
Social housing tenants can be hesitant to raise issues with their landlords
At Seddon Housing Partnerships, we have been brought on to several projects to remedy external wall insulation that, due to a lack of care and attention, has caused more problems than it solved.
Social housing tenants can be hesitant to engage with their landlords and fearful of what new changes may bring. And it is our duty to remedy that.
At Seddon, we are working to lead by example, demonstrating that strategic interventions can be most effective and bring about major benefits for individuals.
It has been a long-held ambition for us to professionalise the retrofit process. We have been investing heavily in training our own squad of Retrofit Advisors, who undertake Resident Liaison Training work to help residents fully understand the upside to the works while also being ready to accurately answer any questions they might have.
Relatively routine upgrades and repairs, such as replacing old windows, plugging drafts and repairing cold bridges can have a major impact and help bring a home up to EPC grade C.
High-tech solutions do not have to be the default solution, even if the long-term goal is to create homes that are largely self-sufficient. Small steps can have a great cumulative impact—it’s surprising how big an improvement adequate loft insulation can make.
Newer technologies and an enhanced push for more retrofitting work has also brought with it a brand-new vocabulary that people are unfamiliar with and not confident in getting right.
Educating homeowners and tenants is essential to securing net zero
How can you, as a resident, feel comfortable advocating for the works you want or don’t if you don’t really understand the options and their potential benefits?
It’s not surprising that people feel conned when they end up with the wrong technology installed or the effects of any work are different than expected.
Organisations should endeavour to visit people in person, explain what all the new terminology means, and ensure that they are happy with the work and what it will entail. We should focus on the people first before then demonstrating how big a difference it will make to bills and to a Net Zero future.
To take a very real example, housebuilders, landlords, and contractors need to be aware and appreciate that operating a home with an air-source heat pump is a very different prospect from heating one with a traditional gas boiler.
As an industry, we have a duty to improve the way we talk about these projects and bring residents with us. At the end of the day, this work can impact people’s homes in a major way, and it is our responsibility to ensure that a smooth transition happens.
Once the work is complete, it’s not enough to just leave an instruction manual around and hope that everything goes smoothly. As with any new product, there should be a commitment to training, handover and aftercare processes making the process more seamless.
We should strive to achieve the best outcomes for residents as possible. By building goodwill and demonstrating how effective these works can be, any further phases of work will be easier, as people will be more confident in our approach to success.
Changing the industry’s approach to retrofit
At Seddon, we’ve worked in communities across the North and Midlands for more than a century to understand the issues and commit to being more open and available to those who need it.
As an industry, these works need to continue, but our approach needs to change. Around half of homes are still not at an EPC grade C, and the impact of high bills is still being felt.
We cannot forget that we’re dealing with people’s homes, somewhere that’s meant to be safe and comforting, and in order to bring about a greener future we need them on-side.
So, let us consider our approach, and try to improve as an industry, reflecting on our own actions and strive to improve.
