The Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund will provide 8,800 homes with free efficiency upgrades, saving households £400 a year on their energy bills on average
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.
Secretary of State for Energy Security Claire Coutinho today (Monday 18 March) announced the award of over £75 million from the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund to offer free upgrades to tenants’ homes including insulation, double glazing and the installation of heat pumps. The scheme is already working to reach around 100,000 households.
Funding will be available to 42 councils and housing associations across England to install energy saving measures in social homes, while supporting 1,300 jobs in the UK’s retrofit industry.
This funding will help some of the lowest income households by delivering warm and energy efficient homes, lifting people out of fuel poverty and improving the comfort and wellbeing of social housing tenants.
Almost half of all homes in England are now rated Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) Band C or above, up from 14% in 2010.
Secretary of State for Energy Security Claire Coutinho said:
Minister for Energy Efficiency and Green Finance Lord Callanan said:
Open to applicants who had not received funding in the previous wave – which is also expected to save tenants around up to £400 on their energy bills – this funding will bring many new social housing landlords into the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund for the first time, helping to ensure the programme reaches as many social homes as possible.
The Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund has already allocated over £1 billion since 2019, with projects including:
The government is allocating around £20 billion over this Parliament and next to improve the energy efficiency and low carbon heating of homes and businesses, reducing reliance on fossil fuel heating and reducing household energy bills.
This includes the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which is helping households make the switch from fossil fuel heating systems to cleaner low carbon alternatives.
Having increased the grant by 50% to £7,500 – making it one of the most generous schemes of its kind in Europe – applications are on a sustained surge, with the average monthly number of applications from November 2023 to January this year 39% higher than the monthly average before the uplift.
The government also recently announced that homeowners will have more choice in how they improve their home and will no longer have to install cavity wall or loft insulation to use the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.
Chief Executive of the National Housing Federation Kate Henderson said:
Chief Executive of the Northern Housing Consortium Tracy Harrison said:
Reaction from Previous Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Winners
Head of Planning and Housing at Durham Country Council Michael Kelleher said:
Chief Executive of Karbon Homes Paul Fiddaman said:
Notes to Editors
A total of £75.5 million from Wave 2.2 of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) will be offered to 42 local authorities, housing associations, registered providers of social housing and charities across England, subject to grant funding agreements being signed.
Applicants to the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund are required to co-fund their projects, with the total value of co-funding from Wave 2.2 being £139 million.
Wave 2.2 builds on the success of earlier waves of the SHDF and was announced in October 2023. It is a top up to the £778 million funding for Wave 2.1 announced in March 2023, which is currently in delivery.
The SHDF was allocated a further £1.25 billion in December 2023 for the period 2025-2026 - 2027-2028.