Industry Viewfinder: The Decarbonisation Of Social Housing
“What do you believe will be the main benefit of the decarbonisation of social housing?”
itself is only becoming more complex with inaction as the country’s housing stock continues to age. When asked, on average, how our respondents would describe the state of
the UK’s average social housing stock in terms of energy performance, 80% believe it to be inadequate at present, with 30% saying it is in “dire need of improvement,” 50% it “requires improvement,” 18% believing it is performing “adequately,” and just 2% saying it is performing “exceptionally well.” In terms of their own housing, the median age of our respondent’s housing
stock was around 62 years old. Just 5% of our respondents said the average age of their stock was 20 years old or less, followed by 32% 20-40 years, 24% 40 to 60 years, 14% 60 to 80 years, 5% 80 to 90 years, 10% 100 to 120 years, 4% 120 to 150 years, and 5% above this. In spite of this, our respondents stock is arguably performing quite well
considering its average age, with the vast majority (88%) stating that their stock’s EPC bands have improved or vastly improved over the last decade. With an
upcoming bill only expected to bring in minimum EPC ratings of C for buy-to- lets by 2025, it is a welcome surprise that the majority of our respondents stock would meet this today, with 50% citing an average of a C rating, followed by 9% at B and 4% at A. Unfortunately, there is still much to work on, with over a quarter (26%) citing an average rating of D, 7% E, 2% F, and 2% G. Better than expected or not, however, any poor performance can have stark
implications on the affordability of living in such accommodations, especially in times of an energy crisis. Sadly, when asked what percentage of their tenants they would estimate as being fuel poor – essentially meaning that aſter spending the required amount to heat their home, they are leſt with a residual income below the official poverty line – the average was 41%.
BENEFITS OF DECARBONISATION Te impacts of such failings in terms of the impacts of performance on the affordability of a home – of which, by and large, the sector appears to be aware of even among housing professionals’ own stock – lead directly to the benefits that addressing such issues can have. Tankfully, it seems that the significance of these benefits were well
appreciated by our readers. When asked how important they believed the decarbonisation of social housing as a whole is, 69% said ‘extremely important,’ followed by 28% ‘quite,’ with just 1% ‘not very’ and another 1% ‘not at all.’ As above, they are also actioning this to some extent, with three-quarters (75%) currently looking to improve the energy performance of their housing
“Is your company currently looking to improve the energy performance of your housing stock?”
When asked, on average, how our respondents would describe the state of the UK’s average social housing stock in terms of energy performance, 80% believe it to be inadequate at present, with 30% saying it is in “dire need of improvement,” 50% it “requires improvement,” 18% believing it is performing “adequately,” and just 2% saying it is performing “exceptionally well.”
28 | HMMFebruary/March 2023 |
www.housingmmonline.co.uk
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