A new social housing industry survey has uncovered a growing issue in the sector that could be putting providers’ carbon targets at risk.
Holistic Approaches to Low Carbon Retrofit at Scale surveyed a broad area of the industry, with respondents including housing associations, local authorities and social housing organisations.
The responses revealed a major shift in the obstacles facing social housing providers. Tenants refusing improvements is now the fourth most common barrier, sitting only behind regular challenges like costs, the age of housing stock, and a lack of external skills.
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The findings represent a worrying reality for providers, that in the countdown to net-zero, potential challenges aren’t just operational and practical barriers, but also a challenging human element. Especially for providers looking to carry out widespread works affecting large amounts of stock, it is becoming increasingly difficult to ensure all residents are on side with their upgrades, an issue that can go unnoticed even until the day works are to be carried out.
The rise of tenant refusals
Tenants blocking improvements has moved up from eighth in the same survey in 2024 (out of 11 factors). Compounding this issue, the report found that a lack of resident education has also risen to become the fifth most significant barrier to decarbonisation. This issue ranked at the very bottom of concerns in 2023.
A major driver of this resistance is the fear of upheaval. The report backs this up, showing that 31% of housing organisations cite “resident and occupancy constraints” – specifically pointing to disruption, the loss of room space, and the need to temporarily rehouse residents – as a primary barrier to delivering whole-house upgrades.
But the industry is also using terminology that tenants lack understanding of, with 37% of social housing professionals admitting the term “retrofit” is confusing for tenants and another 22% saying it was “somewhat problematic”.
Better dialogue on disruption and benefits crucial to hitting national targets
Speaking on the findings of the report, Gary Doxey, Commercial Manager at Eurocell said: “Overcoming these tenant blocks is critical given the pressing national timeline. The Warm Homes Fund has allocated £1.29bn of funding for projects to introduce a series of combined retrofit measures to properties across the country until September 2028.
“Furthermore the target of EPC ‘C’ remains for all privately rented and local-authority run homes by 2030, which will mean that the intensity of retrofits and upgrades is going to need to significantly increase to deliver the scale required. If communication and open dialogue is key, we need to as an industry define how we approach tenants to make sure in cases where there is confusion or a lack of awareness of the reasons behind these upgrades – and the temporary upheaval involved – it’s all made clear.”
The climbing rates of refusals could also be an indicator of larger scale issues that could be a concern for providers. On one hand, the rising rates of refusal could be seen as an indicator of a strenuous relationship between providers and their residents, and a sign that typical resident engagement strategies may be lacking as tenants and communities grow more sceptical. At the same time, it could be a symptom of a growing dissatisfaction with social and environmental rhetoric from the public, as recent studies has showed more Britons view the dangers of climate change as exaggerated.
The industry largely agrees on the solution: 67% of providers agreed that improving communication is the key to reducing complaints and ensuring residents know how to operate their upgraded homes too. However, this communication must start long before installation, addressing fears of disruption head-on to ensure these vital upgrades aren’t blocked before they even begin.
For the full findings of the report, visit here.
