I was underwhelmed, although not particularly surprised, by the absence (at the time of writing) of legally binding outcomes emerging from Cop26. It feels like a big opportunity to make real change on sustainability has been lost. However, whatever does or does not happen on the global stage, the UK’s ambition to lead the way on decarbonisation is unlikely to be diminished.
England’s homes produce more carbon emissions than are produced by all of the country’s cars, so focus has inevitably turned to how to address that. This presents an obvious challenge to registered providers who, together, own in the region of 2.7 million homes in England alone.
With registered providers also playing a key role in addressing the housing supply challenge, the many thousands of much-needed new build homes need to be built in a way which will enable net zero carbon targets to be met. However, the clear message from the CEOs of four of our region’s largest registered providers, who spoke to us for the first in our Ask the Leaders Affordable Housing video series, is that their priority has to be the upgrade of existing housing stock.
A report by Savills in 2021 estimates the cost of decarbonising housing association stock in England by 2050 will be at least £36 billion on top of already planned investment. I heard Tim Weightman from Places for People speak at the London Real Estate Forum in October and he estimates a cost of £1.2 billion to decarbonise the 170,000 properties that Places for People manage.
The financial pressure on housing associations is significant and the sector is unlikely to be able to absorb these costs without the support of significant grant funding and borrowings. All of the CEOs were clear when speaking to us that a roadmap for housing associations to reach zero carbon is needed with long term, earmarked government funding and support in place.
Resident engagement will also be key to implement decarbonisation strategies. Steve Coffey of Torus62 is clear that with existing homes making up the bulk of the homes which future generations will use, retrofitting those homes and supporting and encouraging tenants to adapt their behaviours will be key to enabling tenants to use less energy.
To hear more on decarbonisation in the sector and everything else that the CEOs we spoke to had to say on all things compliance-related, watch the full video below, alternatively you can click here.
