In the government’s home upgrade announcement, it confirmed the continuation of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, now referred to as the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund. This will provide funding for social housing landlords to make energy-efficiency improvements to their properties.
Tamsin Lishman, CEO of the Kensa Group, is urging landlords to make the most of this funding to protect their residents from future energy bill shocks by submitting their applications when the window opens on 30 September.
Tamsin said: “The Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund offers a time-limited opportunity for social landlords across England to upgrade their housing stock and take people out of fuel poverty. Against the backdrop of high fuel poverty levels, rising energy bills, and ambitious climate targets, this is an important opportunity for landlords to secure funding to provide residents with the best possible heating systems, delivering a triple win of warmer homes, lower energy bills, and reduced carbon emissions.
“Kensa’s solution addresses these challenges directly and is ideally suited to social homes that are considered ‘complex to decarbonise,’ such as high and low-rise flats. Networked heat pumps offer the most viable option for these buildings, maximising emissions reductions, delivering a potential two-band EPC uplift, ensuring the lowest lifecycle costs, and offering residents the lowest running costs, which can significantly alleviate the impact of fuel poverty.
“When the competition opens next week, social landlords must take full advantage of this opportunity to access funding, which provides up to £15,000 per off-gas property and up to £20,000 for on-gas properties. By maximising funding, landlords can implement the best solutions for both their properties and their residents, and with no further funding expected before 2028 now is the time to act. Kensa is ready to support social landlords in navigating the application process, helping them optimise energy efficiency, future-proof their properties, and enhance the quality of life for their residents.”