The government has launched the Warm Homes Plan, which includes the latest wave of social housing decarbonisation funding.
The Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund (wave 3) replaces the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and the application window opens on 30th September.
The fund is designed to bring social housing stock currently below Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) band C up to that standard.
If you are interested in accessing funding, including if you’re unsure which funding route is most appropriate for your organisation, you can visit the RISE – Retrofit Information Support and Expertise service (formerly the Social Housing Retrofit Accelerator).
Responding to the news, Tamsin Lishman, CEO of the Kensa Group, 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.
The government has also announced Warm Homes: Local Grant, which will help low-income homeowners and private tenants with energy performance upgrades and cleaner heating.
It will also consult on proposals for private and social rented homes to achieve Energy Performance Certificate C or equivalent by 2030.
The Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) has been continued, and phase 4 funding to retrofit buildings such as hospitals is expected to open for applications in mid October.
