Social housing providers in the UK are facing mounting challenges in aligning with the Government’s net-zero ambitions. As the pressure to decarbonise intensifies, providers face trying to meet the costs of upgrading ageing housing stock while tackling limited budgets.
Housing associations and local authorities will have to spend tens of thousands of pounds per property to get them up to standard. This is because retrofitting homes to meet Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) Band C or higher will involve significant upgrades that might include better insulation, heat pump installations, solar panels, and double glazing.
As social housing providers can’t offset these costs through rent increases, the financial burden of making these changes is huge. Plus, this issue is compounded by an ongoing skills shortage in the sector and stricter legislation.
While everyone in the industry recognises the need for change and values an environmentally-friendly approach to housing, funding from the Government and other bodies is going to be crucial in helping to achieve a greener future.
Without this support, many social housing providers in the UK will be unable to pursue decarbonisation without it impacting the maintenance of existing housing stock, building new affordable homes and the cost of tenant rent.
Fortunately, as of April 2025, some initiatives are providing funding for energy efficiency improvements in social housing.
Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund
This fund was introduced to upgrade a significant amount of the social housing stock in England currently below Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) band C up to that standard. An initial £1.29 billion has been allocated to help:
- Deliver warm, energy-efficient homes
- Reduce carbon emissions
- Tackle fuel poverty
- Support green jobs
- Develop the retrofit sector
- Improve the comfort, health and wellbeing of social housing tenants
Wave 3 applications closed in November 2024, and successful local authorities and housing associations have now been announced. Funding has been offered to 17 strategic partnership projects and 127 challenge fund projects, which will be delivered between 2025 and 2028.
You can see the full list of successful providers here.
In March 2025, the Government committed £1.8 billion to energy-saving upgrades for up to 170,000 homes, focusing on low-income households and social housing tenants. This will be delivered through the Warm Homes: Local Grant and the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund schemes.
The improvements include insulation, solar panels and heat pumps, aiming to reduce energy bills and support the UK’s net-zero emissions target.
Stay tuned for further iterations or top-ups to these funds.
For the most current information on available funding and application procedures, make sure you check out the UK Government’s energy grants portal, or contact your local authority or housing association.
National Wealth Fund loan guarantees
In March 2025, the National Wealth Fund (NWF) teamed up with NatWest Group to announce £400 million in loan guarantees to support energy efficiency upgrades in social housing.
This initiative aims to attract private investment for retrofitting homes with renewable energy systems, insulation and water efficiency improvements. The NWF will guarantee 80% of each retrofit loan originated by NatWest Group up to £500 million for a total commitment of up to £400 million.
This brings NWF’s total support for social housing retrofit to £1.3bn, following guarantees of £350m for Barclays UK Corporate Bank, £400m for Lloyds Banking Group and £150m for THFC.
Moving forward
While social housing providers are committed to helping achieve net-zero goals, they cannot do it alone. More support will be needed to ensure tenants benefit from warmer homes, lower energy bills and improved living conditions.
At ROCC, we care for our local communities and the planet we all inhabit, doing our bit to ensure we promote environmentally-friendly best practices in the social housing sector.
We encourage our customers to take advantage of our Green Consulting, as we reward our eco-conscious customers with the best price possible for our market-leading software.
Together, and with the help of funding support from the Government and other bodies, we can deliver a greener future for our sector.
Written by Peter Luck, Business and Operations Director, ROCC
