Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund – Wave 3 Opens Imminently (England)

The Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund (previously known as the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund) aims to upgrade a significant amount of the social housing stock currently below Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) band C up to that standard. It will support the installation of energy performance measures in social homes in England, and 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.

For Wave 3, all grant recipients will be eligible to receive up to £7,500 of grant funding for each home, averaged across all the homes included in the application. £20,000 of grant funding is available for the installation of low carbon heating in homes on the gas grid (for 10% of total homes), and an additional £7,500 of grant funding is available for the installation of low carbon heating in homes off the gas grid.

The scheme is open to:

• Local authorities.
• Combined authorities.
• Registered providers of social housing (including housing associations and arms-length management organisations (ALMOs) that are registered providers).
• Registered charities that own social housing.

All eligible organisations can apply directly to Wave 3, either as single applicants or as the lead of a consortium. These organisations, along with ALMOs that are not registered providers, can apply as part of a consortium led by an organisation that is eligible.

All existing social housing as defined by the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 (sections 68-70), below EPC band C, regardless of archetype, are eligible.

Eligible measures are any energy efficiency and heating measures compatible with the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) that will help improve the energy performance of homes, excluding heating systems which are solely fuelled by fossil fuels.

Applicants are expected to focus on measures that will help lower household energy bills. This includes, but is not limited to, energy efficiency measures (such as solar PV and wall, loft, and underfloor insulation) and low carbon heating technologies. One of the core objectives of the fund is to support progress for the UK to reach its Net Zero target by 2050.

Applicants can start preparing an application now, and apply when the window opens.