Housing associations ramp up retrofit with £72 million programme for 3,000 homes

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Housing association retrofit programmes are gaining momentum as part of the UK’s net‑zero built‑environment push. In a major development, Riverside has committed to delivering a retrofit programme worth £72 million across over 3,000 homes, supported by funding from the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund (WH:SHF) Wave 3 alongside matched funding from the association itself. The work will cover 3,064 homes across Liverpool, Halton, Carlisle, Middleton’s Langley estate, and Enfield in London, with further areas to be added in future phases.

This new programme follows Riverside’s previous retrofit initiative, funded under WH:SHF Wave 2.1, which delivered upgrades to more than 1,000 homes across Carlisle, Halton, Liverpool and London. The latest phase underscores the critical role of funding in scaling energy efficiency improvements at pace across social housing.

Elsewhere, procurement frameworks are being expanded to support net‑zero delivery. Specialist consultancy Prosper has launched a new Decarbonisation and Investment Installation Works framework, expected to unlock up to £1 billion of construction opportunities for housing providers and local authorities. Covering retrofit activities aligned with PAS 2035 standards as well as traditional investment works, the framework spans all UK regions with 34 contractors appointed across ten lots.

Typical retrofit works include internal and external wall insulation, ground‑source and air‑source heat pumps, electric heating systems, PV installations, ventilation upgrades, roofing works, and conventional investment items such as kitchens, bathrooms, windows, doors and damp remediation. The initiative will run alongside Prosper’s existing retrofit framework until August 2026.

Funding models are also evolving. Unity Trust Bank’s Retrofit Transition Initiative (RTI) secured ‘Funding Team of the Year’ at the Unlock Net Zero Awards. The bank’s dedicated £50 million fund supports housing associations in decarbonising their homes with up to £3 million per customer. Already, £37.4 million is in live discussion and, in 2024, the bank facilitated retrofits for 931 homes. Unity integrates climate risk into lending and has been carbon‑neutral since 2019.

High‑profile retrofit projects are being recognised for their impact. In the North and Scotland, Retrofit Project of the Year was awarded to a collaboration between Next Energy Solutions and Plus Dane Housing for a scheme at The Welsh Streets in Liverpool. They upgraded 17 hard‑to‑let empty homes with insulation, improved glazing and ventilation, tackling widespread damp and mould while enhancing energy performance and tenant well‑being.

In London and the South, the SHDF Wave 2 Collaboration between Abri and Low Carbon Exchange won Retrofit Project of the Year. Their fabric‑first approach improved homes from EPC rating D or C to an average of EPC B, delivering nearly 50 per cent energy bill savings for some residents. Success was driven by extensive resident engagement, post‑upgrade evaluation, efficient delivery models and efforts to build in‑house skills, offering a scalable model against fuel poverty and inequality.

Regional retrofit partnerships are also making progress. Nottingham City Council, hosting the Midlands Net Zero Hub, secured £47 million to retrofit up to 4,226 social homes. It includes £2.9 million to retrofit 371 council homes and nearly £600,000 for digital monitoring technologies to capture data on retrofit effectiveness, damp, mould and fuel poverty.

Other SHDF bidders include Greener Futures Partnership (Sanctuary, Abri, Anchor, Home Group and Hyde) securing £40.4 million to retrofit 5,000 homes; the North East & Yorkshire Net Zero Hub bidding for £80 million to upgrade 5,525 homes; Greater Manchester bidding £37 million to unlock £97 million in improvements across 5,482 homes; Coventry City Council partnering with Citizen to retrofit over 2,000 homes with £23.9 million; Riverside receiving over £12 million to retrofit 1,100 homes; and Network Homes and Sovereign securing funds to retrofit thousands more across multiple regions.

As retrofit ambitions grow, questions around scale and funding persist. Moody’s warns that costs to retrofit social housing to EPC C by 2030–35 could reach between £12 billion and £18 billion representing 51–79 per cent of English landlords’ total 2022 turnover. Moody’s notes rising debt and inflation will strain funding, and current SHDF grants cover only part of the need. With 710,000 homes needing retrofit by 2030, there remains a significant funding gap estimated at 280,000 homes without support by 2030 and 530,000 by 2035. The risks are higher for rural schemes.

What this means:
Riverside’s £72 million programme illustrates how matched‑funding, national retrofit schemes, and local delivery can drive tangible energy efficiency gains at scale. Procurement innovations like Prosper’s framework and funding models like Unity’s RTI are expanding capacity and enabling delivery. Award spotlight on successful projects underscores the power of resident engagement, fabric‑first strategies and skills development. But Moody’s projections expose the enormous financial challenge ahead retrofitting social housing at scale will require sustained funding, landlord innovation, and the mobilisation of new finance streams.

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