The relationship between tenure type and domestic retrofitting uptake in the UK

The housing stock in the UK is a significant contributor to greenhouse gases. To achieve the UK's net-zero targets, a substantial upgrade to the thermal performance of existing dwellings (referred to as retrofitting) will be required. In addition to carbon emission, inefficient homes also present serious health and well-being issues for the occupants. The extent of retrofitting ahead requires significant monetary investment, and the responsibility for such investment ultimately lies with the housing stock owners. In the UK, housing stock can be owned by the occupiers, a private landlord, a local authority or a non-profit social housing association. Their capacity and willingness to uptake retrofitting differs significantly. This research aims to investigate the current status of the relationships between occupier tenure type and overall retrofitting uptake of UK dwellings as related to the uptake of individual retrofitting measures, energy performance and environmental impact. Data from 5000 dwellings in the UK identified by the English Housing Survey 2022 were analysed for their comparative performance under selected five different tenure types. Results highlighted a low level of retrofitting uptake, lower energy efficiency and higher environmental impacts from dwellings categorised as owner-occupied with no mortgage, whilst dwellings categorised under privately rented furnished performed best overall. Dwellings owned by social housing associations show high performance in terms of energy efficiency scores. Privately rented furnished dwellings are performing comparatively well in relation to levels of loft insulation and environmental impact ratings. Results suggest that future retrofitting support programmes should build on current progress, and tailor-made schemes need to be introduced to improve retrofitting uptake for low updating tenure types.