Housing by numbers

proposed measures in the Tenant Satisfaction Measures consultation total agreed borrowing facilities by the sector, an increase of £1.8bn

(Regulator of Social Housing)

the amount poor quality and hazardous housing costs the NHS every year (BRE) extra people that’ll be in relative poverty after housing costs following recent universal credit

enquiries and complaints the Housing Ombudsman received between July and September 2021, an increase of 83% on the previous year

ASB cases in the year ending June

2021 (ONS) changes (Resolution Foundation)

of new Conservative voters who believe social housing should be made a priority (Centre for

Social Justice)

the level of rent arrears for both Scottish councils and housing associations (Scottish

Housing Regulator) orders and recommendations the Housing Ombudsman made last year to “make things right for residents”

Good quality property data is essential for effective planning – and for being successful in gaining Government funding

2022 will bring further waves of funding through the Government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF). The fund aims to upgrade a significant amount of the social housing stock currently below EPC rating C to deliver more energy-efficient homes, reducing both carbon emissions and bills.

To be successful in bidding for funding, a housing provider needs to have good quality data on their stock. In October 2021, BEIS published results of a survey1 amongst providers that illustrated the many challenges they face. It explored providers’ attitudes to improved energy performance, barriers to implementing new measures, and views on the new fund.

The survey captured providers’ knowledge of the SAP energy ratings for their stock. A SAP rating reflects a property’s energy costs associated with space heating, water heating, ventilation and lighting, minus the cost savings from energy generation technologies. The research found that only a quarter (26%) of social housing providers were sure of the SAP energy rating for a very high proportion of their stock. Almost half (47%) of all providers were unsure and a further 13% weren’t aware of the SAP energy rating for any of their stock.

Without sufficient knowledge of the energy attributes of a housing stock it is impossible to devise an improvement strategy that will take you cost effectively towards lower carbon and lower running costs. And to be successful in bidding for funding from the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, having confidence in the data you hold on your stock is a priority.

To help, Sava has a series of free 30-minute webinars running in the new year for social landlords to understand their current data and how to develop strategies to continually improve the quality. • Understand how the new SAP 10 methodology will impact your carbon and energy strategy – Thursday20

January 2022 • An introduction to energy ratings for housing providers – Thursday 27 January • The top 5 issues that housing providers need to know about RdSAP - Thursday 3 February • The EPC – an essential guide for housing providers – Thursday 10 February • How to maximise the value you get from your investment in EPCs – an essential guide for all housing providers – Thursday 24 February • How to analyse the carbon emissions and energy ratings for your whole stock even with a small amount of data – Thursday 3 March • Is your housing data helping you tackle the de-carbonisation challenge? – Thursday 10 March

All webinars are at 3pm. To book and see full details of the learning outcomes from each webinar, just go to www.sava.co.uk/software/technical-webinars/

About Sava

Sava provides analysis software and consultancy to help housing providers gain a better understanding of their housing stock and carbon zero objectives. Sava established the UK’s first energy rating scheme over 30 years ago and its software is now used by over 200 social housing providers.

www.sava.co.uk | technology@sava.co.uk

1 Social Housing Decarbonisation Study – Views from Social Housing Providers, BEIS, October 2021