Comprehensive data — Action on Empty Homes

The empty home was in such poor condition before the renovation and retrofit that assessment of its thermal efficiency wasn’t possible. Following completion of the works, Leeds Beckett university has carried out a week-long partial assessment of the effectiveness of the retrofit. Full assessment will have to wait until the colder winter weather.

Central to the AEH REHAP model is working with local communities to bring forward low carbon affordable homes from houses that are currently standing empty. We also aim to help build skills and employment for local people, stimulating the local economy and creating local ‘green’ jobs into the future. The more local people are offered opportunities to understand and get ‘hands on’ with retrofit, the quicker retrofit of traditional and non-tradition homes can be scaled up.

The community certainly enjoyed being ‘hands-on’ on 25th June! A steady flow of local people visited the house – around 50 in all. The majority of people were from the surrounding community along with building contractors, architects, local councillors and private sector landlords. This renovation and retrofit project enabled day-release and training opportunities for young people from Craven College.

Questions were asked, the ‘plant room’ examined, samples of Thermafleece poked and admired. We had expected that perhaps people would have a quick look round and then leave. No – people stayed to talk about the works, the materials, the costs, and the practicalities, visualising how the retrofit of this property could be translated to their own. Because the whole system of insulation, energy generation and ventilation could be clearly seen and ‘walked through’, the retrofit of existing houses was brought to life. Because local young people had been involved as trainees on the build, the social and economic benefits community-level retrofit were easily recognised. People who visited the house didn’t just speak to those directly involved with the project - they had conversations with each other about the details of the works, about how expensive their homes can be to keep warm and about their concerns for a future reliant on fossil fuels.

The atmosphere for the whole event was very positive. It was consistent with our experience that local communities want change. They want low-carbon homes that they can afford to heat, and they want to be involved with the process of building a viable, more sustainable future for themselves and their children, offering local ‘green’ jobs and supporting local enterprise. By supporting local, community-level partnerships to retrofit empty homes as they’re renovated, the AEH REHAP model is a framework for delivery of the kind of future communities aspire to for themselves.

Craven College workplace trainee and supervising lecturer

The time for retrofit is now, and communities should be at the helm.

Our Retrofit Empty Homes Action Partnerships (REHAP) work is generously funded by Esmée Fairbairn Foundation Our REHAP Report examines the key processes communities must navigate to unlock empty homes through retrofitting at scale and at speed.

Retrofitting empty homes is a crucial piece of the transition to net-zero. It is also a proactive strategy for addressing fuel poverty and the cost of living crisis, as improved residential energy efficiency means lower energy bills.

Moreover, as we have explored in the REHAP Report, the spillover effects of community-led retrofitting are innumerable, ranging from job creation in emerging green industries, to sustainable regional supply chain development, to upskilling in local economies. Retrofit has the potential to make the transition to net-zero a catalyst for empowering communities to take action on what matters most to them.

REHAPs fight the climate and cost of living crises, build capacity in communities, and bring new life into the UK's empty housing.