The Housing Commission of the Radix Big Tent think-tank have issued a warning to the government that without changes to the existing housing stock, the UK is risking a ‘health emergency’ as the climate becomes more unpredictable.
Climate-related health factors are becoming more prevalent in the UK as, according to climate-management firm Tado, the country has the worst-insulated housing in Europe and leak heat three times faster than some European neighbours.
But cold and the resulting damp is not the only factor raised as a threat - during the scorching heatwave of 2022, Britain saw nearly 3,500 excess deaths linked to high temperatures. The main risk factors here were age and house quality, with The Centre for Ageing Better predicting death counts will only rise.
The Housing Commission noted in its 2024 report, Beyond the Permacrisis’, that poor housing costs society £18.5bn per year, with the NHS spending £1.4bn a year to treat the health-related effects of housing that is damp, too cold or too hot.
The think-tank’s new Homes without Harm report points out that nearly 9 out of the 10 homes we’ll be living in by 2050 have already been built and it is with these in mind that Radix Big Tent’s Housing Commission sets out a number of policy shifts required by the government in order to allow the housing sector to address issues with ‘retrofitting’ existing buildings.
These include:
- Removing VAT to make it cheaper for owners of older homes to renovate by blocking leaks and draughts to make their properties healthier to live in. Nearly 300,000 new jobs could be created if a taskforce was set up to tackle the estimated 19 million homes across the UK that need retrofitting.
- Ensuring that the thousands of new homes being built now - to arguably outdated climate standards - comply with the long-delayed Future Homes Standard – a set of guidelines that include keeping houses cooler during Britain’s more frequent heatwaves - still to be introduced.
- Making heat pumps more affordable by switching more quickly to an energy market model in which electricity prices can fall below gas prices before banning gas boilers.
- Introducing clear, consistent and user-friendly gauges that show home-buyers the link between the fuel efficiency of the property they are purchasing - and health. Not just modelled projections but measures of what their energy bill savings will be over time.
But the overarching message to government was of the need to rebrand the process of looking again at our existing housing stock, moving away from ‘decarbonisation’ and towards the explicit link between improving these homes and ensuring people can live healthy, comfortable lives in the places they call home - saving the NHS £1.4bn per year in the process.
Radix Big Tent’s Housing Commission Chair, Alex Notay Hon MRTPI, said: “The government’s direction of travel - publishing the Healthy Homes Standard and enacting Awaab’s Law - has been broadly positive in ensuring residents do not suffer because of the places they live in.
“However, the continued delays around the Future Homes Standard, Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards and revised EPCs are making the already complex challenge of ensuring homes are sustainable and affordable even more difficult when balancing the challenge of retrofitting and decarbonising existing homes with future-proofing new housing.
“Our latest report suggests some key nudges to ensure progress towards net zero is maintained but not at the cost of quality homes for our citizens. We strongly encourage the government to listen to the cross-sectoral voices we are providing here and take the steps needed to address homes that are causing harm.”
