Retrofit for the Future
Everyone should be able to live in homes that don’t cost an arm and a leg to heat. They should be warm in winter, cool in summer, and properly ventilated to prevent damp.
Home improvements are not only important to bring down our bills, but to save on harmful emissions that are damaging our planet and our health. But they need to be done right. Too many people are suffering due to shoddy works, which threaten to leave homes in as bad or worse condition than before. It’s not good enough!
There’s no time to lose to fight fuel poverty and climate disaster. So we’ve teamed up with ACORN, the Peace & Justice Project, Medact and the Greener Jobs Alliance on the Retrofit for the Future campaign.
Our three demands:
A Workforce Skills plan
A well-trained workforce is essential for delivering an effective, sustainable retrofit programme. Without urgent action, the UK risks missing a crucial opportunity to tackle the climate crisis, lower energy bills, improve the housing stock, and create secure, skilled occupations and a future for young people.
Protecting Private Renters
If the government is serious about improving homes for millions of renters then it must introduce a moratorium on any no fault eviction grounds during the retrofit process and for 2 years following improvements being made; and a freeze on rent increases during the retrofit process and for 2 years following improvements being made, raising to 6 years if a public grant has been accessed.
Accountability for retrofit work
Residents must be at the heart of the retrofit process – before, during and after. There must be independent assessment and regulation of retrofit work and there should be a robust system for measuring effectiveness with the results made public.
You can get involved using our letter-writing tool, which makes it quick and easy to back our demands:
Read the full briefing here: