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Sector prioritising building safety over decarbonisation, survey finds

Only one in five social landlords say planning for carbon zero is their top long-term priority, with the majority prioritising building safety first, new research by Savills has found. 

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Planning for the government’s target to reach carbon zero by 2050 is being treated as a long-term priority by only one in five social landlords, @Savills and @HousingMagazine survey finds #UKhousing

A survey from @Savills and @HousingMagazine found that the availability of government grant was seen by social landlords as the biggest barrier to achieving zero carbon #UKhousing

Of the 175 senior executives from housing associations and local authorities who responded to a survey carried out by the consultancy firm in partnership with Social Housing magazine, 22% said planning for net zero was their top long-term priority, while just 7% said it was their top short-term priority.

Building safety compliance was rated as a much higher priority than zero carbon, with 67% labelling the former as their top short-term priority and 54% labelling it as their top long-term priority.

Presenting the findings today at the Virtual Housing Festival, Helen Collins, head of Savills Affordable Housing Consultancy, said she expected the number of organisations prioritising zero carbon to rise “substantially and rapidly” over the coming years.

When asked to select the top three biggest obstacles on the road to zero carbon, 71% selected the availability of government grant.

Meanwhile, more than 80% of respondents said capital grant funding is the most important source of funding for the investment required in their existing homes.


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Lucian Cook, head of residential research at Savills, said: “Although more work is needed to fully understand decarbonisation costs, initial work by Savills estimates an additional £4.3bn could be needed each year on top of existing stock investment plans to hit the 2050 target across the sector’s 4.34 million council and housing association homes.”

In addition to investment in current stock, survey respondents were asked how their priorities have shifted when it comes to developing new homes in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A net balance of 46% found that social rent had become more important as a result of the crisis, followed by 30% for temporary accommodation, 27% for affordable rent and 25% for key worker housing.

On the other end of the spectrum, delivering homes for market sale was found to be 24% less important, market rent was 12% less important and Rent to Buy 4% less important.

The survey also reflected the longer-term trend of social landlords favouring land-led development over purchasing Section 106 properties, with a 26% increase in landlords’ appetite to develop their own stock compared to a 1% decrease in the appetite to buy stock from developers.

Mr Cook said: “This survey is one of the first barometers of the affordable housing sector since the outbreak of COVID-19. It shows that the sector is adopting a ‘people-first’ approach, with a greater focus on building social and affordable rent homes for households experiencing hardship and for key workers.

“This is perhaps unsurprising, given the building safety and compliance focus for housing providers at present. The tensions around the future of Section 106 – which has been responsible for around half of all affordable housing delivery in recent years – are also playing a role in the altered approach being taken by the sector.”

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