Identifying gaps and solutions for impactful advice in social housing
Changeworks was awarded funding by the William Grant Foundation to research the levels of advice given to social housing tenants when their homes are fitted with low carbon technologies, such as heat pumps and solar PV.
To ensure that these measures can reduce tenant’s energy bills, improve comfort and wellbeing and cut emissions, tenants must receive appropriate, timely and accessible advice on how to use their new systems.
Evidence shows that disengaged tenants, who do not understand or trust their new systems, are less likely to use them efficiently and realise the benefits of doing so.
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Join us at our next webinar
We will be discussing the findings of this report at our upcoming webinar ‘Boosting the Impact of Low Carbon Technology Through Tenant Advice’ on Monday 23rd March.
Background
Focusing on the installation of low-carbon technology, this research examined how energy advice is currently delivered in retrofit programmes, the barriers landlords face, and the opportunities to improve outcomes for both tenants and social landlords.
Using a mix of literature review, EPC data analysis, tenant and stakeholder interviews, and a survey of Scottish social landlords, this study provides a comprehensive picture of the gaps in advice provision and the steps needed to embed advice as a core component of retrofit delivery.
Findings from our research can be summarised into key areas:
- The scale of retrofit required means the need for advice is significant.
- Current advice provision is inconsistent and fragmented.
- Major barriers hinder effective advice, such as limited funding, insufficient staff capacity, unclear roles, and lack of standardised guidance.
- Tenants frequently feel underprepared due to inconsistent delivery, overly complex information or lack of advice.
- Behaviour change requires more than information alone.
Recommendations
From the findings of the research, it was clear that there are opportunities at each stage of installation – pre, during and post – where changes can be made to ensure tenants can benefit most from the new technology.
The research team developed a step-by-step overview showing how social landlords could integrate advice throughout the retrofit journey; including ways to improve accessibility, clarity and consistency.
Wider recommendations include advice provision becoming a standard requirement for funded retrofit projects, monitoring and evaluation being embedded into project funding to assess project outcomes, and collaboration between social landlords to share learnings and resources.
Read the full report below to discover our recommendations in more detail.
Commenting on the report, Lauren Salmon, Principal Consultant at Changeworks, said:
“Scotland’s social housing sector faces a significant retrofit challenge, with nearly 88% of homes requiring heating system upgrades. Yet tenants are often underprepared to use these new technologies effectively.
“Our research found that energy advice provision is fragmented, with tenants receiving overly technical or contradictory information. This can lead some to disengage entirely from the systems designed to reduce their energy bills and improve their comfort.
“The research calls for clear, accessible and consistent advice to be embedded throughout the retrofit journey to unlock the full benefits of low‑carbon technologies. Offering step by step recommendations to help implement this.”
Download the full report
Boosting the impact of low-carbon technology through advice: Identifying gaps and solutions for impactful advice in social housing.
