Rising energy costs. Fuel poverty affecting one in four households. An ageing housing stock. Net zero targets that demand urgent action. These crises are not separate problems – they reinforce one another. But they also share a common solution: retrofit.
Done well, retrofit is not simply a technical intervention. It is a strategic investment that cuts emissions, reduces fuel poverty, extends the life of housing assets, and improves the health, wellbeing and comfort of tenants.
Retrofit delivers far-reaching returns. For households, it means comfort and lower bills. For landlords and housing associations, it reduces maintenance costs and void periods. For society, it improves health outcomes, reduces energy infrastructure strain, and supports local economies through job creation in green supply chains.
The question should no longer be whether to pursue retrofit at scale, but rather how to do so effectively.
Why whole-home retrofit changes the equation
The odd measure installation here and there, though better than doing nothing at all, delivers limited returns when looking at housing, climate and fuel poverty goals. But a whole-home approach is different. By addressing fabric, heating, ventilation and renewables together, retrofit unlocks compounding benefits: homes that are cheaper to heat, reduced energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, as well as reduced maintenance, fewer voids and homes that remain fit for purpose longer.
This is the approach Changeworks has championed for over 30 years. Our current strategy targets support for 180,000 households by 2030. Not as an aspiration, but as a delivery commitment backed by practical experience.
To do this, we are focusing on retrofit solutions that need to be grounded in place, leveraging data-led planning and strategies. We also see the critical role for people, and in particular do not leave under-represented and vulnerable groups behind.
Tenant engagement
Even the best-designed retrofit can fail if tenants don’t understand or trust the changes to their home. It can mean new heating systems going unused and ventilation getting switched off, meaning the anticipated health, climate and financial savings never materialise.
This is why Changeworks developed the Tenant Energy Support service, a programme specifically designed to reduce the costs for housing associations when bridging the gap between technical installation and real-world outcomes.
Using funding from SGN, we provide tailored one-to-one advice and advocacy so tenants can confidently operate new systems.work with new tenants to prevent fuel debt before it takes hold, equip households with clear, practical resources and embed Householder Support Officers alongside contractors to resolve issues quickly and minimise disruption during works.
The results speak for themselves. To date, this programme has supported over 1,000 tenants across Scotland, delivering hundreds of thousands of pounds of financial savings and tangible improvements in home comfort.
What needs to change
However, we know that more is still needed if retrofit is to be a scalable solution to help us resolve the housing, cost of living and climate crises. The barriers to retrofit are well known: high upfront costs, fragmented funding streams, inconsistent standards and stop-start policy signals.
Scotland needs consistency, if not certainty, including:
- Clear policy trajectories, laying out standards and expectations
- Clear, multi-year funding commitments that give investors and delivery partners confidence.
- Delivery models that make the retrofit journey simpler for landlords and tenants alike.
Finally, success hinges on genuine collaboration across government, housing providers and supply chains to build capacity at the scale the challenge demands.
Recent policy signals from the Scottish Government are encouraging. But delays and funding gaps remain a risk – and the window for action is narrowing.
Turning talk into action
Retrofit should not be a luxury. Done at scale it offers a pathway to address climate change, fuel poverty and housing quality at the same time. By embracing retrofit as an opportunity rather than a burden, Scotland can turn today’s crises into a just transition.
Success requires a scale-change across the sector. Changeworks is supporting partners to leverage its experience, delivery infrastructure and tenant-centred approach to help turn retrofit ambitions into reality. Let’s discuss how we can work together to build on the opportunities retrofit presents.
Text based on remarks delivered by Ian Cochran at the Energy Action Scotland 2025 annual conference.
