The membership body is calling on the government to invest £5bn in retrofitting as part of its Spending Review
The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) is calling on the government to invest in retrofitting social homes, saying this could save the NHS tens of millions a year.
New analysis from CIH reveals that improving all social homes to Energy Perfomance Certificate band ‘C’ would save the NHS more than £85 million per year from 2030.
The CIH is calling on the government to invest a minimum of £5bn in retrofitting social housing at the forthcoming spending review to help prevent the cold-related illnesses which place extreme pressure on NHS services, especially in the winter.
The energy efficiency of a home is a major contributing factor to the development in exacerbation of these illnesses, especially respiratory and cardiovascular problems.
Social housing providers have greatly improved the energy efficiency of homes in the last fifteen years, with the number of homes at EPC Band C or better rising from 24 per cent in 2010 to 73 per cent in 2023.
CIH has however estimated the impact of going further and increasing this figure to 100%
It has worked out the number of homes at EPC bands D to G, estimated the cost saving to the health service per unit per year of improving these homes to C and then multipled it by the number of homes in each category to arrive at the £85m total (see table below).
CIH analysis
| EPC Band shift | NHS cost saving per annum | Number of homes | NHS cost saving per annum from 2030 |
|---|---|---|---|
| D to C | £73 | 897,000 | £65,481,000 |
| E to C | £208 | 70,000 | £14,560,000 |
| F or G to C | £445 | 13,000 | £5,785,000 |
| TOTAL | £85,826,000 |
CIH is calling on the government to boost the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund and Warm Homes: Local Grant to help the sector meet its 2030 targets, and support prioritising energy efficient social homes among the wider financial pressures on the sector.
>>See also: CIH publishes UK Housing Review 2025
CIH director of policy, communications, and external affairs, Rachael Williamson, said: “A warm, comfortable home is fundamental for our health and wellbeing. The social housing sector has invested huge amounts in energy efficiency in the last few years, but it is becoming increasingly clear that some providers will struggle to meet their 2030 targets without further government support.
“These new figures show that if the government is serious about improving living standards and creating an NHS fit for the future, investing in making homes warmer needs to be high on the priority list at the forthcoming Spending Review.
She added: “CIH has welcomed the investment the government has already made in its Warm Homes capital schemes. However, with this funding only confirmed until 2028, boosting both programmes to take the total investment in social housing retrofit to at least £5bn between now and the end of the decade is the minimum that is required.”
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