Over the last 18 months the Financial Inclusion Centre has been undertaking research and development work with a number of councils, including Derby City Council, Nottingham City Council, Stoke-on-Trent City Council, and the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham on how to increase the availability of affordable home improvement finance in the private housing sector.
Well-designed home improvement finance schemes can contribute to the twin policy goals of:
- greening local economies as part of the transition to net zero; and
- helping households deal with the ongoing cost-of-living crisis by making homes more energy efficient.
Initiatives such as this demonstrate the critical role local authorities can play in delivering national policy goals as well as supporting local citizens.
Funded through the Local Government Association’s Housing Advisers Programme, this work has now been condensed into a practical toolkit designed to provide councils with relevant evidence, good practice and learning on the effective development and delivery of home improvement finance schemes targeted at non-decent homes, homes requiring adaptations and those with a low level of energy efficiency. The toolkit includes five focused guidance notes accessible via the links below.
- Guidance Note 1: Research and Literature Review
Toolkit – research and literature review June 2024
- Guidance Note 2: Building the Business Case
Toolkit – Building the business case June 2024
- Guidance Note 3: Case Studies
Toolkit – case studies June 2024
- Guidance Note 4: Financing Options
Toolkit – financing options June 2024
- Guidance Note 5: Local Authority Survey Results
Toolkit – LA survey results June 2024
Financial Inclusion Centre hosted a webinar on 28th June 2024 with local authority representatives from around the country to discuss the findings from the project and how to take forward the agenda.
The presentation slides can be found here: Home Improvement Finance for Private Sector Housing – Webinar Slides 280624 FINAL
We have worked with a range of local authorities. Case studies of our collaboration with local authorities can be found here: Financial Inclusion Centre – Working with councils
For further information on our work on home improvement finance schemes or our work with local authorities, housing associations, and community lenders please contact:
Gareth Evans gareth.evans@inclusioncentre.org.uk
Matt Earnshaw matt.earnshaw@inclusioncentre.org.uk
Mick McAteer mick.mcateer@inclusioncentre.org.uk