Press release

New deal on energy efficiency to help social housing tenants

Date: Tuesday 2 March 2010      Ref: TSA 08/10

The Government’s Warm Homes, Greener Homes Strategy will help social housing landlords halve the amount of carbon dioxide emissions from the homes they own, the Tenant Services Authority (TSA) said today.

Chief Executive Peter Marsh said the strategy would particularly help nearly 500,000 households in the social housing sector who cannot afford to heat their homes.

“This puts the social housing sector at the very centre of tackling the impact of climate change and fuel poverty. It means that tenants will save money on heating their homes and it means less households suffering fuel poverty.

“Tenants and landlords have told us that a higher standard of energy efficiency will help lower tenants’ bills and provide better heating. This announcement today is a clear commitment from Government to work with the TSA to tackle this issue. The new Warm Homes Standard will help those most in need and contribute to the Government’s target to reduce carbon emissions from all homes by 29% by 2020.”

A new energy company obligation is expected to provide a significant incentive for energy companies to seek to upgrade social housing in order to help more vulnerable households on low incomes.

The Warm Homes Standard will cover energy saving and renewable heat, and measures to adapt to climate change, as well as encouraging micro-generation.
 
The TSA and the Department for Communities and Local Government will begin work later this year with social housing providers and stakeholders to develop the detail of the Warm Homes Standard before any formal consultation begins on a new regulatory requirement.

Ends

For media enquiries, contact the press office on 020 7393 2094/2118/2115 or by email pressoffice@tsa.gsx.gov.uk

Notes to editors:
1) The Tenant Services Authority (TSA) is the independent regulator for social housing in England. Its formal name is The Office for Tenants and Social Landlords. It was set up on 1 December 2008 and currently regulates almost 1,700 housing associations. Its new regulatory powers come into force on 1 April 2010, when it will regulate other providers of social housing, such as 250 co-operatives, 187 local authority landlords and 69 arm’s-length management organisations who manage homes on behalf of 65 local authorities in England.

2) The TSA works with social housing landlords and tenants to improve the standard of services for more than eight million people in over four million homes. New standards for landlords will come into effect from 1 April 2010.