Finding funds, fixing homes: the art of the possible
More than £2 billion in home improvement funding administered by local authorities for homeowners and landlords has been cut over the last decade, writes our Homes Innovation and Change Manager Ploy Suthimai
But as our new report on innovation in the provision of grants and loans for home improvement details, some local authorities have found ways of continuing to support residents to keep their homes in good condition.
Nearly 8 million people in England live in homes that cause immeasurable harm to their physical and mental health.
The cost to society is vast – affecting demand for health and social care services, people’s ability to work, children’s wellbeing and school attendance to name just a few impacts.
Prior to 2010, local authorities were a key source of financial support for homeowners unable to pay for works themselves.
But the withdrawal of over £2 billion in private sector grant funding by national government between 2010/11 and 2020/21 has left homeowners largely on their own.
The assumption that all homeowners can afford to repair, maintain and adapt their homes is simply wrong. 5.2 million homeowners are in poverty. In fact, the percentages of people living in poverty are fairly evenly split across social renters (33%), private sector renters (31%) and home owners (36%).
And the barriers run deeper than who pays. Receiving a local authority home improvement grant sometimes means that residents get an independent opinion on what needs to be done, practical support, access to trusted tradespeople and a way to complain if the work is unsatisfactory.
Removing this support pushes people to go it alone in deciding the work they need and finding a tradesperson to carry out the work – a particular issue for older, low-income groups.
Despite budgetary challenges, some local authorities are finding a way to support their residents and today we are publishing a report that details the learning from five of them.
Across these five local authorities, the support offered varied between discretionary grants, in-house loans, externally administered loans (e.g. administered by not-for-profit lenders), area renewal schemes and practical support to enable self-funders to carry out works.
Although diverse in terms of their approach, they shared seven key learning points.
1) The impact on residents was clear.
Eloise, a loan beneficiary from Somerset we interviewed for the report, said the help she had been given was “completely life-changing” and restored her dignity. Another described the support he had been given as a “lifeboat”.
2) Combining forms of financial assistance can help to achieve better outcomes for residents.
Examples included combining national energy efficiency funding with a discretionary grant or loan, or topping up Disabled Facilities Grants.
3) Local authority loans addressed a gap in the market.
Loans provided much needed support to people often excluded from high-street lenders’ products. Repayments were recycled through the same scheme and given to others in need.
4) Regulatory Reform Orders were a useful tool to meet local need.
Our case studies demonstrated that local authorities were increasingly using the flexibility provided by this policy, which gives local authorities general powers to provide housing assistance, to better respond to unmet housing, health and care needs locally.
5) There was added value in partnerships.
From formal commissioning relationships or informal arrangements, such as through a shared agreement on referrals, with partnerships established to achieve a number of aims, including to deliver home improvement services, to provide independent advice on financial support and to support residents to improve the energy performance of their homes.
6) Good practice in supporting self-funders and private renters could be scaled up.
While finance is a barrier for many struggling to make improvements to their home, there are some who can afford to fund work themselves but lack the confidence to do so. This is a particular challenge when there are a number of improvements to be made, and for those who cannot afford to pay for any secondary costs or unforeseen work. Some of the case studies also had incentive schemes to draw in landlords.
7) Funding from central government has the potential for long-term impact.
Four of the five local authorities presented in this report continued to benefit from the funding and administrative infrastructure provided by former Regional Housing Boards prior to 2010.
The report published today highlights the art of the possible. Five local authorities who were able to prioritise the provision of financial support to their residents and who are having a significant impact.
Everyone deserves to live in a home that supports rather than damages their health and wellbeing. It is vital that government at all levels recognises the importance of home improvement and looks to support residents to maintain and improve the condition of their homes as much as possible. We hope our report will serve as a useful resource for local authorities interested in expanding the financial support they offer local residents.
If you would like further information about this report or any of our other home improvement-related tools, please contact the team via [email protected]
Our upcoming webinar will showcase some of the innovative approaches to financing home improvements detailed in these reports.