Act now for SHDF

Procurement experts Fusion21 have advised landlords “to act now” so they benefit from a fresh wave of government funding which will help to ensure their homes are part of a £1.2Bn green investment.

In May, the government published details of Wave 3 of The Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) designed to reduce carbon emissions, tackle fuel poverty, and make 1.2 million social homes more energy efficient.

Wave 3 funding is expected to make £1.2Bn available from April 2025 until March 2028, improving the energy performance of millions of homes and ensuring they have an upgraded Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) of band C or higher.

And with SHDF Wave 3 applications expected to open within months – possibly as early as September – today Fusion21 has released a seven-step toolkit and urged landlords to ensure they take a set of vital steps NOW to make sure they make the most of this funding opportunity to transform homes in their communities.

Valued at £750M over four years, Fusion21’s national Decarbonisation Framework includes a turnkey model with access to a network of qualified suppliers. It has already procured £250M of decarbonisation retrofit projects including SHDF-funded schemes on behalf of housing associations, and local authorities.

Wave 3 toolkit 7-step checklist:

• Understand your targets, be clear about what you are setting out to achieve through SHDF, and make sure you have a backup list.
• Select your retrofit delivery partner early, think about partnerships and turn-key approach – enlist experts to manage this process.
• Engage comprehensively with tenants.
• Integrate SHDF with planned capital works programmes.
• Start data analysis as early as possible – don’t rely on historic, out-of-date, or inaccurate property data. Identify the gaps and weaknesses in your stock data.
• Use time wisely, cleanse your data, undertake sample EPCs, retrofit assessments, and technical surveys at the pre-submission stage.
• Engage early with relevant bodies such as Planning, Building Control, Distribution Network Operators and understand what information you will need to provide e.g. asbestos surveys.

Oliver Mooney, Head of Category at Fusion21 said: “Enabling works for SHDF Wave 3 needs to commence now. Seeking expert help and taking the steps outlined today will really help landlords maximise the opportunities SHDF presents and ensure projects are delivered within funding timescales.

“Incorporating energy efficiency measures within social housing can streamline the decarbonisation process. We’re already working with our members to plan and prepare for the next round of funding ensuring social housing providers get vital support on their net zero journey and implement energy efficiency measures that not only improve living conditions but also drive economic growth in local communities.”

The current government SHDF guidance confirms there will be two routes to access Wave 3 funding.

Most applications will be made via the Challenge Fund which is not a competitive process and all applications that meet the minimum standards will be awarded funding.

The remainder will come via Strategic Partnerships which are open to larger landlords with a proven track record of successful delivery at scale – these grant recipients will not be required to provide details on specific homes and measures until works have been carried out.

Homes at or above EPC band C can also be included in applications where low-carbon heating measures are being installed if they do not exceed more than 10% of the total homes within an application.

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