Melville to invest £3 million improving tenants’ homes
Investment in the new financial year will see the Midlothian-based registered social landlord support tenants with energy efficient upgrades to their homes.
Tenants of Melville Housing Association will see improvements to their homes over the coming year (beginning 1 April 2022), thanks to a £3 million investment programme that will also see funds set aside to help meet Scotland’s net zero goals.
Investment in the new financial year, funded almost entirely from rental income, will see the replacement of 220 central heating systems, bathrooms and kitchens as well as paying for new roofs, doors, windows and structural repairs.
Nancy Booth, Melville’s Head of Property Services, said: “The ongoing Covid pandemic continues to throw up challenges however our planned maintenance teams have performed really well over the past 12 months, catching up on the outstanding work that resulted from lockdown.
“Moving forward the biggest challenge we face is the climate crisis and the need for us all to massively reduce our carbon emissions. We will be investing significant sums to ensure we meet our net zero targets while at the same time providing the high quality, affordable and most of all energy efficient homes that the country needs and that our tenants deserve.”
The biggest area of investment this year will be heating systems, with more than a hundred older, less-efficient boilers due to be replaced. Melville has estimated that in the coming years more than £80 million will be needed in order to meet its net zero obligations and has made a start by putting aside funds for air source heat pumps. These greener alternatives to traditional gas boilers, which are gradually to be phased out by the Scottish Government, will be an option for any Melville tenant who is having their heating replaced.
A timetable of Melville’s 2022/23 planned maintenance work is currently being finalised. All Melville tenants due a home upgrade will be contacted closer to the time. Details are also now available online through the tenant zone section of Melville’s website. Alternatively, tenants can phone Melville on 0131 654 2733 (selecting option 2).