Housing federations urge UK Government to provide certainty over energy support

The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA), National Housing Federation and Community (NHF) and Community Housing Cymru (CHC) have written to the Chancellor and Secretary of State for Energy, saying that the social housing sector's ability to protect tenants from extreme energy costs will be put at significant risk if the UK Government’s Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS) ends in March 2023.  

In Scotland, latest estimates suggest that, even with the Energy Price Guarantee and other support mechanisms already in place, between 52% and 57% of households living in the social sector are facing fuel poverty, and this is reflected in the experiences of SFHA members.   

Particular concerns have been raised around heat networks and ‘heat with rent’ schemes which are often classified as ‘commercial’ rather than ‘domestic’. Price hikes for these schemes have been significant, with up to five-fold increases reported. Even where procurement frameworks are being used, in an example from one of our members, costs are expected to jump by 120% in April 2023 on top of the cumulative increases observed over the last two years. However, these customers do not qualify for the Energy Price Guarantee, and there also remains uncertainly around how consumers in this group who do not have a direct relationship with a domestic energy supplier will receive the £400 rebate offered to other households.   

The Energy Bills Relief Scheme (EBRS) was introduced with the intention of providing support for non-domestic energy contracts, including communal heating. However, several of our members have been told that they do not currently qualify for any discount, and, even where social landlords have been able to access lower rates through this scheme, the uncertainty around whether this will continue beyond March 2023 is a key concern. 

In Scotland, heat with rent and communal heating schemes are particularly common in sheltered and supported housing, where tenants may be older or have health conditions which require a high energy demand. Communal heating is, therefore, often installed in these scenarios in an effort to provide a more affordable option than a conventional heating system. However, the current price increases mean that housing associations now face the incredibly difficult decision of either having to try to absorb these extra costs or pass the increases on to tenants.  

SFHA, NHF and CHC welcome the UK Government support packages to help housing associations and their residents with the rising cost of energy. However, our members need more certainty around future protection, and we urge the UK Government to ensure the most vulnerable in society are adequately protected from the impact of the energy crisis, this winter and beyond.  

Our members are going to great lengths to shield tenants from the worst of the cost of living crisis but this is becoming increasingly difficult in the context of rising prices across the housing sector and a lack of competition in the energy market. Our members, and their tenants, are facing a hugely difficult winter, and it’s essential that the UK Government acts now to provide certainty beyond March 2023.