Low-income, privately rented (or older) households living in inefficient housing stock, primarily outside of major metropolitan areas.
In the United Kingdom, one of the most challenging groups to engage meaningfully in emissions-reduction efforts are low-income, privately rented (or older) households living in inefficient housing stock, primarily outside of major metropolitan areas.
They are households in the lower income deciles, on means-tested benefits or low wages, with little surplus capital for major investments in energy efficiency or heating system upgrades; They often rent privately (rather than own), which means they may have limited control over major upgrades (insulation, boiler replacement, heat-pump installation) because the landlord controls the large-scale investment; Their housing stock tends to be older, poorly insulated, with boilers or heating systems that use fossil fuel (gas or oil) and inefficient windows, walls or lofts; They may be located in more peripheral or non-urban locations (smaller towns, older terraces, ex-industrial regions in the North, Midlands, Wales), where housing stock upgrades have lagged and where landlords may be less willing (or able) to invest; They may have lower levels of self-reported “knowledge” of net zero and climate-transition technology options: for instance, in the government’s Public Attitudes Tracker, those with no qualifications reported only 34 % said they knew “a fair amount or a lot” about net zero, compared to 67 % among those with a degree. (GOV.UK); They may also experience, fuel poverty, (difficulty heating their homes or keeping up with energy bills), which places them under stress and tends to make longer-term investments harder.
How many and where do they live: Quantifying precisely this group is challenging because overlapping categories (low income + inefficient housing + private rental) are not always disaggregated in public data. But some relevant indicators:
According to the Office for National Statistics, households account for ~26 % of UK greenhouse-gas emissions on a residence basis; Fuel poverty data show millions of households’ struggle: in England alone, 13.2 % of households (approximately 3.16 million) were in fuel poverty in 2020; Private rented sector in the UK is significant: in England in recent years, over 4 million households are in the private rented sector. Combining that with low-income households and older housing suggests the target group is likely on the order of 1-2 million households, possibly more, across the UK, especially in the North of England, Midlands, Wales, and rural or semi-rural areas; Geographically, areas with older housing stock and lower incomes include many ex-industrial towns (e.g., parts of Yorkshire & Humber, North West, East Midlands), less-affluent private rental markets, and older terraces or estates; Thus this group is large, dispersed, often in “harder to reach” housing markets (older stock, lower margins for investment, rented rather than owner-occupied) and faces structural barriers to engagement in emissions-reduction.
Why this group is not contributing as fully as they might to reducing greenhouse-gas emissions: There are several specific reasons why low-income, privately rented households living in inefficient homes represent a “hardest to reach” group in the UK climate effort:
Because many such households rent rather than own, they lack the direct control or incentives to invest in deeper fabric improvements (insulation, double glazing, heat-pump installation). Landlords may have little incentive, particularly in low- rent markets, to invest in energy-efficiency upgrades or low-carbon heating systems; Upgrading heating systems (e.g., replacing gas boiler with heat-pump) or deep retrofit (insulation, loft/wall upgrades) often requires coordination, capital investment and time. For a tenant on a short lease or uncertain tenancy it is harder to engage.
Purchasing power / investment capacity: These households often lack spare capital to invest in low-carbon technologies, even if subsidies exist. For example, installing a heat pump is costly and even with grant support, may involve disruption, trust issues, potential higher upfront costs; Because they face tight household budgets (and often high energy bills due to inefficiencies), their priority is often keeping the home warm or safe rather than investing in “climate” solutions whose benefits may be longer-term and less immediate.
Knowledge, information and motivation gap: According to the Public Attitudes Tracker, among those with no qualifications only 34 % said they knew a fair amount or a lot about the concept of net zero, compared to 67 % for degree holders; Awareness may be relatively high (91 % of people said they had heard of net zero) but knowledge and capacity to act differ by education level, income and location; The climate transition (e.g., switching to a heat pump, EV, installing insulation) can seem risky, unfamiliar, disruptive. For households already under financial pressure, the effort to engage may be too high.
Housing stock and structural barriers: Older, inefficient homes present higher costs to upgrade; issues like listed-building status, solid walls (harder to insulate) or poor condition increase costs, making the business case weaker; Tenants may face disruption, disruption of heating, risk of rent hikes, or may move before benefit accrues. Landlords may be reluctant; There may be split incentives: landlords pay for upgrades, but tenants reap the lower bills; landlords may not capture the full value. Policies exist to address this (e.g., Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards) but enforcement and uptake remain challenging.
Geographic disadvantage / fragmentation: These households are dispersed, often outside large urban centres where programmes are more visible. They may not be reached by schemes designed for owner-occupiers or “green early adopters”; Community networks, peer-effects, local trusted installers may be fewer. The local retrofit market may be less developed in peripheral regions, meaning higher cost and longer lead-times; Because of all these factors, this group remains under-engaged in the climate transition. Reaching them is critical because, collectively, their homes represent significant emissions reduction potential — yet the usual “innovator/early-adopter” pathway (owner-occupiers with capital) bypasses them.
Proposals for how this target group can make a greater contribution within 1-3 years (cost-effective, doable)
Here are two concrete proposals, designed for short-to-midterm (1-3 years) implementation, targeted at this hardest-to-reach group. Each is described with what it is, why it matters, how it can be implemented, who leads/involved, and how outcomes are measured.
Proposal 1: “Tenant-Landlord Retrofit Acceleration Voucher Programme: A targeted voucher/grant programme specifically for privately rented homes occupied by low-income tenants and with landlords willing to participate, offering free deep-retrofit of key energy-efficiency measures (loft/cavity/solid-wall insulation, upgraded windows, improved heating controls) plus a reduced-cost heat-pump trial or hybrid system where feasible. The vouchers would be given to landlord-tenant pairs, contingent on at least 50 % of cost covered by the scheme and no rent increase allowed for at least 3 years.
Upgrading these inefficient homes will reduce heating and hot-water emissions (which are a large part of household emissions) and reduce bills — delivering both climate and social benefit (fuel poverty reduction); By structuring the scheme around landlord-tenant pairs and removing the upfront cost barrier, the major access/investment barrier is addressed; Doing this within 1-3 years can generate an emissions “shovel-ready” pipeline, helping the UK make progress toward its retrofit targets (e.g., for fabric improvements) and helping accelerate technology adoption in challenging housing segments.
Eligibility criteria: Tenant household income under a defined threshold (e.g., < 60 % median income) AND home has Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating D, E, F or G; Landlord agrees to voucher terms (no rent increase for 3 years, allow installation work, enable monitoring); Installation: Local approved retrofit-contractors carry out works; ensure quality assurance (via EPC improvement, monitoring); Monitoring & follow-up: Basic monitoring of energy use, comfort and tenant bills (pre- and post-retrofit) for a 12-month period thereafter.
How to measure outcomes: Number of homes upgraded under the programme (target e.g., 10,000 homes across pilot regions within 2 years); Improvement in EPC rating (pre- and post); Average reduction in tenant energy bills and energy use (kWh) for participating homes; Estimated kgCO₂e reduction per household (based on fuel-use modelling) aggregated across the homes; Percentage of landlords who maintain tenancy/rent level for 3 years and tenants reporting improved comfort/less fuel-stress (via survey); Cost-effectiveness: cost per ton of CO₂e saved compared with standard retrofit programmes.
Proposal 2: “Low-Income Tenant Behavioural & Technology Support Package”: A support package aimed at tenants (even where major structural retrofit may not yet happen) combining smart-meter plus in-home energy adviser visits, micro-retrofit kit (LED lighting, smart controls, draught proofing) and “climate-buddy” peer mentoring in low-income rented communities. The idea is to build awareness, reduce emissions through smaller interventions, and prepare tenants (and landlords) for larger upgrades.
While full structural retrofit takes time, smaller interventions can deliver real reductions in household emissions (lighting, controls, behaviour); The behavioural support (energy-adviser visit, peer mentoring) raises awareness and empowers tenants, addressing the knowledge/information gap; The programme builds trust, creates local “champions” and peer networks in lower-income rented sectors, which is essential to reach the harder-to-reach group.
Intervention: Provide free in-home visit by an energy-adviser who explains simple actions, installs draught-proofing kit, upgrades to LEDs, installs smart-plug monitors or simple smart controls, gives tailored “how to reduce” advice; Pair each participant with a “climate-buddy” peer from their community (trained) who helps reinforce good habits, shares tips about low-carbon choices, and acts as a local contact; Make available a small “technology box” voucher (e.g., smart thermostat, smart-meter link, low-cost home-energy app subscription) subsidised for the tenant; Monitoring: Energy-use data (pre/post if available), surveys of tenant comfort, awareness and behaviour change.
Who takes the lead / who is involved: Local authorities in target regions; Energy-charities and tenant-support organisations (for outreach and peer mentoring); Local private-rented landlords/letting agents (to permit access, if needed); Smart-meter/energy-monitoring firms (to supply kit); Funding support from national scheme (via DESNZ) or via energy-company obligation funds (ECO) redirected for this purpose.
Contact details for a decision-maker
Name: Ed Miliband
Title: Secretary of State for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
Email: ed.miliband.mp@parliament.uk; Phone Number: 020 7219 7318
This Post was submitted by Climate Scorecard UK Country Manager, Cesar A. A. Da Silva.
Learn More Resources
Climate Change Committee (CCC). (2025) Progress in reducing emissions: 2025 report to Parliament. London: Climate Change Committee. Available at: https://www.theccc.org.uk
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). (2025) Provisional UK greenhouse gas emissions statistics: 2024. London: GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). (2025) Energy Trends: Quarterly statistics and analysis of UK energy. London: GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/energy-trends
National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (NAEI). (2025) UK Greenhouse Gas Inventory. London: Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. Available at: https://naei.beis.gov.uk
YouGov. (2025) Earth Day 2025: Where do Britons stand on climate change?. London: YouGov. Available at: https://yougov.co.uk
Reuters. (2025) UK government backs commercial carbon capture projects to cut emissions. 14 September. Available at: https://www.reuters.com
GOV.UK. (2025) The Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer MP. London: GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/people/keir-starmer
GOV.UK. (2025) The Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP. London: GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/people/ed-miliband