TPAS welcomes 1bn Euro investment into greening social housing

Tens of thousands of tenants could benefit from a European Union (EU) decision to fund a massive programme of green measures to improve social housing.

It has made 1 Billion Euros available to fund an ‘energy efficient building initiative.’

The proposed investment has two aims: firstly to boost energy efficiency and reduce the carbon footprint of housing and secondly to help fight the economic downturn.

TPAS Director, Richard Hewgill, who is also a Vice President of the International Union of Tenants, welcomed the EU action, “Buildings account for 40% of all greenhouse emissions in Europe. There are over 22 million social housing households across the continent including 4 million in England. These measures will help make homes more energy efficient and help boost the economy. They will also help reduce high fuel costs.”

The EU proposals will mean investment in energy-efficiency and renewable energy measures in housing. In concrete terms, the proposal means the co-financing of local schemes for insulation of walls, roofing and windows (double-glazing), solar panels, and replacement of old boilers for more energy-efficient ones. The focus has to be targeted at low income households as defined by each national Government.

Richard Hewgill concluded: “I welcome this move by the EU. I think it could benefit thousands of social housing residents. The key is for social housing landlords to start working now to secure a share of the funding available. This is ‘double whammy ‘win-win’ situation. Individual households will benefit and it all counts towards reversing the economic downturn.”