Affordable warmth

1
Affordable warmth

• Causes and remedies for the private rented sector

2
What is affordable warmth?

• The ability to heat your home to an adequate
  level for household comfort and health, without
  developing debt as a result.
• The lack of affordable warmth is known as fuel
  poverty.
• Households that need to spend 10 or more of
  their income for adequate warmth are experiencing
  fuel poverty.

3
The affordable warmth partnership for
Gloucestershire

• The partnership was launched in 2001, with the
  aim that all homes would be warm homes by 2016.
• The partnership has forged valuable links to
  realise this aim
• The revised strategy states that The local
  authorities of Gloucestershire and South
  Gloucestershire, in partnership with the Severn
  Wye Energy Agency, the health, community and
  private sectors, will tackle fuel poverty and
  provide affordable warmth by 2016

4
The size of the problem

• In England as a whole, in September 2008, NEA
  estimates that 19 of households were in fuel
  poverty.
• In September 2008, the number of households in
  fuel poverty in the South West was estimated by
  NEA as 433,000, or 19.9 of all households.

5
What is affordable warmth?

• Landlords reasonable cost to install and
  maintain.
• Tenants the cost to keep warm

6
Factors affecting affordability

• Type of heating system
• Age and efficiency of boilers
• Existence of controls
• Insulation and ventilation
• Structural integrity of building
• Location and orientation of building

7
Intervention

• Grants
• Advice and Information
• Enforcement (by the local authority)

8
Warm Front

• Tenant, not landlord, must be eligible
• Insulation measures available
• Provision of heating where none exists

9
Gloucestershire Warm and Well

• Tenant, not landlord, must be eligible
• Insulation (loft and cavity)
• Replacement gas boilers
• Full gas heating systems where funding available
• Additional discount for insulation when landlord
  applies via Rent Warm, Rent Well

10
CERT (Carbon Emissions Reduction Target)

• From fuel suppliers
• Focus is on insulation measures
• NOTE Measures available to all, not exclusive to
  the customers of particular fuel suppliers

11
Communication is key

• All grants need landlord approval and tenant
  co-operation for access
• Effective communication between landlord and
  tenant is essential

12
Grant advice for all grants

• For free and impartial advice on ALL grants, as
  well as signposting and referrals, contact the
  Energy Savings Trust Advice Centre for the South
  West
• Ring 0800 512 012
• NOTE ESTAC advisors can advise on local
  authority grant variations

13
How to spread the word

• During visit
• Website
• Municipal offices
• Health centres
• Targeted mail shots
• Targeted inspections
• Landlord forums

14
Decent Homes Standard

• Meets the current statutory minimum standard for
  housing Health and Housing Safety Rating System
  HHSRS
• Is in a reasonable state of repair
• has reasonably modern facilities and services
• provides a reasonable degree of thermal comfort
  with efficient heating and insulation.

15
Decent Homes

• Target for social housing to meet the standard by
  2010
• Gloucestershire LAA target NBE(1)
• Number of private sector dwellings occupied by
  vulnerable people made decent

16
Enforcement

• In April 2006 the Housing Act 2004 replaced the
  old housing fitness standard with the Housing
  Health Safety Rating System (HHSRS)

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Potential Hazards

• A - Physiological Requirements
• EXCESS COLD
• B - Psychological Requirements
• C - Protection Against Infection
• D - Protection Against Accidents

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Harm Outcomes

• Class 1
• Death from hypothermia cardiovascular
  respiratory illness, regular severe pneumonia.
• Class 2
• Cardio-respiratory disease requiring
  hospitalisation
• Class 3
• Cardio-respiratory disease not requiring
  hospital
• Class 4
• Regular repeated colds and minor chest
  infections

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What is Excess Cold?

• A healthy indoor temperature is around 21oC
• A small risk to health begins below 19oC
• Serious health risks occur below 16oC
• Below 10oC Hypothermia begins.

20
HHSRS Hazard Rating

• Calculation gives a rating for each hazard
  expressed as a numerical score.
• Scores are then banded into 10 bands A to J.
• A to C (gt1000) - Category 1 hazards.
• D to J (lt1000) - Category 2 hazards.

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Excess Cold Hazard

• Average scores
• Pre 1920 1,066 A Cat 1
• 1920-45 1,035 A Cat 1
• 1946-79 880 D Cat 2
• Post 1979 664 D Cat 2
• Average scores for HMOs are higher

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The Ideal for insulation

• Cavity walls should be insulated.
• Post 1930s housing usually has cavity walls.
• Loft insulation ideal is 250-270mm (can be more!)
• Less than 150mm can be topped up.
• Hard to Treat insulation
• Sloping ceilings and solid walls

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The Ideal for heating

• Ideal is whole house fixed heating
• Heating must be controllable and the controls
  understandable
• Appropriate heating systems
• Storage heaters in well insulated dwellings
• solid fuel unsuitable for older people
• portable heaters are not a heating system

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Alternatives to central heating

• In living rooms and bedrooms, a 3kW (or
  equivalent) appliance with thermostatic control
  and programmer/timer (on appliance or system) but
  must provide adequate heat output
• Use following websites to calculate required
  heat output-
•     www.radcals.com www.dimplex.co.uk/products/do
  mestic_heating/installed_heating/how_much_heat_do_
  I_need.  

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Problems

• Landlord reluctance
• Hard to treat properties
• Hard to reach occupiers

26
Action Plan for Tenants

• Get advice
• Speak to landlord
• Apply for grants
• If all else fails
• Contact L.A if enforcement action needed.
• (The Housing or Environmental Health department
  is usually the best department to speak to)

27
Action plan for landlords

• Get advice
• Speak to tenants
• Decide whether tenant or landlord to apply for
  grants
• Apply for grants

28
Questions

• If you would like further information, please
  contact
• Julie Wight
• Environmental Health Manager
• Gloucester City Council
• 01452 396320
• Julie.wight_at_gloucester.gov.uk