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80% of the homes that will exist in 2050 have already been built. However, with the oldest building stock in the world, England’s homes are not currently fit for a safe, healthy, and comfortable future.

In Hertfordshire alone:

  • More than 60% of homes are rated EPC D or below
  • Over 60,000 households are estimated to be living in fuel poverty.

 

Improving homes – also known as retrofit – can lower energy bills, reduce carbon emissions, improve health, and comfort, and even increase property value.

Hertfordshire is proud to be the first pilot location for the Local Area Retrofit Accelerator (LARA), an ambitious programme funded by the MCS Foundation to co-create a local retrofit strategy through intensive, hands-on collaboration.

Between October 2024 and January 2025, over 50 organisations came together to shape a shared vision for retrofit across the county – including councils, housing providers, colleges, businesses, and community groups. 

This work has led to:

 

Please contact us if you require any of the documents in a different format.

 

Advice for homeowners

Following feedback from homeowners, HCCSP has produced a guide to help residents consider their options and start their retrofit journey.  

HCCSP Retrofitting your house guide

PDF files may not be accessible to assistive technologies.
Please contact us if you require this document in a different format.

Find out how to make your home warmer and cheaper to run and maybe even increase its value.  

  • Quick Wins: Low and no-cost tips for every part of your home.
  • Big Changes: Demystifying heat pumps and generating your own energy.
  • Tailored Options: Detailed suggestions for the most typical property types in Hertfordshire.
  • Next Steps: How to find trustworthy contractors and sources of funding.

The guide includes reference to heritage and conservation buildings as well as tenants and leaseholders. We are looking at avenues to support these and other ‘harder to treat’ properties. The guide contains a range of non-invasive measures while residents consider their options.

Hertfordshire residents in any type of home can also contact the Better Housing Better Health helpline for impartial expert advice to help improve the energy efficiency of their home, save money and improve comfort, including sources of funding.

There are also many credible sources of information, guidance and recommendations in the public domain. 

You said, we did

We asked homeowners:

HCCSP has explored the barriers home-owners face to retrofitting their home to make them more energy efficient. Whilst this is an area over which the Council has limited leverage, research indicates that residents are concerned about their fuel bills, the warmth and comfort of their homes and about the climate emergency. The aim of the project was to explore the principal barriers to retrofitting privately owned housing in Hertfordshire and consider potential options for overcoming these.

Homeowners said

HCCSP shared a survey for Hertfordshire homeowners between 19 Jan to 11 February 2024 and received 1,267 responses from domestic homeowners. This research confirmed that there is a market for retrofit in Hertfordshire, but many residents don’t know where to start, who to trust, or how to coordinate work. Download the full Retrofit & Behaviour Change Survey Results report (PDF 147KB).

We did

The evidence gathered from this survey will feed into the Retrofit Strategy which will facilitate retrofitting housing in Hertfordshire in response to both the climate emergency and cost of living crisis. The evidence also accelerated production of the above guide to help residents begin their retrofit journey. 

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