The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) has welcomed the government's announcements on sustainable homes.
Sarah Webb, CIH Director of Policy and Practice, said: "We are pleased to see that the environmental sustainability of new homes is so high on the political agenda and it is gratifying to see that social housing providers are leading the way by committing to meet level three of the Code for Sustainable Homes with all new building. We would however urge the government to make the Code for Sustainable Homes mandatory as quickly as possible. We applaud yesterday's announcements but urge the government to give more attention to vulnerable households in existing private sector housing - those who can least afford to go 'green' but who suffer most from high fuel costs in cold and damp houses."
The new Code and the Planning Policy Statement on Climate Change will not tackle the problem of existing housing, two thirds of which will still be in use in 2050. New construction accounts for only two per cent of the housing stock in the UK. The remaining existing housing is largely in the hands of private owners and was constructed before modern building regulations came into force. The result is that a staggering 3.7 million homes in the private sector fail the Decent Homes Standard on thermal comfort alone, while a total of five million fail on range of criteria. These homes are insufficiently insulated and often cost owners or tenants a great deal to heat.
