The view of Public, Cooperative and Social Housing providers
Public, Cooperative and Social Housing providers typically provide a range of services and support to the residents in their homes, who often are drawn from amongst the more vulnerable and marginalised groups in society.
There is a variety of competing pressures on housing providers to ensure the best outcomes for their residents, and whilst recognising the crucial importance of the energy saving agenda being driven by the recast of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) and the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED), they are also particularly concerned to ensure that the transition to nearly-Zero Energy is a fair and equitable one for their current and future residents
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By a 'fair energy transition', Public, Cooperative and Social Housing providers represented by Housing Europe mean that:
Energy efficient refurbishment should not result in increasing rents to levels that residents can no longer afford, forcing them to leave their homes;
New construction is not restricted, since with the higher costs of building to nZEB standards fewer homes can be built from a limited budget, thus impacting on the lives of those waiting for a decent home to live in;
Policies and funding schemes should also embrace those hardest to reach, who are most likely to be victims of fuel poverty;
In respect of the production of renewable energy, that there is diversification of ownership of the energy produced and monopolies do not use their positions to control these new markets.
Considering the issues at stake, the sector calls for an EU strategy that should encompass the following elements:
A roll-out of the appropriate financial tools at the right scale and the right time to help housing providers in their path towards the fair energy transition;
Improved implementation and stabilisation of the current legislative framework, in particular the nZEB Roadmaps of the EPBD and the Renovation Roadmaps of the EED;
Urgent improvement of the building renovation supply chain and promotion of business models which are effective and affordable;
Welfare policies ensuring that low-income groups are not unduly burdened by rising fuel prices and climate change costs.
