Beyond the building: Governance challenges in social housing retrofit

Retrofitting housing is central to addressing climate change and energy vulnerability goals. Retrofits can provide value in social housing due to the sector's prevalence of low-income tenants (who face greater energy vulnerability) and the large, landlord-owned stock. Despite significant potential benefits, multiple complex barriers to achieving the sector's retrofit goals persist. These barriers are examined by focusing on how privatisation and neoliberal policymaking have shaped social housing delivery and retrofit efforts in England. Two datasets are used to explore these issues: an organisational ethnography of a housing association (HA) in north-west England (n = 10) and expert interviews (n = 21). Key themes identified through thematic analysis include: (1) issues in retrofitting social homes (at HA scale), (2) fragmented social housing provision and (3) insufficient government support. HAs face significant financial constraints, with limited income from fixed rents and chronic underfunding. Inconsistent government funding has created a boom-and-bust cycle, limiting the availability of trained contractors and impeding progress. Clear policies and sustained investment in retrofit technologies are needed to stabilise the sector and support contractor upskilling. The findings are relevant to other neoliberal contexts pursuing social housing retrofit goals.