One in five homeowners can’t afford to make green home improvements, according to new data from Lloyds Banking Group.
The study highlighted that while 57% of homeowners think it’s important to make their homes “net zero ready” by 2035, 69% haven’t taken any action.
The report follows the UK Climate Change Committee’s latest progress report, which revealed serious shortcomings in efforts to decarbonise UK housing.
Some 49% of homeowners are put off by high costs and believe there is a lack of financial support available. Other barriers include not knowing where to start or the inconvenience of building work.
However, owners who have been able to invest in their property are already seeing the benefits.
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Nearly all UK homeowners (96%) who have made changes to make their homes more eco-friendly are pleased with the results and are strong advocates for others to invest.
Three quarters of homeowners who have undertaken retrofit work said their installation had performed at least as well as expected, with half (50%) stating the upgrades have performed even better than expected.
Encouragingly, over eight in ten (81%) would recommend retrofit works to friends or family, claiming the main benefits are their homes are now warmer (77%) and cheaper to run (64%).
Lloyds Banking Group director of environmental sustainability Rebecca Heaton said: “Our report shows that UK homeowners are clearly experiencing the benefits of retrofitting, like warmer homes and cheaper running costs, but they’re in urgent need of more support.
“We are committed to finding a solution by working closely with the government, housebuilders and developers to provide UK households with more certainty and better tools and incentives to unlock the scale of retrofit at the pace we need.”
