Warm Rents Programme
Making cold homes a thing of the past
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Cold homes remain one of the most stubborn and damaging inequalities in the UK housing system.
Despite decades of investment and legislation, too many residents are still living in homes that are routinely too cold to be safe, with consequences for health, wellbeing and household finances that are well understood and yet persistently unresolved.
The Warm Rents Programme is Healthy Homes Hub's response to that reality, built on a straightforward principle: that warmth should be treated as a core component of rent, not an optional extra that residents must struggle to afford.
Why this problem persists
Fuel poverty in social housing is not caused by resident behaviour. It is structural.
Most residents have little or no control over the energy efficiency of their homes. Many live in older properties that are expensive to heat and difficult to upgrade. The social rent formula, established over twenty years ago, does not reflect energy performance and offers no incentive to address that imbalance.
The result is a system where tenants in the least efficient homes face the highest energy costs, while landlords absorb the downstream consequences: damp and mould, disrepair claims, reactive repairs and the ongoing cost of managing complaints. Cold homes also directly contribute to poor health outcomes, particularly for children, older people and those with long-term conditions. The sector is already paying for cold homes. Warm Rents reframes where and how that money is spent.
What the Programme Does
Warm Rents introduces a practical model: where residents cannot afford to heat their homes to a minimum safe indoor temperature of 16-18°C during occupied periods, their landlord covers the cost of reaching that baseline. Residents retain full control above the agreed minimum. The programme simply ensures no household experiences prolonged exposure to unsafe temperatures.
Delivered through five live projects, each using proven technology to identify cold homes and trigger proactive intervention, technology partners Aico, Sero, IoT Solutions Group, ZapCarbon and iOpt each bring a distinct approach - from smart meter and sensor monitoring to heat-as-a-service models and predictive environmental data.
Programme Cost
Participation is offered as flat programme fee of £5,000 plus VAT for each Housing Provider.
Each housing provider needs to include a minimum of 10 homes, but ideally 50+ homes in the project. The cost of the heating for each home is anticipated to be £500 + VAT for the heating between October 2026 and March 2027.
Where this started
During the winter of 2024/25, Healthy Homes Hub worked with Switchee and three housing providers - Clarion Housing Group, Places for People and Yorkshire Housing - to test early Warm Rents principles in practice. Homes routinely sitting at temperatures as low as 12-13°C were supported to reach and maintain 18°C, leading to immediate reductions in mould risk and improved living conditions.
What Participating Organisations Gain
Across 2026/27, Warm Rents will generate shared learning on identifying cold homes at scale, targeting support fairly, comparing preventative investment against reactive spend, and building the evidence base needed to inform future policy on rent-setting and affordability. Independent researchers will evaluate outcomes, and all learning will be shared openly across the programme and with the wider sector.
Who will lead the programme?
The programme is led by Alex Willey, Project Director at Healthy Homes Hub.
With over 15 years of experience in housing strategy, asset performance and sustainability.
Join the warm rents programme.
Sign-up closes at the end of April 2026, with onboarding through spring and summer ahead of the live delivery period beginning winter 2026/27.
To express interest or book a chat, please email alex@healthyhomeshub.uk or register below.