The Let Zero project, led by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA), will support tenants in the private rented sector by working with landlords to improve decision making on renovations and improvements to properties, especially those housing the vulnerable.
SYMCA was awarded the funding by Innovate UK for the 18-month project to develop an end-to-end solution, powered by AI to give landlords a ‘trusted path’ for upgrading their properties, tailored to the needs of the occupants.
The pilot research project will initially involve 200 homes in South Yorkshire but the solution has the potential to be scalable across the UK.
Dr Ceri Batchelder, South Yorkshire Retrofit Development Programme Lead at SYMCA, spearheaded the Let Zero project.
She said: “I’m delighted that the Let Zero pilot project has received funding from Innovate UK. It will improve conditions for private sector renters by supporting landlords to upgrade their properties through a retrofit and funding advice service.
“Working closely with our local authority partners, the team will reach out to landlords and showcase a range of options for housing improvements.
“Our intent is to create warmer, healthier and more cost-effective homes and to establish a precedent for decarbonisation in the private rented sector.”
Sheffield Hallam University’s Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research will play a key role in the pilot project which will run from 1 April 2024 until 30 September 2025.
Researchers will carry out interviews with landlords and tenants to understand the experiences of those involved in the retrofit programme and will look at best practice elsewhere in the country.
Professor Will Eadson, Professor of Urban and Regional Studies at Sheffield Hallam University said: “Retrofit is an urgent priority for meeting net zero goals which also brings a host of other benefits including job creation and business opportunities for carrying out retrofit, and health and wellbeing benefits alongside energy savings for people living in leaky homes. This project uses an innovative approach to tackle a particularly challenging part of the housing market: the private rented sector. This sector has on average the most energy inefficient housing and the lowest uptake of retrofit measures.”
Prof Eadson will work alongside colleagues in the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research Dr Rachel Macrorie, Prof Aimee Ambrose, Dr Jan Gilbertson and Dawn Witherley on the project.
Other partners include BRE, the Centre for Energy Equality, the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, charity Pure Leapfrog and a number of innovative companies: Sustenic, Wrapt Homes, Planarific, Trust Electric Heating, ICAX and VundaHaus.
