Overheating in homes: why we’re launching a cross-sector campaign

Overheating in UK homes is an unfolding public health crisis, with temperatures rapidly rising to levels our housing is not designed to cope with. The National Housing Federation (NHF) and Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) are raising awareness of this risk and will be calling for stronger government leadership through a cross-sector campaign this summer.

What is overheating?

Overheating occurs when indoor temperatures rise to an uncomfortable level, typically exceeding 25c to 27c. UK homes have historically been designed for colder weather, with the primary aim of keeping heat in rather than out. This means that many homes are unable to maintain comfortable temperatures during the more frequent and intense heatwaves we are experiencing as a result of climate change.  

What is the overheating risk?

• One in eight households reported experiencing overheating in 2023, according to latest English Housing Survey data.
• Half of UK homes are currently at risk of overheating according to analysis from a recent Arup report commissioned by the Climate Change Committee.
• Modelling predicts that 90% of existing homes will overheat in global temperatures rise by 2c a year. This is projected to occur by 2050, with the possibility of individual years exceeding 2c as early as 2029, unless global emissions drop considerably.

Why is overheating dangerous?

Prolonged exposure to high indoor temperatures can result in a range of severe health effects, especially for babies and young children, older people, and people suffering from long-term health conditions. Heat exhaustion and heat stroke, cardiovascular issues, sleep disturbance and mental health problems are all linked to high temperatures in the home too.

As with most issues, overheating risk overlaps with existing societal inequalities. Lower-income households may be unable to afford electric fans and air conditioning or other cooling measures like shutters if living in a rental property.

Heat resilience in the social housing sector

In 2023, 259,300 housing association households reported overheating. Although that number seems high, it’s the lowest proportion of any tenure, making up 10.5% of homes. Housing associations across the country are making progress on heat resilience, for example by integrating cooling measures such as shading and ventilation into retrofit programmes and developing organisational overheating strategies.

Despite this, we know that as a sector we need to do more to proactively tackle and understand this emerging risk, because no one should have to live in an overheated home. 

Our new campaign to tackle overheating

This is why we’re working with CIH and other cross-sector partners and charities on a campaign this summer.

While overheating affects homes of all tenures across England, we are in a good position to show leadership on this issue to protect current and future residents. We will be calling on the government to show stronger leadership through a national overheating strategy, as well as publishing a range of awareness-raising pieces and resources for members.

We are committed to working with the government to shape effective national overheating policy that ensures all homes are healthy and safe to live in and fit for the future. The government’s recent commitment to tackle overheating in the Warm Homes Plan is hugely welcome, and we look forward to working with them on developing the detail, especially around the integration of adaptation measures into social housing funding schemes.