Owner occupier engagement - the elephant in the room - policies, gaps and analysis.

Panel: 7. Policies for a green recovery in the buildings sector

Authors:
John Rowlatt, DeMontfort University, United Kingdom
Ashley Morton, DeMontfort University, United Kingdom
Neil Brown, DeMontfort University, United Kingdom
Andrew Reeves, DeMontfort University, United Kingdom

Abstract

UK Policy on public engagement with low carbon transition has variable success at best, the Green Homes Grant and Green Deal are prime examples of public engagement strategies not fit for purpose. Typically, policies from BEIS have focused more towards engagement with the Private Rental Sector (PRS) & Housing Associations (HA) as they are seen as having potentially greater results & more accessibility in terms of engagement. Traditionally the Owner Occupier (OO) sector has been left to its own discretion in choosing to engage and upgrade their own homes. Yet these dwellings account for more than half of the housing sector and are repeatedly brushed over in relation to successful engagement strategies, creating a sleeping giant – or elephant – that if angered could have serious implications in meeting ambitious net zero targets. The societal shifts required may be too big for easy acceptance which explains the CCC belief that there are currently no UK Government strategies for public engagement.

It is stated by the CCC that society has the technocratic solutions and that the net cost would be minimal (circa 1% of GDP p.a. to 2050) and therefore funding mechanisms could be created to facilitate deployment. It is important for any regulations that both they and the data they are founded upon are fit for purpose and evidenced as so. As Haidt suggested you cannot make a single elephant do something it does not want to. The OO elephant needs engagement, education and a sense of ownership to encourage and empower them to follow the PRS & HA herd. Questions arise around what is needed to create this scenario.

This paper presents a systematic review of UK policy and regulation, identifying 109 areas to address that have multiple lenses, which fall within three key areas: policy, regulation, and engagement, emphasizing 15 specific failure risk issues. This paper evaluates and highlights current practice and recommendations in how to engage owner occupiers more effectively.

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