SHDF Success Stories | Leeds City Council

Susan Neil, 58, lives in a Wimpey no fines property with her pets. Prior to the retrofit works of her home to improve its energy efficiency, it was very cold and suffered with issues of condensation on the walls.

Resident liaison officer (RLO) Jane Aston and resident Susan Neil

Leeds City Council have retrofitted Susan's homes through the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Demonstrator project. This fund, designed to help introduce 'fabric first' energy efficiency measures into social housing, awarded Leeds £4.1 million to tackle some of the hardest to treat homes.

"I can't understand - I haven't got my heating on, and it is very warm in here, and with no more damp."

Susan loves her home and calls it her safe haven: "The works have made my save haven so much better", adding that, since all the works have been completed, "it's absolutely amazing". The works have made her home a lot warmer, cleaner, fresher and with "no more damp". "I can't understand it. I haven't got my heating on, and it is very warm in here".

Susan's home was fitted with high-quality double-glazed windows, roof insulation, and external wall insulation, accompanied by a ventilation system to ensure high air quality and damp free conditions are maintained in the newly insulated home. An air source heat pump, and new heating controls were also added, allowing Susan to benefit from the huge efficiencies that an air source heat pump within a well-insulated property can bring. Facing direct sunlight, solar panels have also been added.

An aerial photo of Susan's home, along with other retrofitted properties

Leeds is applying these measures to a further 189 homes, bringing warmer, comfortable homes to tenants, and expanding the council's understanding on how to make improvements across the whole of its estates going forward in homes such as Susan's.

Susan feels confident that all these retrofit measures will help her save money, especially during the winter months. Although the installation of the measures was not always easy - requiring access for surveys, and then a number of weeks of works (some of it inside the property) to ensure a high quality of installation and finish - Susan would recommend that people take up the offer of retrofit works.

Susan gave the entire project team five stars for all their effort on this project and for working so hard "to make it better for us all". One of the key members of the project team had been the resident liaison officer (RLO) Jane.

An exterior image of Susan's home

The Leeds project team recognised the importance of having Jane in place from the start of the project. As the RLO, Jane had a pivotal role in the success of the project by liaising with the residents, keeping them informed and supporting them through the retrofit journey. Susan showed her appreciation for Jane with a bunch of flowers, thanking her for being with Susan every step of the way to a damp free, well insulated home.

Read further case studies from SHDF-funded retrofit projects on our latest news and updates page.