Facilitating Retrofit: a comprehensive sectoral analysis

Retrofitting homes – improving the energy efficiency of the
fabric and adding low carbon heating systems – is complex.
It involves a myriad of stakeholders, from surveyors, to
installers, to finance providers.

The ‘one stop shop’ or ‘Retrofit Facilitation Provider’ (RFP)
approach is a way of trying to overcome this complexity
and deliver ‘hassle-free’ home upgrades. Under this
model, multiple services are bundled together to offer
homeowners an end-to-end journey; from raising
awareness of the need for an upgrade, undertaking
assessments and designs, arranging contractors, helping
to organise finance, through to post-retrofit assessment
and sign-off.

This report summarises research into existing
Retrofit Facilitation Providers and associated issues.
We investigated how to assess the capacity of a supply
chain and how to grow them to meet the increased
demand generated by a RFP. We also investigated how
those RFPs can engage householders to build demand for
retrofit and finance opportunities available. The research
was carried out for the MCS Foundation by a consortium
of Living Places, Regen, SE2 and the UK Green Building
Council (UKGBC). The research is based on literature
reviews and interviews with existing RFPs and retrofit
experts. It was carried out over four months in late 2023
and focused largely on England-based organisations. It
is not exhaustive and provides a snapshot of the current
market as of December 2023