Lower-income householders, minority ethnic people and those with young children are more likely to live in homes at risk from dangerous overheating, research has found.
The UK has baked in multiple heatwaves this summer, with many people sweltering in dangerously hot homes that were not designed to withstand extreme temperatures. June was the hottest on record and in general this summer England was an average of 1.58C above average temperatures.
Hot homes are dangerous for health; cardiovascular and respiratory issues, sleep disturbance, mental health problems and heat exhaustion all correlate with high temperatures in the home. Health risks spike when temperatures inside are above 25C, and there is a link between overheating homes and the risk of death, particularly for elderly people.
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An analysis of housing stock by the Resolution Foundation has found nearly half (48%) of the poorest fifth of English households have homes liable to get too hot – three times as many as among the richest fifth (17%).
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Owning your own home reduces the risk of overheating; two-thirds of socially renting households face the highest risk of their homes getting too hot compared with 55% of private rented homes and 17% of those that are owner occupied.
Additionally, six in 10 of those with young children, and almost half of minority ethnic households also face the highest risk of their homes getting too hot.
Overall, the research found a fifth of homes in England overheat in current summer temperatures, while one-third (32%) have attributes that put them at high risk of overheating in the future.
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Small flats, small homes and those that are overcrowded are all at risk of getting too hot, as are those in areas such as London that suffer from an urban heat island effect. More than half (53%) of homes in London are at risk of overheating, compared with 31% of those outside the capital.
Experts have called for the government to update its upcoming future homes standard to include provisions for overheating homes. The regulations are due to be published this autumn, to come into force from 2027, but the focus has been mainly on how to keep draughty homes warm in winter, rather than to keep them cool in summer.
“The way we are building new housing is not adequate to the climate change we are already seeing, never mind the even hotter weather that’s coming,” said Simon McWhirter, the chief executive of the UK Green Building Council.
Zachary Leather, an economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: “With the sweltering temperatures parts of the UK have seen recently set to become more common, we face a greater risk of overheating at home. But this risk is not spread equally – lower-income families, social renters, those with children and ethnic-minority households are more likely to live in homes at risk of overheating.”
The thinktank used data from a government study that placed hundreds of sensors in people’s homes to determine which types of houses were most at risk of overheating. The figures were then combined with the latest data on who lives in these homes – small flats, small homes and overcrowded properties – to identify those at the highest risk of overheating as the UK’s temperature rises.
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It also analysed the dangers people face at work from extreme heat. One in four UK workers work in occupations where they are at risk of heat stress. There is an inequality aspect to this, too; those in the top third income bracket have a lower than average risk.
Older workers are more likely to face heat stress at work; 31% of those in jobs liable to cause heat stress are aged over 50. The research also found that office workers in more deprived areas were less likely to have air conditioning in their workplaces.
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The researchers suggested “learning from countries that have long had higher temperatures, including legal rights for maximum workplace temperatures, and better adapted buildings”.
Measures that can keep homes cooler in summer include good ventilation to create through airflow that cools rooms, with well-designed windows and external shutters, and reflective paint on roofs or outside surfaces.
Street trees are a simple and cost effective way to keep homes cool, the UK Green Building Council has said. It advocates a 3:30:300 approach: you should be able to see three trees from your dwelling; you should have 30% tree canopy cover within your neighbourhood; and you should be no more than 300 metres from a biodiverse green space or park.
A government spokesperson said: “We know the importance of keeping homes cool in hot weather. That’s why building regulations require new homes to be built to reduce the risk of overheating and through the future homes standard consultation we are exploring how to further improve protections. This is alongside considering the use of air-air heat pumps to keep existing homes cool under the boiler upgrade scheme.”
