The relational dimensions of renovation: Implications for retrofit policy

Retrofitting the UK's housing stock is essential if the UK is to meet its climate commitments. Wider research has addressed how weaknesses in the drafting and implementation of retrofit policy have slowed progress in this area, including the tendency to treat homeowners as discrete, isolated decision makers. We contribute to this research by exploring the wider dynamics that underpin decision-making in and around households. We make this contribution by adapting Hargreaves and Middlemiss's research into the social relations of daily energy use, and Zelizer's research into the social relations of money, to consider how social relations influence decision -making over home renovations. Our findings are based on semi-structured interviews with homeowners in Otley, West Yorkshire, which we conducted from September to December 2021. This interview data demon-strates how the dynamic nature of relations with family and friends, tradespeople, gender, and money, shapes the reasons why people undertake renovations and what they aim to gain from undertaking these works. Focusing on wider renovations enabled us to speak with people who are not already engaged with retrofit policy, shedding light on possible interventions that target 'able-to-pay' owner-occupiers. For instance, we highlight the need to identify how people develop trust with tradespeople; account for different social groups' relations to the home; and to foreground how the role of the home changes through time.

Automated summary

Retrofitting the UK's housing stock is crucial for fulfilling the climate commitments, but there have been weaknesses in policy drafting and implementation that hinder progress. Our research examines the broader dynamics underlying decision-making in households and identifies the influence of social relations on home renovations. We conducted semi-structured interviews with homeowners in Otley, West Yorkshire, and found that dynamic relationships with family, friends, tradespeople, gender, and money shape the motivations and goals of home renovations. Our findings shed light on interventions that target homeowners who can afford retrofitting and emphasize the importance of trust-building with tradespeople, understanding different social groups' relationships with homes, and recognizing the evolving role of the home over time.