Housing Associations & Residential Estates

The priorities of a housing association and a residential block manager, or operator of a residential estate, are different to that of a commercial property owner. Here the resident is primary, the asset is secondary and the investment committee comes third. This is the exact reverse priority as pretty much every other commercial property development can take place under.

Furthermore, the nature of the task takes place entirely within a regulatory arena that simply does not exist for commercial property, with considerations such as tenant approval, structure of lease, communal lease, and the residential energy regime (all defining the limits of any operation even before a technical discussion takes place).

Arc Renewables does engage with registered providers, large private landlords and residential blocks subject to all of the above, remaining entirely fee paid and at arm’s length throughout, defining every recommendation on its impact on the resident, Fuel Poverty and the very long time horizon of any residential holding.

Feasibility for a communal PV rooftop differs from a commercial feasibility study, because the roof isn't the only constraint that has to be worked around. Communal lease arrangements and consent issues define what is possible just as much as the building itself. This typically includes:

• Site specific technical feasibility of the shared roofspace
• Cost implications on tenants, since any shared installation impacts directly on Service Charge bills incurred by residents
• Analysis of shared lease provisions & implications under appropriate landlord and tenant legislation (including Section 20 considerations)
• Allocation of savings/costs between all parties in block

With housing associations and landlords with many blocks or on an entire estate the debate becomes not "can we technically make it work" but "what do we invest money in first". Estate-wide strategy work entails:

• Multi-block appraisal, focusing on areas where there is a commercial case, a social case to be met for renewables investment
• The weighting against current rolling capital works programme, as opposed to a standalone rival budget line
• A single framework that applies across the estate. This can be justified to a board or investment committee as opposed to being made on a block-by-block ad hoc basis

The leaseholder consent is very important for community energy schemes within an apartment building, getting this step wrong can halt or completely dismantle a project no matter how technically sound it is. This project addresses:

• Materials and methodology established specifically for the purpose of supporting the leaseholder consent process
• Leaseholder information materials developed clearly and for use by residents and not simply adapted from industry material assuming a prior level of technical competence and understanding
• The housing manager, tenant representatives, and leaseholder experts are involved throughout thus meaning the consent process runs concurrently and not after technical and financial planning of a scheme have been designed