The State of UK Housing Insulation in 2026

Insulation sits at the heart of both the UK’s housing quality problem and its net-zero ambitions. Put simply, poorly insulated homes lose heat, cost more to run, and emit more carbon than they should. Yet despite decades of programmes, targets, and funding, the UK still faces a stubborn insulation deficit — in existing homes, in policy delivery, and in industry capability.

A Stock That’s Struggling to Keep Warm

Many UK homes remain poorly insulated. Historical data suggests millions of properties still rely on insulation installed decades ago — in some cases over 40 years old — meaning heat leaks out and energy bills stay high. In a 2022 analysis, more than half of homes in England and Wales had insulation levels dating back to 1976 or earlier, costing households hundreds of pounds each year in avoidable energy waste. Government Business

Public health data also highlights the lived reality: millions of households live in cold, damp, heat-leaking homes, with low incomes compounding the difficulty of funding upgrades. Around one in three households — roughly 9.6 million — are in this category, many without the means to make improvements themselves. House of Commons Library

This situation isn’t just about comfort. Poor insulation contributes to fuel poverty, ill-health, excessive NHS demand in winter months, and increased carbon emissions, making it both a social and environmental priority. House of Commons Library

Government Schemes: Ambition Meets Reality

In recent years, the UK government has rolled out several major programmes aimed at retrofitting insulation and other energy efficiency measures.

Among the most significant has been the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) schemes, which place obligations on energy suppliers to fund and install insulation and heating upgrades, particularly for low-income households. Another is the Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS), intended to complement ECO by broadening access. UK Parliament

However, the rollout of these initiatives has been far from smooth. Recent government audits and parliamentary statements reveal systemic issues with the quality of installations — so much so that a vast majority of work done under ECO4 and GBIS has been found to be defective.

Independent inspections and government briefings indicate that many solid wall insulation installations were carried out to unacceptably poor standards, in some cases causing damp and mould rather than preventing it. UK Parliament

The consequences have been serious. Estimates suggest that up to 98% of external wall insulation installed under recent schemes require repair or replacement, with internal insulation also showing significant non-compliance. Financial Times These failures have left some homeowners unable to sell or remortgage their properties, eroding trust in retrofit programmes and sparking urgent calls for reform. The Guardian

Why It Went Wrong

There isn’t a single cause behind the insulation rollout’s shortcomings — rather, a combination of policy, regulation, skills, and delivery challenges:

1. Fragmented Regulatory Oversight: The responsibility for quality assurance has been split across multiple bodies, leading to inconsistent standards and enforcement gaps. MoneySavingExpert.com

2. Skills Shortages: The construction sector, especially insulation installers, suffers from a shortage of qualified workers. This scarcity makes it harder to scale high-quality retrofit work and increases the risk of poor installations. Ecowise Installations

3. Market and Consumer Gaps: Most schemes focus on low-income households, leaving many owner-occupiers and private renters without accessible support. This constraint, combined with high retrofit costs, means a large portion of the housing stock is still waiting for upgrades. Ecowise Installations

4. Historical Underinvestment: Insulation was often an afterthought in past housing policy. For many years, the focus was on heating systems rather than improving building fabric, leaving numerous homes with outdated or inadequate insulation. Government Business

Near-Term Reform: A Mixed Picture

In response to these problems, the government has moved to suspend installers responsible for poor work and pledged reforms aimed at raising quality standards and consumer protections. GOV.UK

The upcoming Warm Homes Plan is expected to overhaul how insulation retrofit is delivered and regulated, focusing on strengthening installer qualifications, improving oversight, and ensuring remediation where necessary. Homebuilding

But policy shifts in other areas raise uncertainty. Recent announcements indicate the Energy Company Obligation scheme may be scrapped in 2026, raising questions about how future retrofit efforts will be funded and delivered. Reuters Environmental groups have warned that ending rather than reforming such schemes could undermine long-term progress and exacerbate fuel poverty.

The Road Ahead: Regulation, Retrofit, and Better Building

Future housing policy isn’t just about fixing past mistakes — it’s also about raising standards for new build homes and preparing for net-zero.

New regulatory frameworks, such as the Future Homes Standard, are set to raise minimum performance requirements for building fabric across new housing. This ‘fabric-first’ approach pushes for lower U-values and better insulation by design, reducing the need for costly retrofits later. FocusNews

Meanwhile, industry organisations like RICS are launching retrofit guides and standards to help professionals deliver effective, high-quality energy efficiency upgrades. These efforts align with requirements from the Climate Change Committee, which has called for hundreds of thousands of retrofit projects per year to meet net-zero targets. RICS

Why Insulation Still Matters

Good insulation isn’t a luxury — it’s a fundamental component of energy-efficient, healthy, and affordable housing. Proper insulation reduces heat loss, lowers energy bills, improves comfort, and helps reduce carbon emissions.

As the UK transitions to low-carbon heating and builds millions of new homes over the next decade, getting insulation right is essential. That means not only designing better materials and products, but ensuring high standards of installation, regulation, and market support.

Conclusion: Crisis and Opportunity

The current state of UK insulation is a tale of two halves. On one hand, policy ambition, funding mechanisms, and future regulatory standards signal a recognition of the problem. On the other, past delivery failures, market gaps, and implementation challenges highlight how far there is to go.

Fixing insulation — and fixing it well — will require industry collaboration, stronger regulation, skilled installers, and sustained policy support. If the UK can solve its insulation conundrum, the rewards will be lower energy bills, warmer homes, and a real step toward net-zero.