The Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund’s third wave – now delivered under the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund (WH:SHF) branding – was the largest funding round yet for social housing decarbonisation, with £1.29 billion allocated across registered providers, local authorities and ALMOs nationwide. Applications closed in November 2024, and Wave 3 is now in active delivery, with installations underway across successful projects. For current, ongoing information about the scheme rather than a historical record of this specific wave, see our Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund explainer.
SHDF Wave 3 Key Details
- Funding allocated: £1.29bn (Autumn Budget)
- Target: up to 140,000 social homes to be insulated or retrofitted
- Application Routes: Direct Allocation Route (for high-performing Wave 2.1 grant recipients) and Challenge Allocation Route (for all other applicants)
- Eligibility: Registered Providers of Social Housing, Local Authorities, ALMOs, and registered charities that own eligible social housing (which could apply directly or lead a consortium; non-owning charities could join as consortium partners). Standard bids required a minimum of 100 eligible homes, with charitable social landlords managing fewer than 1,000 homes exempt from that threshold.
- Property Eligibility: existing social housing below EPC Band C
Why This Mattered
Wave 3 represented the biggest single wave of funding the scheme has seen, giving registered providers, local authorities and ALMOs the opportunity to bring their poorest-performing stock up to EPC C or better through a fabric-first approach, backed by grant funding rather than relying on their own capital budgets alone.
Using our services to collect as much data as possible at the very start of the process creates a detailed understanding of the condition of the housing stock. Having this information not only creates greater visibility over the current condition of the housing stock, but it also helps form an understanding of which properties should be targeted to support the SHDF application to secure grant funding.
— Jack Hannon, Head of Operations & Retrofit
SHDF Wave 3 Timeline
- December 2023: Announcement of £1.25bn (initial figure) to support up to 140,000 social homes.
- May 2024: Release of SHDF Wave 3 government guidance.
- 30 September 2024 – 25 November 2024: Application window open (now closed).
- March 2025: Successful allocations announced – final confirmed figure of £1.29bn.
- Now: Active delivery phase, with installations underway across awarded projects.
- 31 March 2028: Deadline for allocated grant funds to be drawn down and spent.
- 30 September 2028: Overall delivery window closes.
Important Note: Grant funding for projects must be transferred to the grant recipient and spent by March 31st, 2028. Projects can use co-funding to complete any remaining work in the final 6 months of delivery.
Refer to official sources from the government website, RISE (Retrofit Information, Support & Expertise), Salix Finance (SHDF administrator), and the National Housing Federation for more information.
What’s Next?
Wave 3 is now in delivery rather than application, but the underlying compliance work – PAS 2035 assessment, coordination and design – continues throughout a project’s delivery window, not just at the application stage.
We carry out PAS 2035 retrofit assessments, design and coordination for Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund projects, from initial assessment through to post-installation evaluation.
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