London profile

London is defined by an assertive push toward net‑zero carbon and a broad set of environmental and housing goals. To this end, London is rapidly adopting a retrofit-first approach – prioritising reuse of existing buildings over demolition. 

This has included the approval of a Planning for Sustainability approach by the City of London Corporation, embedding retrofit-first expectations into planning applications, and the creation by the GLA of the new Warmer Homes London body to streamline delivery. London is working to address intertwined challenges, including ageing building stock, high housing demand and climate vulnerability. 

 

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Region and political leadership (mayor or equivalent)

London’s governance operates on two tiers – the Greater London Authority (GLA), at a citywide level, and 33 local authorities at a borough and City of London level. 

The GLA, led by the Mayor of London, is the upper-tier authority, responsible for setting the London-wide strategy for local authorities and oversight. The GLA constitutes 25 elected members. Each London Borough Council is made up of elected councillors, most follow a leader and cabinet model, but a few have directly elected mayors.

There is also the City of London Corporation that governs the Square Mile and is headed by the Lord Mayor of the City of London.

Delivery approach summary

Membership body, London Councils, and the GLA concluded that the current retrofit system is too fragmented and under‑resourced to meet Net Zero goals, driving a push for greater coordination. This created Warmer Homes London which unifies support services and provides a visible pipeline of projects for better planning and investment. 

London’s boroughs have also collectively developed the Retrofit London Housing Action Plan (RLAP). Several London boroughs are adopting retrofit‑first planning policies, prioritising refurbishment over demolition and The City of London’s sustainability policy introduced embodied‑carbon benchmarks for both new and retrofitted buildings.

Key people

Retrofit leadership includes:

  • Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London (Labour).
  • Zack Polanski AM, London Assembly Member, prominent voice on retrofit policy (Leader of Green party).
  • Shravan Joshi, City of London planning chair.
  • Syed Ahmed, LSDC Commissioner and community energy leader.
  • Jack Ostrofsky and Joanne Drew, Borough‑level leaders involved in London Councils’ retrofit strategy.
  • Simon Sturgis, an influential expert retrofit‑first policy.

Other key figures include Mete Coban MBE, Deputy Mayor of London for Environment and Energy, Greater London Authority (GLA); Gavin Haynes, Director of Property Management, London Borough of Camden; Rachael Owens, Co‑Director, National Retrofit Hub. 

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Main policy documents and strategies with links

Useful London retrofit documents include:

The Mayor of London is also launching RE:FIT5 (2026–2030), an improved national framework designed to help public sector organisations decarbonise buildings.

Funding overview

London has secured significant national funding to support housing retrofit, with over £230m committed in recent years to upgrade around 22,000 homes across the capital. This includes £175m from the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund and £56m from the Warm Homes: Local Grant, which provides free or subsidised home energy improvements for eligible households. 

London leaders argue that higher delivery costs and complex housing stock can reduce the effectiveness of per‑home funding through national schemes. In response, the capital has increasingly coordinated London‑wide bids and delivery through initiatives such as Warmer Homes London, alongside local match funding, to improve success rates and scale delivery. 

Alongside these established programmes, London Councils has proposed area‑based approaches such as the London Net Zero Neighbourhoods programme, which aims to accelerate retrofit delivery across thousands of homes through combined public and private investment. 

National schemes including the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) continue to play an important role in supporting insulation, heating and low‑carbon upgrades across London boroughs.

Delivery vehicles and procurement routes

Warmer Homes London provides a single interface for contractors and funding. However, London boroughs and housing associations remain the front‑line delivery bodies. The GLA is commissioning studies to identify new delivery models, and £165,000 has been allocated to develop and assess these options. You can read more here. 

London boroughs use standard UK procurement procedures and the RISE Retrofit Procurement Routes Advice Pack can help navigate this. The Decarbonisation and Retrofit Framework 2025 has a capacity of £90m and is used to reduce procurement time and provide access to vetted contractors.

Skills and workforce activity

London’s retrofit ambitions depend on a significant expansion of the skilled workforce. Analysis referenced by City Hall indicates that around 56,000 retrofit and heat decarbonisation jobs will be needed in London by the mid‑2020s, compared with an estimated workforce of around 4,000 in 2021. Central London Forward has separately estimated that between 19,000 and 28,000 skilled workers may be required to deliver retrofit in central London alone by the end of the decade.

The challenge is intensified by London’s housing stock, with around a fifth of homes built before 1919, requiring specialist retrofit and conservation‑aware skills that are already in short supply. Further education colleges are working with boroughs and industry to address this gap, including through initiatives such as the Central London Forward Green Skills Partnership, which has secured £2.7m to expand retrofit and low‑carbon training across multiple colleges. Borough leaders continue to argue that long‑term, stable funding is needed to allow SMEs to scale and retain skilled retrofit workers.

Current retrofit programmes

Public‑Sector Retrofit Framework RE:FIT 5 (2026–2030) is entering its active programme cycle this year. This national, London‑led framework enables public bodies to retrofit with guaranteed energy and carbon savings and is building on over a decade of RE:FIT delivery.

The GLA’s Retrofit Accelerator is ongoing to help workplaces and homes with retrofitting. London’s Retrofit Delivery Plan is another active programme aiming to improve how London funds, plans and delivers retrofit. Many boroughs are also running local retrofit programmes. 

The Commercial Building Retrofit under the Retrofit‑First Policy is an active planning requirement that requires developers to prioritise retrofit over demolition for commercial buildings. 

Pipeline opportunities

RE:FIT 5 and the Retrofit Accelerator outline plans to take London’s public estate into a new retrofit cycle, creating a stable pipeline for medium‑to‑large contractors. In addition, every London borough has active or planned retrofit programmes. This is one of the largest long‑term markets, with thousands of homes already in the pipeline. The planning system move to retrofit over demolition also opens new pipelines. 

An interesting pipeline is arising from the push to create a unified pipeline across all boroughs, with a need for providers who can enable this system. 

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National Retrofit Conference connections 

We have a selection of National Retrofit Conference speakers from the region. Here is a brief summary:

  • Mete Coban MBE, Deputy Mayor of London for Environment and Energy, Greater London Authority (GLA), who oversees the London Retrofit Accelerator, Warmer Homes, and the development of the proposed London Office for Retrofit. 
  • Gavin Haynes, Director of Property Management, London Borough of Camden, who has operational responsibility for Camden’s estate decarbonisation. 
  • Rachael Owens, Co‑Director, National Retrofit Hub. Rachael has contributed to the development of London’s retrofit ecosystem.
  • Emily Braham, Head of Strategy & Operations, Energiesprong UK. Energiesprong UK has delivered multiple whole‑house retrofit pilots in London boroughs and Emily has been involved in shaping London’s understanding of deep retrofit standards.

The Retrofit Academy CIC is also exhibiting at the National Retrofit Conference. Headquartered in London, The Academy is central to workforce development across the capital and works with London Councils and the GLA on skills pipelines essential to London’s retrofit strategy. 

Suggested engagement opportunities at National Retrofit Conference

Delegates should use the National Retrofit Conference to engage with GLA and London borough representatives to gain a better understanding of the region’s strategic direction, upcoming pipeline opportunities and gain insights into funding coordination. There will be opportunities to learn practical lessons in retrofitting and chances to learn more about the region’s procurement processes. 

With representatives from the National Retrofit Hub also present, there’s also chance to find out how to join working groups that are shaping national guidance that London relies on.

Register to attend (opens in a new tab)