Sponsored by AicoDavid Murusidze and his family live in a flat owned by Progress Housing Group. Inside Housing met him and Ursula Patten, director of Key Unlock Futures, to hear how he has reduced his energy usage because of costs and how his landlord has helped him. Watch the videos to find out morePicture: AlamySharelines“I’m a proud man and it’s very difficult. My landlord @progresshousing was a lifesaver and provided electricity vouchers,” says David Murusidze, who is struggling to pay his family’s bills #FuelPovertyVoice #UKhousing (sponsored) @Aico_Limited“More residents are talking to us about their energy bills – before they would have been reluctant,” says Ursula Patten @progresshousing, who explains what the landlord is doing to support residents living in fuel poverty #FuelPovertyVoice #UKhousing (sponsored) @Aico_Limited In association with:
Ursula Patten’s team at Progress Housing Group in Lancashire has seen a shift in conversation in the past year regarding fuel poverty.
“We’ve seen a lot of changes with residents who are needing support with their energy bills,” she tells Inside Housing when we meet her at Saltcotes community centre. “In one sense that’s positive because we’re building trusting relationships with our tenants but it’s also sad to see people having to live through such challenging times and fearing for the future.” As a result, the landlord has set up a Tenant Support Fund to help residents to pay fuel bills and is also offering help in community centres, cafes and a subsidised food shop, and access to a 24-hour helpline for anyone feeling isolated.
Progress has 12,000 properties, 70% of which have an Energy Performance Certificate of Band D or below that it is working on improving, and it uses the Fuel Poverty Energy Efficiency Rating to identify residents who might be living in fuel poverty.
One such tenant is David Murusidze, who lives with his wife and three children and is presently unable to work. His electric bill is now almost four times more than it was before the energy price hikes. His family has changed how they eat and live to reduce their bills. Progress has also helped by offering fuel vouchers, which Mr Murusidze describes as a “relief and felt like a massive stone taken from my back… It’s an amazing feeling to know somebody cares.”
Watch our interview with Mr Murusidze:
Watch our interview with Ursula Patten, director of Key Unlocking Futures:
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