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The cost of living · Keeping warm · older homes

Older homes and heating bills

Portsmouth has many older terraced homes. They can be costly to heat, which matters most to households already short of money. Upgrading them could also create local work.

1 · The homes

What Portsmouth’s housing is like

43%of households live in terraced homesThe most common type · Census 2021 (council needs assessment)Portsmouth City Council ↗ · retrieved 10 Nov 2026
More than 46%of homes were built before 1919Council report, 2008. Historical: not today’s sharePortsmouth City Council ↗ · retrieved 10 Nov 2026
28.6%of households rent privatelyUp from 24.7% in 2011 · CensusOffice for National Statistics ↗ · retrieved 10 Nov 2026
91,534homes (estimate)2024, including empty homesOpen Innovations / government dwelling stock… ↗ · retrieved 10 Nov 2026

Historical. New building, conversions and demolitions since 2008 changed the proportion, so it cannot be applied to the 91,534 estimate. No current construction-period breakdown for Portsmouth was verified.

Nationally, 24% of homes built before 1919 had a Category 1 hazard in the 2020 modelling. This is an England figure, not a Portsmouth one, and age does not tell us whether a home is in poor condition.

2 · What the certificates and bills show

Energy ratings and fuel poverty

61.9% Energy certificates for homes rated A to C (lodged that year) 2025 · 1.7 percentage points lower than England (63.6%) Ministry of Housing ↗ · retrieved 9 Nov 2026

Energy certificates for homes rated A to C (lodged that year)

2009 to 2025

Portsmouth · %

Reviewed figures: 2009 to 2025.

Shown on this chart: From 2009 to 2025, energy certificates for homes rated A to C (lodged that year) rose by 21.8 percentage points in Portsmouth and rose by 24.3 percentage points in England.

Both places compared over 2009 to 2025, using matching published dates.

Compared areas: Portsmouth; England.

Actual values

PortsmouthEngland

Each line joins consecutive published observations for that place. Missing dates remain gaps.

Source: Ministry of Housing ↗ · retrieved 9 Nov 2026

This is the share of energy certificates lodged that year, not the share of all homes: a certificate is lodged when a home is built, sold or let, and a home can have more than one.

10.9% Households in fuel poverty (2024). Keeping warm: energy costs →

Older homes tend to lose heat faster, so a household in one may pay more for the same warmth. Age alone does not show whether a home is in poor condition.

3 · The opportunity

Retrofit that keeps the work local

Upgrades such as insulation and heat pumps cut bills. If funders ask for local installers and apprentices, the money can also build skills and jobs in the city.

funded · Portsmouth City Council

Portsmouth Homes: social housing energy retrofit (Wave 3)

Insulation and energy upgrades to council homes under the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund.

approved · Portsmouth City Council

Portsmouth Homes heat network upgrade

New heat interface units, heat meters and radiator valves in four pairs of council blocks, plus energy centre works.

funded · City of Portsmouth College

City of Portsmouth College: construction and engineering training at North Harbour

More refrigeration and air-conditioning training, better Level 1 construction multiskills facilities, and a new Engineering T Level from September 2027.

cancelled · City of Portsmouth College

Net-zero and construction skills bootcamps (not delivered)

Skills bootcamps the college won from Hampshire County Council but could not run for Portsmouth residents.

  • No rule requiring or favouring Portsmouth firms or apprentices was found in the retrofit records checked.
  • How many Portsmouth homes have been upgraded, and by whom, is not published for the main programmes.

Our proposal: tie retrofit funding to local firms and skills →

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