One in six babies living in overheated homes

More than 70,000 babies in England – equivalent to one in every six – are living in overheated homes, according to new analysis by the National Housing Federation (NHF) and the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH). 

These infants are among the 1.6 million children currently living in overheated homes; a problem driven by rising temperatures across England in recent years, linked to climate change.

Overheating carries particularly serious health risks for children under five, especially babies, who are less able to regulate their temperature and manage dehydration.  It is especially dangerous for babies, increasing the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), with parents advised to keep rooms at no more than 20°C. 

In addition to the more serious risks faced by babies and younger children, overheating in the home can affect children’s overall health and wellbeing. It is associated with fatigue, headaches, dizziness, nausea, fever and changes in mood.

New YouGov polling, commissioned by the NHF, highlights the scale of the issue, with parents in overheated homes reporting significant impacts on their children’s quality of life:

• Nearly a third (31 per cent) of parents experiencing overheating in their home said it is harming their children’s physical health. NHF analysis suggests this could be affecting almost half a million children
• Nearly three quarters (71 per cent) said it disrupts their children’s sleep. This could be affecting 1.1 million children
• More than a quarter (29 per cent) said it impacts their children’s mental health. This could be affecting 460,000 children
• Nearly half (49 per cent) said it affects their children’s ability to concentrate. This could be affecting close to 780,000 children. 

Alongside risks to children, excess indoor heat can lead to a number of serious health issues for vulnerable adults and older people, including heart and respiratory illnesses, which can be fatal.

Heatwaves are becoming more common in England. In 2022, temperatures reached 40°C for the first time in the country’s recorded history, contributing to more than 3,000 early deaths in England and Wales.  These extreme heat events are expected to become the norm. The Met Office reported last year that the likelihood of 40°C temperatures has tripled since 2000, and that future heatwaves could last a month or more.  This trend poses escalating risks to both infrastructure and public health. By 2050, more than nine in ten homes are projected to overheat, with heat-related deaths potentially rising to 10,000 per year without adaptations.    

England’s housing was built for a historically cooler climate and is not equipped to handle high temperatures. Many homes are designed to retain heat and lack cooling features common in warmer countries, such as shutters or air-conditioning. 

Housing associations and local authorities across the country are currently working to address overheating in social homes and are making good progress on heat resilience, integrating cooling measures such as shading and ventilation into retrofit programmes and developing organisational overheating strategies. However, more support is needed to enable social housing landlords to retrofit these measures at scale. 

The government’s Warm Homes Plan commits to tackling overheating, including by integrating cooling measures into social housing upgrade programmes. However, as the risk of overheating continues to rise year on year and with excess heat hazards now recognised under Awaab’s Law, the NHF and CIH are calling on ministers to work with the housing sector to develop a comprehensive plan to address overheating in social housing.

Kate Henderson, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, said: "Parents naturally worry about their children during hot weather and take steps, such as keeping the curtains drawn, to keep their homes cool. But it’s now clear that increasingly extreme heatwaves are making it impossible for parents, whatever they do, to make their homes completely safe and comfortable. These survey results show that overheating is already affecting large numbers of children, disrupting their sleep, harming their health and putting the youngest babies at particular risk.

"As heatwaves become more frequent and more intense, we need urgent action to ensure homes can be kept at safe temperatures and are fit for the future. Housing associations are taking this seriously and are already building heat resilience into their homes, but they cannot do it alone. We’re calling on ministers to work with the sector on a comprehensive plan to tackle overheating in social housing and support landlords to retrofit cooling measures at scale and pace."

Gavin Smart, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing, said: “These statistics are a worrying reality; it is vital that measures are taken to make homes and communities more resilient to extreme heat. The foundational pillars of lifelong physical and mental health are established during the first 1,001 days of our lives. Growing up in a safe, comfortable home is central to this.  

“As our summers get hotter, the ripple effects of this across our health and education systems will also continue to grow, with children’s education impacted by disrupted sleep after spending all night in a bedroom too hot for them to sleep in.  

“The ambition shown in the government’s Warm Homes Plan is a necessary first step in the right direction, and we also need to think carefully about whether the 1.5 million homes we aim to build in this parliament will cope with the hotter temperatures we will increasingly see in the future. CIH believes that we need to strengthen building regulations around overheating and start to consider policies that will support people with the energy costs of keeping cool during future heatwaves.”