A study published in April 2025 found that the proportion of UK homes experiencing overheating has soared from 18% in 2011 to 80% today, according to the End Fuel Poverty Coalition1. The coalition, an independent campaign body, also reports that 4.5 million adults in the UK have been made unwell by excessive heat in their homes, and that over 10,000 heat-related deaths occurred in the UK between 2020 and 20241.
The coalition states that overheating falls unevenly. Almost half of households in the lowest income bracket face serious overheating risks, compared with just 17% of the wealthiest1. It adds that lower-income households, social renters, people from ethnic minority backgrounds and those with health conditions are most at risk1. A peer-reviewed study from New Zealand is cited for the finding that 43% of households identified the cost of cooling as a major barrier during hot weather1.
The coalition links summer discomfort to year-round energy costs, noting that energy bills remain significantly higher than pre-crisis levels and that standing charges are rising1. It says many households cannot afford to run cooling fans or ventilate effectively, particularly where they are repaying energy debts or using prepayment meters, and that households without smart meters or time-of-use tariffs often pay the most to cool their homes1. It also states that some energy efficient homes trap heat because of poor ventilation or design1.
The coalition calls for electricity pricing reform to bring down the cost of running equipment such as heat pumps that provide both heating and cooling, and for support to prioritise renters, older people, disabled people and families with children, delivered through automatic enrolment in energy support schemes, better use of data and targeted local authority delivery1. The study itself has not been reported in detail beyond these figures, and no government response to it is reported in the source.
Why it matters for households
Overheating is usually treated as a summer nuisance rather than a housing condition, but the figures here place it alongside overheating and hot weather in UK homes as a year-round issue. A home that cannot be kept cool in July is a home whose occupants depend on fans, shading or ventilation, all of which draw on either electricity or building fabric. Where a household is on a prepayment meter or repaying a debt, the cost of cooling competes directly with other energy uses1.
The finding that almost half of the lowest income bracket faces serious overheating risk, against 17% of the wealthiest, indicates that the ability to stay cool tracks the ability to pay1. For a household, that shapes how much control it has over its own indoor conditions, and whether measures such as shading, window replacement or improved airflow are within reach. The coalition's position is that heat loss measures alone are insufficient, and that ventilation and passive cooling belong in the same upgrade programmes1.
What happens next
No dated next steps are reported in the source. The coalition sets out what it says a nationwide Warm Homes Plan should include, and what reform of electricity pricing and energy support schemes should cover, but no timetable or commitment from government is given1.
Sources1 cited
- Fuel poverty doesn’t end in winter - it’s a summer crisis too, endfuelpoverty.org.uk