Citizens Advice published research on 6 August 2026 finding that 44% of UK adults feel they have very little control or no control at all over the temperature of their home during heatwaves, and called on the government to extend the Warm Homes Plan to cover summer cooling as well as winter heating1.
The survey of 2,105 UK adults was carried out by Yonder Data Solutions between 1 and 2 July 20261. It found that 16% of respondents, described by the charity as one in six or nearly nine million people, had taken at least one drastic measure to cope with this year's heat: sleeping somewhere unconventional, paying for short-term accommodation to access air conditioning, or using annual leave, sick days or unpaid leave because it was too hot to work or study. A further 8%, or about four million people, had used makeshift solutions such as taping tin foil, cardboard or damp sheets to windows1.
Asked what limited their ability to keep their home at a comfortable temperature in hot weather, 31% cited building design, 29% the upfront cost of permanent cooling equipment or home alterations, and 27% the running costs of fans or air conditioning1. Half of tenants, 51%, said they lacked basic control over overheating, against 40% of homeowners1.
Separate research for the charity by IFF Research, which surveyed 3,266 heat network consumers between February and May 2026, found that 8% cannot turn their heating off when they do not need it, such as in summer1. Citizens Advice puts this at approximately 37,665 households or 90,396 people in England and Wales, based on an average household size of 2.4 people. The government estimates that over 453,000 households in England and Wales are connected to a heat network1.
"We're now facing a year-round crisis, where poorly designed housing stock is acting as a giant heat trap in summer and as an ice box in winter."
The charity is calling for the Warm Homes Plan to include support for both summer cooling and winter heating through local fuel poverty schemes or low-interest loans, alongside funding to upgrade gas-run heat networks1. It also cites the case of a housing association tenant, identified only as Lucy, whose portable air conditioning unit left her £40 in electricity debt after one month1.
Why it matters for households
The findings point to two separate limits on a household's control over its own indoor temperature. The first is physical: fixed or locked windows, building design and shared heating pipework can leave occupants unable to reduce heat, and the charity reports that 90,000 heat network consumers cannot switch off central heating in summer1. The second is financial: the upfront cost of permanent cooling and the running cost of fans or air conditioning were each cited by more than a quarter of respondents as barriers1. For homes on a heat network, the ability to control heating is set by the network rather than the household, which affects both comfort and bills. The charity's own case study illustrates the trade-off between cooling a home and the electricity cost of doing so1.
What happens next
Citizens Advice has set out its position ahead of the Warm Homes Plan, which it says should fund cooling and heating together and pay for upgrades to gas-run heat networks1. No government response or timetable is given in the research. The charity is the statutory consumer advocate for the energy market and handled 2.71 million cases in 2024-251; its role alongside other bodies is set out in Energy Consumer Bodies, and complaints routes are covered in Energy Complaints and Redress. Practical background on high indoor temperatures is in Overheating and Hot Weather in UK Homes.