An evaluation of the impacts of climate change on residential buildings in the United Kingdom

Housing environments, traditionally designed to provide comfort and security, are now under immediate threat from the escalating risks of climate change. The resilience of residential buildings is being significantly reduced, and the once liveable housing environments are now facing the urgent menace of global climate change. The built infrastructure, including buildings and houses, is continuously experiencing severe impacts, exacerbated by natural climate variability. The research study used a sequential explanatory mixed method with two main stages. In the first stage, this study examined how climate change impacts the resilience of residential buildings, increases maintenance frequency, and the wellbeing and comfort of residents in UK residential buildings, which involved a household survey with 313 households in the UK. The instrument was designed to gather data on the frequency of maintenance, the wellbeing of residents and their perceptions regarding the impacts of climate change. The findings, revealed through regression analysis, showed a significant relationship between climate change and the wellbeing of the occupants of UK residential buildings. The rising cost of maintenance of residential buildings in the UK, due to the continuously reducing resilience of building fabrics caused by the impacts of climate change, is a significant concern. For instance, a recent increase in rainfall/storms resulted in unprecedented flooding, which damaged the fabric of some UK residential buildings, further escalating the maintenance costs. In the second stage, qualitative data was collected through semi-structured interviews with ten experts in the UK construction industry. The interview transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis and NVivo (V.14) software. The findings showed interrelationships between climate change drivers, changes to the climate system, building factors (such as location, age, orientation, types, and material integrity), impacts on UK residential buildings, and impacts on occupants. Collaboration between housing owners, community members, construction professionals, and policymakers is the best strategy to improve the resilience of UK residential buildings and minimise climate change impacts. Construction professionals are perceived to be more responsible for providing mitigation and adaptation strategies (such as improved insulation, flood-resistant construction, and sustainable energy solutions) to ensure more resilient residential buildings. The study adds to existing knowledge by offering a thorough understanding of how climate change affects UK residential buildings and strategies to increase their resilience, providing stakeholders with direction towards climate action and specific roles to minimise climate change impacts on residences and residents.

Citation

Onus, E.L. (2025) An evaluation of the impacts of climate change on residential buildings in the United Kingdom. University of Wolverhampton. https://wlv.openrepository.com/handle/2436/626123

Publisher

University of Wolverhampton

URI

https://wlv.openrepository.com/handle/2436/626123

Type

Thesis or dissertation

Language

en

Description

A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Wolverhampton for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

Collections

Theses and Dissertations