About the Organisation
Canopy is a charity that provides decent, affordable accommodation for people that are homeless or in housing need.
We achieve this through renovating empty and derelict houses that have been standing empty for years and transforming them into homes, through the hard work and commitment of our volunteers and tenants.
Canopy provides a ‘self-help’ housing opportunity for people that are homeless, which means they have the opportunity to participate in the renovation and decorating of their new home alongside the volunteers and can choose how they would like their house to look prior to moving in.
Our approach to retro-fitting properties enables us to bring them back into use as eco-friendly homes at the same time as providing our volunteers with training opportunities in inner-city Leeds. As a community, we tackle climate change, teach green construction skills, create training opportunities, house homeless people and improve disadvantaged neighbourhoods.
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Canopy will be delivering 16 retrofitted properties in the next 3 years. This includes 12 newly acquired properties and 4 properties that Canopy already owns, but that are in need of renovation and modernisation. All properties will be in Leeds, West Yorkshire.
Their focus on sustainability means that they require some key tests on the energy efficiency of the properties, before and after.
- A record of the construction including thicknesses so that we can calculate nominal U-values for the walls, roof and ground floor.
- Air tightness tests
- Records of any significant defects
- An up-to-date EPC
Canopy Housing would therefore be grateful for the pro bono services of sustainability consultants to assist with these tests over the period of their renovations.
Timeline
November 2023 onwards – The charity is currently working on a property for which they require these tests ASAP, and they are ideally looking for pro bono partners to work with over the next three years as they complete the full set of 16 renovations.