The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson has announced a major funding boost to help improve affordable homes in poor condition and support energy-saving works to thousands of homes across London.

The Mayor has secured £145m of government 'Decent Homes Funding' that will be distributed to London boroughs to bring homes back to good standards.

Through the scheme over 175,000 homes will benefit from carbon-reducing renovations that could save residents up to £180 annually on energy bills. The Mayor’s Office has contracted Capita to a £3m contract to support the delivery of energy-saving improvements worth at least £50m, to homes by 2017.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson said: “This vital Decent Homes investment will enable us to help boroughs transform some of the poorest quality council estates and social housing in need of urgent repair.

“Many families are also rightly concerned at the cost of their energy bills so I’m delighted to be able to put in place a programme of energy-saving measures for homes across the capital. This will result in renovations that lower energy bills for thousands of residents."

Director of policy and communications at the UK Green Building Council said in response to the announcement: “With rising energy bills sure to be hitting the headlines over the coming months, energy efficiency is by far the most cost effective way to permanently bring them down. This funding will help hard-pressed Londoners this winter and is a welcome boost for the capital’s green housing ambitions.”

From today boroughs are invited to bid for Decent Homes Funding. The new £145m fund is in addition to the £821m share of the Decent Homes programme.