One mile from London’s Westminster district, the seat of the UK government, AXA IM Alts is nearing completion of the first phase of its sustainability-led restoration of Dolphin Square in Pimlico. Built in the 1930s, it is the United Kingdom’s largest private rental apartment complex.

AXA IM Alts acquired the estate in 2020 and a year later began a programme to cut carbon emissions by 95 percent, decommission the communal gas-fueled heating system and improve energy efficiency. It is replacing windows, insulating roofs, installing air source heat pumps and switching to electricity from renewable sources. New tenants have the option of signing green leases.

The retrofit is proceeding despite rollbacks on sustainability regulations for rental housing in September 2023, when the previous government delayed the phase-out of fossil-fuel boilers and abandoned minimum energy-efficiency standards. This sent “mixed messages to investors, businesses and consumers on the UK