by Kim Pidgeon | Oct 29, 2024 | News
Intensifying pressure on social housing sector to deliver more homes, while servicing existing stock, in a tough financial climate
The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has released its annual sector risk profile report examining the viability risks social landlords are operating under.
The publication identifies the main risks to the sector over the last year as social landlords face increasing pressure to deliver both more and better social homes against a backdrop of higher borrowing costs.
Fiona MacGregor, Chief Executive at RSH, said: “Most housing associations are investing record amounts in new and existing homes without threatening their financial viability.
“However, some individual landlords face particular pressures, and we expect those to sustain for some time before the position eases.
“There is very little margin for error, and it is absolutely critical that landlords are well run, with robust systems for identifying and mitigating risks.
“Boards must maintain a real clarity of purpose to successfully navigate these competing demands while remaining financially viable.”
The report provides the regulator’s view of the most significant risks to providers’ ongoing compliance with its regulatory standards.
It says tenant safety is a fundamental responsibility for any landlord. This includes required assessments for fire, gas, electrical, asbestos, water, lift safety, and ensuring the presence of carbon monoxide detectors and smoke alarms in all required homes.
Assurance on tenant safety must be underpinned by accurate, up-to-date, and complete data, including through physical inspections of properties to assess the presence of hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System.
Landlords also need to take a proactive approach to identifying and tackling damp and mould.
Fire safety remains a key priority, particularly in multi-occupied medium and high-rise buildings.
Social landlords are currently spending record amounts on repairs and maintenance and forecasting further substantial increases. However, skilled labour shortages continue to impact repairs and maintenance programmes and demand for damp and mould work remains high.
The RSH says boards and councillors must understand the condition and quality of tenants’ homes and ensure that, as a minimum, homes meet the requirements of the Decent Homes Standard.
London and other urban areas are experiencing the most acute financial pressures particularly where large numbers of flats need building safety works.
These challenges are expected to persist for the foreseeable future, as social housing undergoes a long-term shift, with higher borrowing costs and an ongoing need to maintain and invest in tenants’ existing homes and build much needed new homes for the future.
RSH has already identified a number of individual landlords who were not financially viable and who have since merged with others to protect tenants’ homes and lenders’ capital. RSH expects that more individual landlords will fail to meet the outcomes in its economic standards over the coming months, as this challenging environment continues.
RSH has a range of tools – including inspections, yearly stability checks and quarterly surveys – to identify emerging risks and work with landlords to mitigate these as far as possible.
by Kim Pidgeon | Oct 16, 2024 | News
MERGERS: Grand Union and Longhurst Group, Housing Plus Group and Wrekin Housing Group
Housing associations Grand Union and Longhurst Group are set to merge.
The boards of both not-for-profit organisations have unanimously agreed to the proposal and signed off a detailed business case.
The aim is for Grand Union Housing Group and Longhurst Group to come together formally and legally in December under a new name and brand.
Grand Union provide over 13,000 homes for more than 29,000 people across Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire and Hertfordshire.
The Longhurst Group is of the largest housing groups in the Midlands and East of England, owning and managing more than 25,000 homes.
Together the new organisation will own and manage over 37,000 homes and employ over 1,400 colleagues, making it one of the largest housing associations in the region.
The merger will allow the housing associations to invest further in their existing homes and communities, while building more affordable homes and improving the services their customers receive.
The agreement follows a consultation with their customers about the proposal, which saw just under 2,000 people provide feedback.
A shadow board and shadow executive team have been appointed and will take on responsibility for leading the new organisation with current Longhurst Group Chief Executive, Julie Doyle becoming CEO of the new organisation. Emma Killick, currently Chair of Grand Union’s Board, will become Chair.
After 25 years with the company, Aileen Evans, the current Chief Executive of Grand Union, decided not to put herself forward for a role with the new organisation and will step down from Grand Union once the merger is completed.
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Merger: Housing Plus Group and Wrekin Housing Group
The formal merger of Housing Plus Group and The Wrekin Housing Groups is expected to take place in January 2025 following the completion of legal and regulatory requirements.
At that time The Wrekin Housing Group will become part of the new Housing Plus Group.
The Wrekin Housing Group provides over 13,000 homes for affordable rent and low cost home ownership across Shropshire, Staffordshire and Telford & Wrekin.
The newly-merged organisation will be one of the largest housing associations in the West Midlands with 34,000 homes.
Wayne Gethings will lead the new organisation as Chief Executive Designate of the new Housing Plus Group.
Wayne will work alongside Catherine Dass who has been appointed the Chair Designate and Debbie Griffiths who will be the Senior Independent Director and Vice Chair.
Catherine is currently a board member at Housing Plus Group and Debbie is a Wrekin board member.
After 38 years working in the housing sector, Sarah Boden, Chief Executive at Housing Plus Group has made the decision to retire.
The merger comes after customer and employee consultation with a total of 3,549 Housing Plus Group and Wrekin customers responding to a consultation. Residents of both Housing Plus Group and Wrekin see repairs as a key priority for the merged organisation, along with improvements to their homes, building new homes and feeling safe in their homes.
by Kim Pidgeon | Sep 30, 2024 | News
Report gives overview of the status of fire safety remediation for 11m+ buildings owned by registered social landlords…
The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has published the findings from its latest quarterly survey on the fire safety of 11 metre plus buildings in the social housing sector.
All social landlords are required to submit quarterly data to RSH and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on the fire safety remediation of relevant buildings for which they are responsible.
Of the 17,457 relevant buildings reported, 99% had had fire risk assessments undertaken and 11% were found to have a life critical fire safety (LCFS) defect relating to the external wall system (EWS). The vast majority of relevant buildings (88%) had no LCFS defects.
11% of the 1,932 affected buildings are due to have remedial work completed within the next six months, and 84% are expected to complete in the next five years.
LCFS are defined as defects, shrinkages, faults or other failings in a building that give rise to fire safety risks identified by a Fire Risk Appraisal of External Wall construction or a fire risk assessment (or equivalent) undertaken to industry standards.
Some landlords with multiple affected buildings have indicated they are prioritising works on higher risk buildings, which can be more complex and take longer to remediate.
As such, landlords have a duty to put interim measures in place to ensure the safety of tenants until works are fully completed.
RSH will continue to monitor the performance of landlords in remediating 11 metre plus buildings and the progress they are making against their plans.
Social landlords must have robust systems and processes in place on fire safety and its management, underpinned by accurate and up-to-date data.
Will Perry, director of strategy at RSH, said: “This quarterly survey is an important tool in helping us monitor the progress being made by the sector on remediating fire safety defects. Fire safety is a fundamental responsibility and we expect all landlords to take prompt and effective action so that tenants can feel safe in their homes.
“This includes putting mitigating measures in place to protect tenants from any risks in the interim period before works are complete. Boards and councillors have a duty to ensure these plans are delivered.
“Meanwhile our ongoing regulation, including our programme of inspections and responsive engagement, helps us check that landlords are meeting the outcomes of our standards – including those relating to fire safety.”
The Q1 2024/2025 survey ran from 21 June 2024 to 19 July 2024 with data being reported as at 30 June.
29% (431) of landlords reported being responsible for at least one relevant building in this quarter. The majority of these were large landlords (those with 1,000 or more units). Work had completed and been signed off by building control on 51 (2.6%) buildings, which are waiting for a follow up fire assessment.
Work has already started or is complete on more than of a third of affected buildings however plans were missing or unclear for 535 buildings, equivalent to over a quarter.
Landlords have said previously that this is due to a range of factors including navigating complex legal arrangements with freeholders and leaseholders, difficulties sourcing contractors and supply chain delays.
by Kim Pidgeon | Sep 19, 2024 | News
The stock transition brings the East of England housing association to over 14k homes
Eastlight Community Homes has completed the acquisition of 703 homes from social landlord, Clarion Housing Group.
The transfer includes general needs, shared ownership and leasehold homes in Essex and Suffolk, including housing for older people and supported housing, plus a small number of homes for private rent.
Clarion Housing Group is the largest housing association in the UK, with 125,000 homes and 360,000 residents.
Eastlight, who has headquarters in Braintree and offices in Marks Tey, Essex, now owns and manages approximately 14,500 homes across the East of England.
Eastlight Chief Executive, Emma Palmer, said: “We are delighted to welcome new residents to Eastlight. This acquisition allows us to deepen our commitment to our communities, and a stronger local presence means that we can be better equipped to support our residents’ diverse needs over the long term.
“This transfer is a positive step forward for Eastlight, our partners and customers. By focusing our resources and expertise in this way, we are confident in our ability to provide the high-quality services that all residents expect and need.”
The transfer follows a consultation period with residents affected, which included Clarion visiting all households and providing the opportunity for residents to meet their new landlord.
Rob Lane, Chief Property Officer at Clarion Housing Group, said: “Eastlight was selected as the new provider for these homes after a thorough process and in partnership with residents. We will be working closely with Eastlight to ensure a smooth transition for all 703 households and know they will enjoy a great local service.”
Eastlight recently raised £70m in a bond issuance through the Affordable Homes Guarantee Scheme to help the housing association develop more than 3,000 new affordable homes in the East of England.
by Kim Pidgeon | Aug 31, 2024 | News
The group aims to identify, intervene and alleviate blockages in the provision of new homes
A team of experts from the housing sector is being put together to speed up the building of large-scale housing developments across England.
Members from the Ministry of Housing and Homes England will work across Government and with local councils to accelerate the buildout of housing schemes delayed by planning and red tape.
Early Government analysis estimates there are 200 large sites across England which could deliver up to 300,000 new homes and have outlined or detailed plans ready to go but are yet to begin construction.
The New Homes Accelerator, launched by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, brings together key players, including Government agencies, local planning departments and housebuilders.
The team will work to resolve specific local issues and deploy planning experts on the ground to work through blockages at each site identified. This includes looking at barriers to affordable housing delivery where relevant.
Interventions could see the New Homes Accelerator provide resources to support local planning capacity and work across the board to make sure planning decisions are made in a timely fashion.
The Deputy PM said: “For far too long the delivery of tens of thousands of new homes has been held back by a failure to make sure the development system is working as it should.
“This Government has a moral obligation to do everything within our power to build the homes that people desperately need and we won’t hesitate to intervene where we need to.
“Our New Homes Accelerator will quickly identify blockages, fix problems and support local authorities and developers to get shovels in the ground.”
Further work will get underway to accelerate sites including Stretton Hall in Leicestershire, Tendring Colchester Borders Garden Community in Essex and Biggleswade Garden Community in Central Bedfordshire, which have the potential to unlock more than 10,000 new homes when completed.
The New Homes Accelerator was announced as part of the Chancellor’s speech outlining the Government’s national mission to drive growth in July and since then, four large housing sites are already progressing that will deliver over 14,000 homes across Liverpool, Worcester, Northstowe and Sutton Coldfield.
To help identify stalled housing schemes, a call for evidence has been launched asking landowners, local authorities and housebuilders to come forward with details of blocked sites that have significant planning issues.
This will help the Government understand the scale of the problem across the country and the obstacles that are preventing the delivery of new homes.
David O’Leary, Executive Director of the Home Builders Federation said: “The planning process and everything associated with it delivers too little land and has long been a significant constraint on house building.
“Government has shown a welcome desire in the weeks since the election to address the problems. A lack of planning department capacity and misaligned incentives for other public bodies and statutory consultees has created a process with huge uncertainty. This creates an abundance of risk resulting in longer development timescales and severe challenges in particular for small and medium-sized house builders.
“Adopting a pragmatic approach to planning will increase the pace at which new homes are built and help to turn around ailing housing supply. Unlocking homes and delivering new communities will boost growth and support job creation while providing young people with access to new, more affordable housing.
“The housing market is complex and we look forward to working with Government to ensure that all aspects of the housing market are functioning more effectively.”
The launch of the New Homes Accelerator is part of the Government’s wider plans for kick starting housebuilding, which includes improving local decision-making and modernising the planning system through the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, recently announced at the King’s Speech.
Changes to the planning system will see new mandatory housing targets for councils and will bolster local resources with 300 additional planning officers.
by Kim Pidgeon | Aug 17, 2024 | News
The social landlord group wants clarity on proposals giving tenants new rights to access information about their homes…
The G15 is calling for clear guidance and realistic timeframes in response to the government consultation on Social Tenant Access to Information Requirements (STAIRS).
The consultation on the new rules, which was published in May under the 2022-2024 Rishi Sunak Conservative government, will allow social housing tenants or a representative, such as a lawyer, to request information for free about the management of their homes, for the first time.
This could include:
- Damp and mould: tenants experiencing damp and mould could request information on how many other homes in their building have the same problem and what action the landlord has taken to repair, giving them the tools they need to take further action if they choose.
- Health and safety: including any information landlords hold about breaches in their properties and outcomes of any inspections. Tenants could take further action through the Housing Ombudsman if their landlord isn’t making the repairs they need to make by law.
- Repair times: under new rules brought in by the Social Housing (Regulation) Act landlords must fix emergency repairs within 24 hours, tenants will be able to see how often their landlord is meeting this target and challenge them through the courts or take them to the Housing Ombudsman if they don’t.
Housing associations will also be forced to publish information about their performance. The proposals are in response to a key ask from social housing residents for greater transparency following the Grenfell Tower tragedy.
Landlords will have to provide the information unless it is reasonable not to, with clear expectations on how landlords should respond to requests.
The G15 – which is made up of representatives from London’s largest housing associations – supports the government’s aim of enhancing transparency and accountability in social housing to strengthen the relationship between social landlords and their residents.
However, the housing association collective, says it’s concerned ‘the current proposals lack the clarity and detail needed for successful implementation’ and ‘to best serve residents, G15 members require clear guidance, realistic timeframes, and consideration of our current capacity.’
In response to the STAIRS consultation, G15 members offer the following recommendations:
- The proposals should provide the necessary clarity and detail for effective planning. Without clear guidelines, it’s challenging to understand the requirements and their implications, making it difficult to plan and budget accordingly.
- Reflecting on the five-year preparation period granted for the Freedom of Information Act, we believe social landlords should be afforded sufficient time to adapt to new regulations. This will ensure a smoother transition and more effective implementation.
- We want to highlight the increasing regulatory demands on social landlords amid significant financial pressure. This includes compliance with new Consumer Standards, the Competence and Conduct Standard, Awaab’s Law and upcoming consultations such as the revised Decent Homes Standard. We urge the regulator to follow principles of proportionality and avoid overlapping regulations, particularly those related to existing rules under Leasehold reform, the Building Safety Act, and the Procurement Act 2023.
The G15 says they ‘remain committed to working with the government to develop balanced regulations that address residents’ concerns, promote cultural change, and enable residents to exercise their rights effectively.’