Housing Quality Magazine January 2024 by HQN Limited

ISSUE 16: JANUARY 2024 ‘ The people of Rochdale need RBH to recover’ Exclusive interview with Amanda Newton he hidden trade in temporary accommodation T Keith Cooper investigates Alistair McIntosh vs the Post Office Why we need to stop worshipping the governance gurus

General election New era of regulation 7.7% rent increase

Investment in existing homes

Cost of housebuilding

Return of inspections

A BIG YEAR FOR HOUSING

CONTENTS

January 2024

Features 10 Interview: Amanda Newton

The new CEO of Rochdale Boroughwide Housing outlines her vision for the landlord

14 Accessible homes

Neil Merrick looks at the promise to ensure homes will be made more accessible for people with disabilities

18 Talking heads

Professionals from across the sector list their top three priorities for housing in 2024

22 The social housing rent increase

The rent increase has been confirmed. We speak to three experts about the implications

update The latest research and analysis – in plain English

Bringing you the latest housing research from leading academics, this edition of Evidence looks at the smoking ban in US public housing and asks, are heat networks the future and are private sector partnerships the answer to new affordable homes?

10 News insights

Views

Spotlight

3 4 6

32 Housing in Practice 36 Ombudsman Corner 38 Opinion: Jahedur Rahman 39 Opinion: Chloe Fletcher 40 Opinion: Mark Dewell

42 44 46 47

Welcome From the Chief Executive Behind the headlines

Published by HQN Rockingham House St Maurice’s Road York YO31 7JA

Editorial: Alistair McIntosh Jon Land Janis Bright Max Salsbury

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Design: Sam Wiggle All enquiries to: jon.land@hqnetwork.co.uk Tel: 07740 740417

A week in the life In the frame A life in 15 questions The last word

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Editor’s welcome Understanding the thought process of the current government isn’t easy at the best of times but the decision to wave through a social housing rent increase of up to 7.7% without comment seems strange and something of a missed opportunity. I say this because of the context. Over the past two years, Michael Gove and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities have been quick to condemn poorly-performing landlords and played up their role as resident champions. The 7.7% increase therefore seems counterintuitive – it’ll no doubt be welcomed by housing providers, some of whom were anticipating a possible rent cap, but feels like a kick in the teeth for tenants who are still struggling with the cost of living. The fact the increase was snuck out at the beginning of January with little fanfare suggests the government is aware of the optics. But given everything that’s about to happen in housing in 2024, the government could have used the rent rise to send a message. With damp and mould horror stories continuing to make headlines on almost a daily basis, the government could have added conditions to this year’s rent agreement, insisting that landlords invest a percentage of the increase in improving their existing stock. When you think the Social Housing (Regulation) Act comes into effect in April with Awaab’s Law an integral part of it, the government could have underlined how vital it is to address the desperate state of our social housing. Not only would it have forced landlords to invest, it would have let tenants know that the government is on their side as we approach a general election. This year’s rent increase is discussed in more detail in one of our features this month. We also ask some of the sector’s senior figures for their housing predictions for 2024. Elsewhere, we talk to Amanda Newton, the new chief executive of Rochdale Boroughwide Housing, the organisation at the centre of the tragic Awaab Ishak case, about her plans to improve performance at the struggling landlord. Other features include Keith Cooper’s latest dispatch from the frontline of the temporary accommodation crisis, while Neil Merrick looks into why government plans to make homes more accessible appear to have stalled.

Jon Land Editor, HQM

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From the Chief Executive... Give boards a bigger range of voices – and stop worshipping the governance gurus If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging. Why It’s taken ITV to shake up housing as well as the does no one ever follow that advice? A year Post Office. or so ago I was on the train and got talking to Many of us are asking how Paula Vennells someone who used to be senior at the Post stayed in her job and also secured other highOffice. “Don’t believe a word of what you hear, profile board roles. Well, I watched her TED talk those sub-postmasters were stealing,” she said. on YouTube where she was chillingly plausible. To check out her story I bought The Great Post Vennells was well prepared, there was a clear Office Scandal: The fight to expose a multimillion structure and some nice homilies to round it pound IT disaster which put innocent people in jail off. I could picture her chairing an association by Nick Wallis. That book is the basis for the ‘Mr. board or as the keynote speaker at a housing Bates Vs the Post Office’ drama. It’s compelling. conference. On the basis of that video, she’d The top team at the Post get a lot of jobs. Her final Office had so many chances quote was “be curious, be to wipe the slate clean and “When you look at persistent, and when you do start again. If they did that, it, do it for the greater good”. the never-ending no one would have gone to She’s not the first or last of us packs many boards prison. And Paula Vennells, to fail to follow our own wise the ex-chief of the Post Office, counsel. get it’s a miracle would still have her CBE. Housing has had its fair that board members share of leaders who sounded So, why did the leaders hunker down? Well, the board good at the time, just like stay awake, never of the Post Office included big Paula Vennells. But after they mind ask any stars from the City. Therein left, someone else has to pick questions at all” we may find a clue. The board up the pieces. The interesting would pass all the intelligence thing is that staff always knew tests we set for top jobs. But about the problems. They that can be a weakness rather than a strength. told their bosses that the new IT didn’t work, According to science journalist David Robson that developments were shoddy while existing “intelligent and educated people are less likely to homes were crumbling and that pet projects learn from their mistakes…or to take advice from were burning cash. Are too many of our chairs others. And when they do err, they are better and chiefs as tin eared as Paula Vennells? able to build elaborate arguments to justify their How do we stop anything like this happening reasoning…” That rings a bell in housing, doesn’t in housing again? The short answer is that you it? Some boards think they’re right while the can’t. But we must at least try. ombudsman, Regulator of Social Housing and First of all, we need to stop worshipping the anyone else you care to mention are all wrong. governance gurus. After every fiasco, the Institute

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of Directors and Chartered Governance Institute bang out their same old press releases about boards failing to ask the right questions. They will be firing these out for years to come. Their answer to poor governance is more governance! The classic New Year hair of the dog. When you look at the never-ending packs many boards get it’s a miracle that board members stay awake, never mind ask any questions at all. Why does no one ever get their board papers edited? The quality of decision-making would soar if they did that. Boards must include a wider range of voices. On the TV news I notice that many of the wrongly accused sub-postmasters are black and brown. Would a more diverse board at the Post Office have spotted this? So many cases in housing involve black and brown people living in misery. Could a sharper and more diverse range of leaders nip this in the bud? In her TED talk Paula Vennells strikes a patronising and remote note at times. She’s astonished at the lengths people go to make sure their shopping trolleys don’t get pinched while they wait at post offices. We need folk from the university of hard knocks on our boards. At the same time, we also need access to stellar technical experts. Horizon was a botched IT project. We see plenty of these in housing too and it’s costing us a fortune. As one housing board member remarked: “There’s no one on this board who can say whether this is a good IT

strategy or not.” It’s not hard to work out what happens next. The Post Office and housing are desperate to get better IT. Why? A big part of the answer is that it should save money. Thrashing around trying to raise cash and cut costs leads to lots of problems. Why is it too much to ask to put public services on a sound footing? Paula Vennells was quick to blame the government cuts for everything. Many of our folk do the same, with some justice. Finally, does switching leaders in and of itself make things better? Everywhere you go you hear calls to sack the board and/or the boss. When you sign up for a top job that goes with the territory. But how much of a difference do leaders really make? In ‘Managing without Leadership’, Gabriele Lakomski finds that “…organisational life is messy and complex and that those in positions of leadership are neither omniscient nor infallible”. So, she calls for a “bottom-up” approach not just a “top-down” one. If you do find yourself in a position of power, you’ll learn a lot more by talking to staff and tenants than you ever will in a boardroom. Unless the current model of governance in the UK starts to deliver, it won’t last.

Alistair McIntosh, Chief Executive, HQN

The cast of ITV drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office (copyright: ITVX)

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Behind the Headlines:

The hidden trade in temporary accommodation In his latest piece for HQM on the temporary accommodation crisis, Keith Cooper investigates how some London boroughs are using former office blocks in other towns and cities to house their homeless - with detrimental results. The new town of Harlow is infamous for its high concentration of temporary accommodation in ex-office blocks. Many are based on an industrial estate, far from shops or facilities, the nearest school 45 minutes’ walk away, across main roads along which 30-tonne lorries thunder along. But none of the hundreds of homeless households occupying these blocks are from Harlow. They have been placed here instead by mainly London boroughs, according to council leader Dan Swords. Cllr Swords says he understands the pressures they are under but is tired of the town becoming a “dumping ground”. A proposed new agreement between Essex and London authorities to stem the flow of homeless households into the county “is not going to be worth the paper it is written on,” he adds. What’s happening in Harlow is the result of a largely hidden trade in temporary accommodation in which councils short of their own supply buy or lease properties outside their area. An additional concern is the use of units created under so-called office-to-residential permitted development rules. As these residences don’t require planning permission, they can be of poor quality and lack adequate play space for children or basic facilities, like laundries.

“There’s a housing crisis in England. But if your solutions lead to more people living in worse quality housing, that’s a false economy that leads to all kinds of other issues” Ben Clifford, Professor of Spatial Planning and Governance, Bartlett School of Planning

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Novel research It’s impossible to tell the full extent of this trade in out-of-area temporary accommodation or the number of households in ex-office blocks. But evidence of their existence can be traced through the anecdotes of newspaper headlines, council investigations, and some novel research from the University of Nottingham into out-of-area temporary accommodation. The Nottingham research found that the government was underestimating the extent of all out-of-area placements in England and that thousands of homes were either owned or leased in other local authority areas for homeless households. While official figures put the number of households in out-of-area temporary accommodation at around 28,000, the University of Nottingham study puts the figure at more than 36,000. It also found that some 8,400 homes were held by local authorities in other areas for temporary accommodation long term. Four London councils were each found to hold more than 1,000 properties, mainly in other boroughs. Kensington and Chelsea owns or leases more than 1,700 homes in other boroughs, including 200 homes in three boroughs: Westminster, Brent, and Tower Hamlets. Lewisham has more than 100 in Croydon, Bromley, and Greenwich. A staggering 800 homes in Enfield and 400 homes in Ealing are owned or leased by other boroughs. Ealing Council said the presence of other boroughs in its temporary accommodation market had an obvious impact on the availability of housing. This was worse when other authorities had long-term leases with landlords than if they rented hotel rooms for a few nights. “We continue to face a temporary accommodation and housing affordability crisis across London, with thousands of families in temporary

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accommodation and thousands more on social housing waiting lists,” a spokesperson for Ealing said. Enfield Council said it was aware that other boroughs held stock in its area, as the collapse of the private rental market and high levels of “no-fault” evictions had driven “record number of families” to its doors for help with housing. “Up and down the country, the growing homelessness crisis is causing huge financial pressures for local authorities,” a council spokeswoman said. “This has forced families to live in unsuitable accommodation for prolonged periods.” The government’s decision to delay the uplift of local housing allowance levels to spring 2024 had left “hundreds of families with a very uncertain winter ahead,” the Enfield spokeswoman added. “This limited help will not make a dent in the acute lack of housing.”

People with a pre-existing mental health condition found it hard to access the support upon which they’d previously relied. “Their temporary accommodation was often claustrophobic and felt all-engulfing, they often didn’t want to go out and explore their new area and sometimes suffered an interruption in getting their medication,” Ms Lawrence says. People without any previous experience of mental health problems began experiencing anxiety or depression, they told researchers. While the study found some households had been sent more than 200 miles away, researchers were also told that distance mattered less than being cut off from their support networks. This was a particular issue with bed and breakfast or nightly paid accommodation where access to the internet through wifi was often unavailable.

‘Nothing positive’

‘Disconnection and dislocation’

Helen Lawrence, the housing researcher who worked on the University of Nottingham project, said the people she interviewed had “nothing positive” to say about out-of-area placements. “It was overwhelmingly negative for people’s mental health and their connections with their families. Many were uncertain about how long they were going to be out of the area and had no information about this from their local authority,” she adds. “Families with children didn’t know whether to enrol their children in school. They weren’t sure whether they’d still be in the same area when time came to take up the place.”

“This was felt as an extra form of disconnection and dislocation from their friends and family and a lot of impacts intertwine very quickly,” Ms Lawrence says. “Under normal circumstances, when a household is struggling with their mental health they can reach out to family and friends. When that option is removed, it can be a real problem.” The University of Nottingham research is, however, likely to have underestimated the extent of the trade in out-ofarea homes. While the response rate for its Freedom of Information request was high at 88%, not all authorities revealed how many properties they owned or leased in other areas.

One of Harlow’s office blocks HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JANUARY 2024

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Newham Council, which didn’t provide figures, is known its cabinet member for homelessness, Shaban Mohammed, to lease many homes in Essex and Kent, the two home as a “key acquisition” and “part of the continuation of our counties in which London councils tend to seek cheaper accelerated acquisition programme to support our efforts temporary accommodation. to reduce homelessness”. Local Space, a housing association set up by Newham In October, Medway Council, in Kent, raised concerns Council, has since 2006 purchased more than 200 about another ex-office block in Chatham, called Anchorage properties in Essex to lease back to Newham for temporary House, being used to house homeless households from a accommodation. While most of its property portfolio is in London local authority. London, it includes 87 in Thurrock, 73 in Basildon, and 28 in Medway’s portfolio holder for housing, Naushabah Khan, Southend-on-Sea, according to official figures. is particularly concerned that this accommodation has been Local Space chief executive Josie Parsons says the Essex converted from office space under so-called permitted properties were purchased under development rights. “[This] allows the a previous contract with Newham conversion of office space into housing Council. It stopped buying homes “Up and down the without planning consent, giving the outside of the M25 in 2017 after a new council little control or influence.” country, the growing administration ended its contractual Cllr Khan isn’t alone in her homelessness crisis is requirement to do so. “We are looking concern about the use of permitted at what we continue to do with our development rights to create causing huge financial properties in Essex and whether temporary accommodation from pressures for local continuing to provide nominations office space. It’s a form of housing to Newham is the right way forward,” which many authorities appear to be authorities” Ms Parsons adds. Local Space had using, despite concerns about the Enfield Council asked Essex authorities whether they poor quality of many such blocks. might be interested in accessing these Residents of three temporary properties. accommodation blocks in Croydon, Another example of an authority buying up temporary which were converted from offices, described their flats as accommodation en-masse is the east London borough of “uninhabitable” in a letter to the south London authority Redbridge. It began moving its homeless households into last month (December). The letter alleges that some blocks Canterbury in 2006 after outbidding the east Kent city lacked laundry facilities, have no space for children to play for 200 homes in the former Howe Barracks. At the time, and develop, and that parts of their buildings are plagued Canterbury had 2,500 people on its housing waiting list. In by rats, mice and bed bugs. “Ex- office buildings are unfit 2019, Redbridge secured leases on a further 32 homes in the for human habitation because they were designed for office same city, pipping it to the properties once again. use, not for vulnerable people to share a room for years,” Most recently, in December, Newham Council outlined the open letter states. South West London Law Centres’ plans to buy a 172-home accommodation block in Harlow community engagement manager Rhiannon Hughes, who known as Burnt Mills, with half of the units earmarked for helped organise the letter, said the council had been given temporary accommodation. Its purchase was described by to the 18th January to respond.

People without any previous experience of mental health problems began experiencing anxiety or depression – University of Nottingham research (stock image)

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“Under normal circumstances, when a household is struggling with their mental health they can reach out to family and friends. When that option is removed, it can be a real problem” Helen Lawrence, housing researcher, University of Nottingham

Local Space, a housing association set up by Newham Council, has purchased more than 200 properties in Essex to lease back to Newham for temporary accommodation

Permitted development rights Harlow Council leader Dan Swords says that many of the hundreds of families housed there by other authorities are in ex-office blocks, which were converted under the permitted development rights rule. As such conversions don’t require planning permission, councils are often unaware of them unless they go looking. Cllr Swords suspects the true number of households living in them is closer to 1,000. Harlow officers found in 2018 that this number of units of accommodation had been created in the town using permitted development rights in 13 individual blocks. These are now known as ‘human warehouses’, ‘nightmare towers’ or ‘crime blocks’, depending on which media outlet you use or who in Harlow you ask. Harlow’s investigation was prompted in part by concerns from schools, police and other public services. Essex Police had received a “high volume” of calls about these permitted development blocks. Children had been exposed to drug dealing and alleged knife crime and were found playing in corridors when they should have been at school. Cllr Swords says the blocks are either owned by London boroughs or leased long term by them from their private owners. He claims London authorities are also block booking hotel rooms in the town and eyeing up development sites to swell further their temporary accommodation portfolios there. He says a single mum with young children from Ealing has been living in temporary accommodation in Harlow for more than five years. Ealing Council declined to comment on this alleged placement. Concerns about the use of temporary accommodation created by permitted developments have been raised for some time by campaigners for better quality housing, such as the Town and Country Planning Association. And their impact on residents’ health is now being studied by the Bartlett School of Planning in a £2m project, funded by the National Institute for Health and Research, the research arm of the NHS. An earlier exploratory study of thousands

of units in Hillingdon, Hounslow, Lambeth, and Southwark pinpointed 29 distinct health impacts linked to homes created under permitted development rights. Bartlett professor of spatial planning and governance Ben Clifford, who’s leading the research, said the project would be examining the health impacts of temporary accommodation created under the rules, including how children living in them were affected. “There’s a housing crisis in England,” Prof Clifford says. “But I think if your solutions lead to more people living in worse quality housing, that’s a false economy that leads to all kinds of other issues.”

Radical action After years of taking on London’s homeless, seeing its offices converted into temporary accommodation for other authorities, Harlow is finally taking some radical action. It has just issued an article 4 direction to prevent any further conversions of office blocks under permitted development rights and is planning a major shake of the way it allots its own council housing. Cllr Swords wants to put paid to the perception that Harlow is a “soft touch” to which other authorities can outsource its homeless population. It has proposed doubling the length of time applicants must prove they have a local connection to the area from five to 10 years, and giving extra priority to people born in the town, including a specific measure that ensures “households placed in temporary accommodation by other councils do not have access to local housing over and above Harlow residents.” None of this will, of course, end the misery of the hundreds of households stuck in ex-office blocks on Harlow industrial estates or elsewhere. And as the acquisition of such out-ofarea housing accelerates, even more homeless households will find themselves in these dislocated communities with very little chance of returning to their home area anytime soon. HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JANUARY 2024

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AMANDA NEWTON INTERVIEW:

‘THE PEOPLE OF ROCHDALE NEED RBH TO RECOVER’ Rochdale Boroughwide Housing’s new chief executive is under no illusions about the challenges she faces.

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Previously Executive Director for Customer where you remember where you were when you Insight at Livv Housing Group, Amanda Newton first heard it. has stepped into her first chief executive role to The failings that led to Awaab’s death should help lead RBH’s recovery after the tragic death of never have occurred. I go to work every day two-year-old Awaab Ishak prompted a national knowing that I have a responsibility to Awaab’s outcry and exposed significant shortcomings family, but also to the people of Rochdale more in the way the housing association had been widely, to make sure an avoidable tragedy like managing its 12,000 homes. this never happens again. As a result, housing secretary Michael Gove I joined the housing sector mid-way through announced he was withholding £1 million in my career because I wanted to focus on the right funding for new houses from RBH until “it could things and making a difference. prove it’s a responsible landlord”. Like many people who I’m proud to say I’ve Awaab’s death, worked alongside as a direct result of and those I do now, prolonged exposure “The key operational I wanted to do to mould in his RBHsomething meaningful. challenges right now are managed home, This role attracted around simplifying our has subsequently me for a number led to a nationwide processes, making better use of reasons. First investigation into the and foremost, RBH of technology, improving standard of England’s deserves to recover social housing stock – and the people of our data and really and a new law has Rochdale, which has understanding the people been named after some of the most who live in our homes. That Awaab that will come disadvantaged areas into effect as part of in the UK, need it to means knowing people the Social Housing recover. on a human level, not as Regulation Bill. I wanted to be part In this exclusive of that and, thankfully, statistics” interview, Amanda the board felt I could talks to HQM about make a difference. her first three months in the role and her determination to ensure Have you got a vision for the future of the residents are proud of their homes and their organisation? Are you happy to share it with landlord. us? How are you settling in to the new role? Really well. I’ve been here for just over three months, although I was involved before my official start date as it was vitally important to have a seamless handover with the interim CEO. There was no time for a lag in knowledge, and I feel energised by the ‘hit the ground running’ approach that you have to adopt when an organisation is in recovery. Rochdale is one of the most welcoming places (if one of the rainiest) I’ve ever worked. I’ve felt welcome since the moment I arrived, and that helps a lot when you take on a challenging leadership role. This is your first time as a housing association chief executive. What attracted you to the position at RBH? When the coroner’s report surrounding the death of Awaab Ishak was released it sent shockwaves across the social housing sector, and beyond. It was one of those moments in life

Yes – it’s really simple. I feel deeply privileged to have the opportunity to lead this organisation and we’ll make the changes we need to. Our ambition is to make the largest housing provider in Rochdale one that its customers are proud to say is their landlord. To do that we have to make it easy for our colleagues to provide services to our customers. The rest follows. It’s been a difficult time for RBH. What are the key operational challenges currently? Housing shouldn’t be a complex business, but sometimes it feels like it is. So, the key operational challenges right now are around simplifying our processes, making better use of technology, improving our data and really understanding the people who live in our homes. That means knowing people on a human level, not as statistics. This is all alongside pushing forward with the changes to ensure that we have a meaningful relationship with our customers that’s based on HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JANUARY 2024

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trust, and that they can directly inform our board about the decisions we make. Have the financial restrictions put in place by the government hindered the organisation? Are you still under scrutiny from the ombudsman and regulator? We’ve completely refocused our strategy away from development. We’ve been clear that development had overtaken the real purpose of the business, which is to provide good-quality homes to the people and families that live in them. The need to invest in RBH’s existing homes is the priority and we’re dealing with the legacy of that now. Access to government grants for new-build homes isn’t impacting us right now but, of course, in time, we’d like to have this reinstated. We have ambitions to develop in the future and our partners need us to do that to address the critical shortage of homes. More urgently, we’ve a number of significant regeneration schemes which now need to be expedited as the people living there have been waiting too long for someone to make a decision about the way forward. Imagine living somewhere for the best part of 10 years and not really knowing if your home will be there in the future. We’ve some fantastic opportunities to regenerate some of our places and bring significant numbers of homes back into use. As with any regeneration project, the complexity is high. We’re having productive and supportive discussions with various partners and agencies as to how that might work to enable us to move forward. Until RBH can evidence that it’s dealt with the

failings of the past, then we’ll understandably be under our regulator’s spotlight. We’ve a productive relationship with the people and organisations overseeing our recovery and we’re making really good progress. Importantly, we’re fulfilling our promise made to the coroner, with the family of Awaab Ishak present, that we’ll learn from what went wrong and that we’ll share it. We’ve been doing that across the sector and beyond and we won’t stop until there’s nothing left to say. Tell us about your approach to working with new colleagues – have they responded well to your arrival? How important is your relationship with residents? There are some incredible people at RBH and across our partners. The response to my arrival has been nothing short of welcoming, with a willingness to work together to do great things. This is probably a question for them though! One of the things that the RBH team learnt about me very quickly was my absolute focus on customers and that when they contact me, I get back to them every time. It’s all part of reinforcing the cultural expectation that the customer is everything, and everything that we do ultimately has to have a positive impact on them. I’ve spent time with the people who live in our homes and

“We’ve completely refocused our strategy away from development. We’ve been clear that development had overtaken the real purpose of the business which is to provide good-quality homes to the people and families that live in them. The need to invest in RBH’s existing homes is the priority and we’re dealing with the legacy of that now” Awaab Ishak

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communities and learnt about how what we do feels when it reaches the home. Experience from working with many businesses across many sectors, including housing, tells me that we often focus on tasks and not people. We’ll sometimes feel it’s a job well done when we’ve done our part, and the rest of the process is for someone else. What I’m driving at here is an endto-end ownership of the customer experience – it’ll take time but all I ask people to consider is, If it were you, what would you want to feel? How’s RBH preparing for the new regulatory regime? What are the initial results of the TSM surveys telling you? Refocusing your business very quickly and being under many spotlights really makes you take a step back and focus on what you’re for as an organisation. Of course, the new regulatory standards are an important framework that should hold us to account for what we do and how we do it, but that’s not the reason to be a great housing provider. The reason has to be that it’s the right thing for customers to be heard, to feel listened to and to see what they’re telling us materially influences how we deliver services. We’re well on with preparing for consumer regulation and we’re a little different as we’re a mutual society that’s owned by its customers and colleagues. So, the voice of our mutuality through our representative body, coupled with the voice of our wider customer base captured through our engagement programmes is vital to shaping what we do and how it feels to the people receiving it.

STOP PRESS At the time of going to press, Rochdale Boroughwide Housing was back in the news as national and regional media reported that some tenants were continuing to live in homes badly affected by damp and mould – a situation the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said was “appalling”. Responding to the reports, Amanda Newton said: “We are truly sorry to hear that some of our customers are experiencing issues with their homes. Our top priority is the health and wellbeing of our customers and we are working hard to carry out the repairs required. “Our Damp and Mould Taskforce has been in place since December 2022 and we’re working hard to identify and resolve issues around damp, mould and condensation at the earliest opportunity. So far, we’ve committed to investing £45 million in people’s homes over the next five years and we will keep this under review. “I must reassure all customers that any feedback from them is taken seriously and we absolutely do care about the experience they have with RBH. We have a comprehensive training programme in place for our contact centre to ensure that we handle all calls from customers in the right manner and provide callers with the support that they need. We record all our calls, and if any customers feel that we have not handled their call appropriately, we encourage them to get in touch with us so that we can listen to the call and investigate their concerns. “Over the past year colleagues from across the organisation have undertaken customer service training to ensure that we are in the best place possible to support the people and families living in our homes. “We encourage all of our customers to contact us immediately about any concerns they have with damp and mould or other issues in their homes so we can investigate and resolve them as quickly as possible. I also encourage any customer not receiving the service they need to make a formal complaint – this can be done by phone, by email or in writing. Customers who still feel this is not working for them can contact me directly or any one of the Executive Team. We are here to listen and help.”

Amanda Newton, right, talks to the team at RBH HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JANUARY 2024

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ACCESSIBLE HOMES – WHY THE CLOCK IS TICKING ON MUCHNEEDED CHANGES Since 2020, the government has promised action to ensure homes will be made more accessible for people with disabilities. But, despite a warm reception from residents, social landlords and charities, the plans are still to come to fruition, as Neil Merrick reports.

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A Habinteg tenant in the garden of his accessible home

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Eighteen months ago, the government announced that homes built in England would be made more accessible for people with disabilities. Following a consultation in 2020, ministers declared that building regulations should require new homes to be accessible or adaptable for wheelchair users and other people with disability needs. But 18 months on, a second consultation looking at the change in more detail has yet to get underway. Consequently, most homes continue to be built to the current minimum, meaning only they should be ‘visitable’ by people with disabilities. The delay is a major disappointment to landlords such as Habinteg, which promotes homes that allow independent living. While it welcomed the government’s intention to impose a higher standard, along with the support this received from builders, there’s a danger the change may be delayed until after the general election. “We’re quite concerned that time will run out for this government to launch this really important policy,” says Christina McGill, Habinteg’s director of social impact. “They made a great decision, but time is ticking on.” The higher standard, known as M4(2), is broadly equivalent to the Lifetime Homes Standard, launched by the last Labour government but never formally adopted. All Habinteg homes meet this standard, while a quarter meet the higher M4(3) standard, meaning they fully meet the needs of wheelchair users. Unsuitable A study carried out in 2023 by the London School of Economics estimates that about 400,000 wheelchair users in England live in unsuitable accommodation. Worse, according to the English Housing Survey, nine out of 10 homes fail the most basic M4(1) standard, so that a wheelchair user would struggle to visit a friend or family member living there. Last July, the House of Commons Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee launched an inquiry into housing for people with disabilities. The inquiry is looking at all tenures, including the private rented sector (PRS), as well as flaws in the planning system. Evidence sessions are planned for early 2024. While M4(1) remains the default standard, it is up to planning authorities to aim for higher results. Cities such as London and Liverpool require 10% of new homes to meet the M4(3) standard, but other councils make no such

stipulation. In its response to the select committee, Habinteg is calling for the National Planning Policy Framework to require all local plans to include a target covering wheelchair accessible M4(3) homes. Planning inspectors should reject any local plan that omits a policy statement and target of this sort, it adds. The Scottish government, meanwhile, is in the throes of a consultation over access to new homes, running until the end of January. Changes to building standards are expected from 2025.

“A study carried out in 2023 by the London School of Economics estimates that about 400,000 wheelchair users in England live in unsuitable accommodation” Benefits Christina McGill points out that more accessible and spacious homes don’t only benefit wheelchair users. Extra space helps families with children, while grab rails and walk-in showers assist many people as they grow older. “When you develop an accessible and adaptable home, it’s good for everybody,” she says. Where homes in England aren’t built to the highest standards, residents (but not landlords) may apply for a means-tested disability facilities grant (DFG), worth up to £30,000. At present, says McGill, social landlords are generally more amenable to adaptations funded through DFG than those in the PRS. An independent study in 2018, carried out for the Department of Health and Social Care, described DFG as a “hidden service”, with responsibility spilt between local authority housing departments and adult social services. “It’s become so complex that people outside of the service don’t understand it,” said the University of West of England study. Two years ago, the Social Housing Action Campaign (SHAC) launched a disability charter for social landlords. The charter covers mental health as well as physical disability, including neurodiversity and hidden conditions such as epilepsy. At first, there was little interest from the sector, but now some housing associations have been in touch to see if they can learn from the charter. “They are inviting us to be a critical friend,” says HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JANUARY 2024

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Jacqueline Parkes, SHAC’s disability visibility lead. Disabled people are more likely to rent from social than private landlords. They’re also affected disproportionately by poor housing, including damp and mould, says Parkes. Instead of landlords making ‘reasonable adjustments’, people with mental illness may sometimes be accused of antisocial behaviour, she adds. Yet solutions can be relatively simple, including more effective communication that acknowledges individual needs. “Disability isn’t just physical,” says Parkes. “There are people with neurodiversity or mental health conditions who live in places that exacerbate their conditions.” Millie’s story And what of private landlords? When Millie, a wheelchair user, moved to London in 2019 to work for a City law firm, she spent nine months looking for a suitable home. She ended up in a flat that’s part-way up a high-rise block in Tower Hamlets. Property portals such as Right Move don’t employ filters that direct renters towards accessible houses and flats, while letting agents generally ignored her when she told them she used a wheelchair, sending her to properties with steps. “I naively believed it would be easier to find somewhere in London that met my needs,” says Millie. Two years ago, research by the National Residential Landlords Association found just 49% of private landlords were willing to let to tenants requiring adaptations, but this rose to 68% when they were made aware of disabled facilities grant. The NRLA joined forces with six local authorities in England and Wales to flag up the importance of making private rented homes more accessible

“We’re quite concerned that time will run out for this government to launch this really important policy. They made a great decision, but time is ticking on” Christina McGill, Habinteg’s director of social impact

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and produced guidance for landlords. It’s now surveying members to see how many landlords use DFG. One problem is that landlords depend on tenants applying for DFG, though there’s nothing to stop them working together on grant applications, says Ellie Bateman, senior campaigns officer and public affairs officer at the NRLA. A property portal for private rented accommodation proposed in the renters reform bill will in theory allow landlords to advertise where houses or flats are accessible and include adaptations. “More and more tenants in the PRS are going to require adaptations. Landlords need to be responding,” says Bateman. Meanwhile, wheelchair users such as Millie remain frustrated that landlords aren’t geared up for people with disabilities. “It’s incredibly challenging finding somewhere suitable to live where I can be completely independent,” she says. “Properties aren’t built with wheelchair users in mind.”

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‘There’s a myth that general needs housing means no needs’ Last year [2023], Stevenage Council was found guilty of severe maladministration by the Housing Ombudsman for failing to repair or replace a faulty door entry system at the home of a disabled tenant. Owing to the fault, the fire brigade had to accompany ambulances whenever they were called to the flat, so ensuring medical staff could gain access. Stevenage isn’t alone in being criticised for the way it deals with issues linked to disability. According to Zoe Miller, the ombudsman’s compliance and investigations manager, too many social landlords fail to recognise that general needs housing often includes people with issues around access or movement, sometimes due to age. “There’s a myth that general needs housing means no needs,” says Miller, author of a spotlight report into how landlords meet the needs of vulnerable residents, due out this month [January 2024]. The ombudsman admits that the term ‘vulnerable’ is somewhat nebulous, covering people with a wide range of needs, not just disability. But it’s also keen that landlords become more responsive to tenants with disabilities, possibly by calling on support from

other services. Since November 2021, more than 1,500 maladministration findings resulted from complaints by residents with a physical disability or mental health condition. The spotlight report flags up good practice along with cases where things went wrong. This includes a landlord that failed to fit suitable flooring for an elderly wheelchair user. More than half (58%) of people who responded to a call for evidence by the ombudsman ahead of the report said they consider themselves to have a disability. Just 19% of these said their landlord had made ‘reasonable adjustments’. This may mean something as simple as sending emails, rather than letters, to residents who are partially sighted. Many older people require home adaptations, such as a ramp or grabrails, which may be funded through disabled facilities grant. According to Miller, landlords should seek to future-proof homes rather than wait for problems involving elderly or disabled tenants to creep up on them. “It’s possible to make somebody vulnerable by failing to provide what they need,” she says.

“Since November 2021, more than 1,500 maladministration findings resulted from complaints by residents with a physical disability or mental health condition”

All Habinteg homes meet higher than average accessibility standards HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JANUARY 2024

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TALKING HEADS A BIG YEAR FOR HOUSING

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2024 promises to be a very big year for social housing. With the RSH’s new consumer standards due to come in in April, the ongoing struggles with damp and mould, and the very real chance of a new government by the end of the year, we asked professionals from across housing to outline their top three priorities for the sector.

Nicholas Harris, Chief Executive, Stonewater In 2024 our key priorities are aligned with our commitment to our vision of everyone having somewhere they can call home. Housing providers should reaffirm their dedication to our customers by personalising their experiences and delivering on our promises. At Stonewater, our goal is to maintain a customer-centric approach, ensuring customer needs remain at the forefront of our projects, plans and development opportunities. We also know that fostering a great workplace culture is paramount across the housing sector. Stonewater will continue to invest in and support our colleagues, recognising that a motivated and skilled workforce is essential for success. Our aim is to continue to position Stonewater as an excellent place to work, being at the forefront of driving inclusion, quality and innovation in the housing sector. Finally, we need to acknowledge the growing and pressing challenges in the housing landscape. As we anticipate a 2024 general election, housing providers need to advocate for government support. We should seek certainty and understanding from policymakers regarding the complex challenges faced by housing providers, and we need to position organisations like Stonewater as vital delivery mechanisms for addressing the national housing crisis. This should include delivery of funding for new homes and retrofitting existing ones.

Julie Layton, Chief Executive, Advance

“Our relentless focus continues to be the quality and timeliness of our service delivery, especially emergency and routine repair work”

With the need for affordable housing increasing across the UK, it’s important that this is matched with recruitment into the sector to ensure organisations are adequately supported in delivering exceptional services to residents by skilled and passionate individuals. Raising awareness of the need for high-quality supported housing must be prioritised in 2024. At Advance, we specialise in providing housing and tailored support to people living with learning disabilities and mental health conditions, allowing them to live independently. Improving access to specialised support that considers the diverse needs of all individuals, especially those with learning disabilities and mental health conditions, will be paramount. We’re also calling for an increased focus on the sector’s core purpose – to deliver social value. Housing providers were established to deliver quality homes for individuals, while remaining affordable. People living in these homes should feel they’re part of a safe and inclusive neighbourhood, where their wellbeing is prioritised by their landlord. For housing associations to thrive in 2024, it’s crucial for them to recognise the importance of continually providing social value while delivering on new developments, innovative projects and core initiatives.

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Aisha Akhtar, Housing lawyer and HQN legal trainer 2023 has been a difficult year for the sector, the next government must place the delivery of affordable and sustainable housing at the heart of its long-term plans for the UK. The problem is likely to get worse; and younger people are being hit the hardest. Resolving the housing crisis will require some radical reforms and policy reforms to the planning system. The sector will be looking to improve on emergency efficiency. Energy efficiency can help to improve the comfort and quality of life for residents. By reducing energy usage, housing providers can improve the indoor environment of properties, reducing the risk of damp, mould, and other issues that can affect the health and well-being of residents, as the sector still grapples with the impact of Awaab’s Law, which will be brought in this year under the Social Housing Regulation Act. Social housing landlords will need to be ready for the new consumer standards under the law, which takes effect from 1 April 2024. It’s been a difficult year with the Housing Ombudsman issuing severe maladministration on a number of landlords. The sector needs to be prepared for the ombudsman’s statutory Complaint Handling Code to take effect from 1 April. It’ll have extra tools to clamp down on landlords’ repeated service failures.

Nick Atkin, CEO, Yorkshire Housing Customer: In April the Social Housing Regulation Act comes into force and sees a multitude of reforms for the sector. Our focus will remain on the relationship with our customers. This is part of a sustained focus to spend time understanding what they really want, using this as a basis for how we then deliver enhancements to our service offer. Economy: The cost-of-living crisis has hit everyone hard – and housebuilding is no exception. The cost of building new homes has dramatically increased, and new completions have dropped to their lowest levels since the pandemic. The economic outlook remains uncertain. Recent figures show the UK is at risk of recession. That’s why every decision we make needs to represent value for money for our customers as well as maintaining our business viability. Politics: Housing is expected to feature heavily in the general election. All three main parties have committed to building more homes. However, there remains uncertainty on what can be delivered in the context of a tight fiscal position. We must continue to make the case for a long-term plan for housing, highlighting the difference we make to people’s lives, whilst at the same time being realistic about the challenges we’re facing.

“Improving access to specialised support that considers the diverse needs of all individuals, especially those with learning disabilities and mental health conditions, will be paramount”

Roger Jarman, Regulation Associate, HQN The Leader of the Opposition wakes up having won a landslide victory in the general election. He then decides that he’s more Clement Attlee than, well, Kier Starmer. He immediately suspends the Right to Buy. He then announces a public housebuilding programme of 500,000 homes a year. He funds this through a wealth tax levied at a rate of 1% for households with assets of over £10m. He also introduces a progressive property tax that at last sees an owner of a £30m mansion in Westminster paying (substantially) more property/council tax than the owner of a four-bedroom house in Hartlepool. Land is amassed through the compulsory purchase of brownfield and greenfield sites at existing use value. Special visas are issued to construction workers based abroad to help with Starmer’s ambitious housebuilding programme. Homelessness falls significantly and house prices and rents start to return to more affordable levels. Starmer begins to see the realisation of his post-election objective to reduce the ratio of house prices to average wages from 9:1 to the long-term average of 3:1. And then again, pigs might fly…

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Bruce Moore, Chief Executive, Housing 21

Gavin Cansfield, Chief Executive, settle

2024 is Housing 21’s 60th anniversary. We’ll continue focusing on our core purpose of providing highquality housing with care and support for older people of modest means, enabling them to live with autonomy and dignity. To achieve this, we hold true to our guiding principles of ‘21’, ‘Better’ and ‘Experience’. 21 is in our name and refers to the 21st century, but we take it to mean we must remain a contemporary, innovative and forward-looking organisation, challenging ageist assumptions. We need to listen to current residents, but also consider what future generations may want and expect in later life. Better recognises there’s always room to improve. Although we always try to do the right thing, we recognise sometimes we fall short of the service and standards we aim to deliver. When this occurs we should apologise and provide redress, ensuring we learn from mistakes to be better in future. Experience is the most important principle, underpinning everything. We exist to provide great service and satisfaction for residents. If this isn’t their experience, we’ve failed. We must ensure residents have a strong voice and we remain committed to listening and responding to their priorities for 2024 and beyond.

At settle our top three priorities for 2024 are residents, residents and residents. We continue actively engaging with residents so that decisions are made with them, not to them, to provide them with safe, comfortable homes and to ensure we are delivering great services and investment in homes. We’ll continue to work with the ‘Voice of the Resident’ panel and to carry out our ‘Big Door Knock’, now in its sixth year, where colleagues, including the executive team and board members, go out into the community every few months to gather feedback on what we’re doing well and where improvements can be made. We started early surveys on the Tenant Satisfaction Measures last year, ahead of their mandatory implementation this year and have a comprehensive resident dashboard that drives service delivery. Our relentless focus continues to be the quality and timeliness of our service delivery, especially emergency and routine repair work. Despite the continued challenges faced by all housing associations, we continue to put residents first. We know that everyone is different, so we ensure that we provide a service that’s as individual as residents.

“The cost of building new homes has dramatically increased, and new completions have dropped to their lowest levels since the pandemic”

Charles Pitt, Corporate Affairs Director, Sovereign Network Group 1. We need to deliver many more homes, especially affordable homes. There are nearly 140,000 children living in temporary accommodation and subsidising housing bills is costing the taxpayer c.£30bn a year. Government should see housing as national infrastructure and develop a long-term housing strategy which unlocks investment and reduces the knock-on costs of the housing crisis; this must include a rent settlement linked to future costs so that the sector can plan for the long term too. 2. Housing associations, with government support, need to invest in improving their stock, retrofitting their homes to reduce their carbon footprint and energy bills. The sector also needs to embrace consumer standards, improving the customer experience by investing in digital and harnessing data. 3. We are still in a cost-of-living crisis. Government and the sector can best support social housing tenants through economic growth – development of new housing, retrofit and investment in local infrastructure all have their part to play. Alongside this, targeted support to create new and better jobs is the foundation for sustainable and thriving communities.

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FEATURES

THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE SOCIAL HOUSING RENT INCREASE ON LANDLORDS AND TENANTS With confirmation of this year’s social housing rent increase, we asked sector rent experts and a tenant for their thoughts on the implications for both landlords and residents. Here’s what they had to say.

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Samantha Grix Partner Devonshires Solicitors Bright and early in the new year the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) confirmed the limit on rent increases for social and affordable rent tenants would be CPI + 1%. A reversion to the Rent Standard 2020 and confirmation that the policy statement on rents for social housing stood without further extension to the cap of 7% was welcomed by the sector, particularly those managing the purse strings. Allowing increases up to CPI + 1% makes sense this year as CPI from September 2022 reduced enough by September 2023 to limit increases to 7.7%, which isn’t far off the cap of 2023/24. Now that we have confirmation of the 7.7% limit, registered providers are putting their teams to work to prepare the notices and correspondence. As always, there are a few key points to keep in mind when preparing the documents. Below is a recap: 1. Accuracy of data is key: understanding what data is required for s.13 notices and/or contractual clause increases is important and those responsible for managing this must have a solid understanding of what data is required, particularly when it comes to the relevant dates. Where dates are incorrectly inputted – for example, on a s.13 notice the start of a new rent must be the start of a new tenancy period which is often not adhered to – this will invalidate the notice. 2. Use the correct form of notice: it’s often the case that a previous form of s.13 notice is used for the following year and so on. Any amendments to the form are then not incorporated leading to the notice being defective. If in doubt whether you’re using the most up-to-date version of s.13, check the prescribed form online. 3. Ensure the data merge works as it should: errors with data merges are something that are often not picked up quickly and can lead to incorrect data being included and sent out to tenants. Consider what your quality assurance looks like and if this is robust enough.

“Errors with data merges are something that are often not picked up quickly and can lead to incorrect data being included and sent out to tenants. Consider what your quality assurance looks like and if this is robust enough” 4. Build in time contingency by getting the notices served as far in advance as possible: this will allow for any postal or delivery issues and/or delays by third party printers, for example. Giving yourself extra time will also allow leeway to remedy defects if they’re picked up after printing or posting. It remains to be seen how long the Rent Standard 2020 will be in play as there are whispers that the current rent settlement will be extended to allow for the impending election (which we now know will take place in the second half of 2024) to conclude. As such, it may be that consultation doesn’t start until 2025 with a direction being made in late 2025/early 2026. This is something to keep an eye on but what’s clear from those in the sector is that a longer-term rent settlement, for example 10 years, would be welcomed due to the certainty it would bring. Of course, ‘certainty’ is only as secure as the state of the economy and the government in power at the time, so there’s always an element of uncertainty. However, housing providers have become well versed in adapting to what’s thrown at them so I’ve no doubt they will deal with any changes that come.

Mark Henderson Rent compliance consultant HQN Most housing providers will no doubt be taking advantage of the full 7.7% increase allowed. This isn’t surprising as landlords are still managing the impact of the 7% rent ceiling imposed in 2023/24, which at the time was significantly below the inflation figure. With the cost of building materials, repair and maintenance, and energy staying well above general inflation levels, there are still challenging times ahead for many providers.

But what about the impact an above inflation increase will have on tenants, many of whom continue to struggle with the cost of living? Of course, many providers are providing excellent support services to help and are doing some innovative work so that tenants can maintain their tenancies. Long may that continue. However, the effects of a 7.7% increase in rent and service charges shouldn’t be underestimated. So, how are providers intending to manage this? Through

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our rent compliance and service charge reviews, our experience is that formal rent consultation meetings seem to be increasingly rare. Providers seem to be more focused on informing tenants of proposed increases, citing government guidelines as the reason without explanation. This is a missed opportunity to involve tenants in discussions which can ultimately inform and influence boards and committees in their decision-making. Whilst the level of influence may be limited, the meetings do provide an opportunity for providers to explain the

“The effects of a 7.7% increase in rent and service charges [on tenants] shouldn’t be underestimated. So, how are providers intending to manage this?”

consequences of not applying a guideline increase, the impact that may have on service provision and to listen to tenants’ views. Not applying a guideline increase not only limits potential income for the landlord, but also adds complications for future rent setting as there’s no ability to claw back any lower increases in rent except through relets, which will take several years resulting in neighbours potentially paying different rents for similar properties. A real dilemma is faced by landlords needing to maximise income and at the same time be conscious of the impact the inflation-busting increase may have on tenants’ wellbeing, let alone potential reputational issues for the organisation. However, the more providers can involve and engage with tenants the smoother the journey should be. Further details of HQN’s rent compliance and service charge reviews can be obtained from anna.pattison@ hqnetwork.co.uk

A tenant’s perspective Rob Gershon Council tenant and activist Over the last two years, for every £100 a tenant pays in their supposedly cheaper social rent, they now have to pay an additional £15. That’s on top of smaller inflationbusting rent rises since 2020. During the years where economic pressures have affected most people, but people who live in social housing more than most, these rises represent a form of financial cruelty. The rent rises should be considered against background inflation rises that have been in double figures over the last year. Landlords are told how much they can raise rents by the government, presumably because they can’t be trusted to make the decision like a normal transactional business. Because the government doesn’t want to help provide homes people can afford themselves, they expect social landlords to soak up the increased cost of doing business. Inflation is likely to fall further this year so it will once again be social tenants underwriting the costs of the social housing crisis. At the time of writing, the inflation rate is just under 4% and may well be lower by the time rents are hiked in April, leaving social landlords sitting pretty on a juicy slice of profit at the expense of families who often can’t afford food or heating. This would be staggeringly amoral at the best of times, but in the years where many communities are still recovering from the financial shocks of the pandemic, amidst completely unaffordable rises in energy and water

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“During the years where economic pressures have affected people who live in social housing more than most, these rises represent a form of financial cruelty” bills and food costs, a thumping rent rise will ensure that those parts of the country which experience the most acute difficulty with changes to rises in basic, unavoidable costs including rent will suffer the most. For many people, part or all of their rent might be covered by housing benefits or the universal credit equivalent, and many would argue that this will insulate families from these jarring increases. This would be easier to swallow if such a large proportion of government, social landlords and commentators didn’t consider housing support to be some magnanimous, easily accessible fountain of subsidised housing. Through ITV news investigations, findings of the Grenfell Inquiry, social media activism and a change in tone at the Housing Ombudsman, recent years have revealed a range of structural and cultural issues in the sector. If the rent rises were going towards addressing these issues they might feel justifiable, but they’re not.

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RESEARCH

Welcome In this issue we look back at a year of research publications covering three topical housing issues worldwide. In 2018 the US government’s Housing and Urban Development Department introduced a new policy of smoke-free environments in social housing. It means that in all HUD-funded apartment blocks residents aren’t allowed to smoke, even in their own homes. A number of research studies have looked at the practical and ethical dimensions of the ban. Community living is also on the minds of landlords with flats and houses connected to district heating networks. The UK government last month announced further funding to modernise existing networks and develop new ones, as a vital part of the shift to net zero carbon. But already existing

networks were mostly built to run at high temperatures. What are the prospects for switching to modern energy sources such as heat pumps that require lower temperature inputs? And, finally, around the world governments are facing the long-term challenge of building enough homes at affordable cost while public finances are squeezed. In many countries, entrenched poverty means reaching those on the lowest incomes requires strong commitment in the form of subsidies. Some have tackled the issue by bringing in the private sector to boost construction. But there’s a trade-off, as researchers point out. Janis Bright Editor, Evidence

A smoking ban in public housing: Ethical and effective? Since 2018 residents of public housing in the US have been banned from smoking in their own homes. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) brought in the policy with 18 months for managers to comply fully. Public housing authorities must ban the use of combustible smoking products in the home and anywhere within 25 yards of the premises, but how the rules are implemented is broadly left to PHAs’ discretion. Penalties for residents smoking can include fines and eviction from the home. Now a series of research projects has looked at the practical effects as well as the ethics of the policy. Firstly on the ethical dimension, researchers Goldberg and Levy said the issue is to weigh up the balance of allowing people autonomy versus the public harm of smoking. In the US, smoking is, of course, legal for adults, but there are various restrictions on smoking in public places. The policy brought in by HUD goes far beyond that in removing people’s right to smoke in their own home. That said, the ban does not apply to tobacco substitutes such as gum

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and only applies to combustible materials in multi-home blocks, so it contains an element of fire prevention as well as individual health. Freedom from secondhand smoke is another important element. The researchers point out that many people living in public housing are particularly vulnerable to health harm from this, as they have pre-existing health conditions such as asthma. Weighed against this is potential unfairness, as only HUD public housing is affected. Housing funded by individual states and market housing isn’t subject to the ban. In addition, the measure disproportionately affects people living in poverty, and Black communities. Almost half of all public housing households are non-Hispanic Black, compared with 19% of all tenants in rented housing. Smoking is much more prevalent in public housing than in the population generally. The researchers found that enforcement is a vital element of the policy, so that it’s seen to be properly and fairly applied. They note that “implementation measures such

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as providing tobacco treatment (counselling, medication), resident and community engagement, and effective communication strategies on impending policies and subsequent enforcement have been absent from existing efforts” but are needed for the policy to have success. Their conclusion is that the benefits of a smoke-free environment strongly outweigh the encroachment on freedoms involved. In fact, they say, the policy should be extended to all multi-home housing. Ellen Childs and colleagues looked at how Residents of public housing in the US are banned from smoking in their own homes PHAs that had voluntarily brought in smoke-free policies before the overall ban and age groups. Younger households were less affected went about it. The great majority of those in the study whereas older households showed a faster rate of turnover. had incorporated the rule into the tenancy agreement. In In addition, Hispanic households were less likely to move contrast to Goldberg and Levy’s findings, most engaged out under a smoke-free policy, but Native American with residents beforehand and held information sessions, households were more likely to move. The research could surveys, etc. Almost three quarters offered residents help not identify, however, whether the smoking policy was the and support to reduce or quit smoking, with about 40% cause of moves in individual cases. calling on the services of external experts. The health benefits of stopping smoking and having Enforcement activity included issuing violation notices a smoke-free environment are well documented. But as and talking with residents about violations, and sometimes Goldberg and Levy noted, engagement and treatment issuing fines. Going to court or starting eviction proceedings haven’t always been available in line with the HUD policy. was a rarity. Childs and colleagues said: “PHA staff Smoking remains concentrated among disadvantaged recognised the importance of being flexible and supportive communities. In Baltimore, researchers reported on a study of residents throughout the implementation process. [They] using peer group interventions to help reach and support understood that it is difficult to quit smoking and worked people in vulnerable groups, including public housing proactively with residents to support their adherence.” residents. Turning to the practical health effects, a series of Former smokers were recruited and trained to act research projects has considered housing projects in as mentors to people living in the same public housing different cities. Elle Anastasiou and colleagues measured complex who wanted to stop. Almost all of those taking secondhand smoke exposure over three years in New York part were African American. The study found that overall, from just before the ban came into force. They compared participants reduced their smoking and some stopped the exposure of non-smoking households in public and altogether. More people quit smoking than in a control privately-managed housing blocks and found that nicotine group. The researchers believe that having the mentors concentration in communal hallways in the public blocks living in the same place, where they might meet people on fell more quickly than in the private ones where there was the programme often, was important to its success. no ban. A further concern has been that smoking bans could lead Not Just Public Housing: An Ethical Analysis of Expanding to higher turnover in public housing as people who did Smoke-free Housing Policies in the United States, Sydney L. not want to be subject to it would move out. Researchers Goldberg, MBE and Douglas E. Levy, PhD. Public Health Reports from Massachusetts studied HUD housing projects where http://tinyurl.com/r9m4w9vk smoking bans had been introduced piecemeal in the years before the overall policy was adopted. Assessing Smoke-Free Housing Implementation David Cheng and colleagues found there was minimal Approaches to Inform Best Practices: A National effect on the overall turnover rate in public housing. Survey of Early-Adopting Public Housing Authorities, However, there were differences among ethnic groups Ellen Childs and colleagues, International Journal HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JANUARY 2024

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of Environmental Research and Public https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/7/3854

Health

Long-Term Trends in Secondhand Smoke Exposure in High-Rise Housing Serving Low-Income Residents in New York City: Three-Year Evaluation of a Federal Smoking Ban in Public Housing, 2018–2021, Elle Anastasiou and colleagues, Nicotine and Tobacco Research https://academic.oup.com/ntr/article/25/1/164/6679269

Smoke-Free Policies and Resident Turnover: An Evaluation in Massachusetts Public Housing From 2009-2018, David Cheng and colleagues , American Journal of Preventive Medicine http://tinyurl.com/y35f2dw8 Peer mentoring for smoking cessation in public housing: A mixed-methods study, Jummai Apata and colleagues, Frontiers in Public Health http://tinyurl.com/4vj5urap

Heat networks: A warm future? Last month the UK government announced important networks have attracted research into both their technical new funding and other measures to boost takeup of and social aspects. A study in a coal-dependent area of ‘green’ improvements in the housing stock. Poland reported the strong health benefits for low-income Prominent in the list of initiatives to start from 2025 was people in heat networks compared with those obliged to action to promote construction of new heat networks, and burn coal or wood to heat their homes. to improve the efficiency of existing ones. The government In Denmark, an experiment to digitise heat supply says that heat networks are “vital to making net zero a reality achieved interesting results. The researchers established in the UK” and in urban areas are often the lowest cost, lowthat common problems with heat networks include the carbon option. fact that heat is distributed unevenly among flats in a block, About 900,000 homes are covered by heat networks and that energy is wasted with high ‘return’ temperatures (also called district heating) in the UK, according to the (the heat returning to source as it wasn’t distributed in the Social Market Foundation. They work by distributing heat building). In addition, the demand is uneven, with some from a central source to individual homes that don’t then users needing extra, while some flats may be empty. Low need their own boiler. Most systems are in the social housing temperature systems are vital to a greener future, the sector, and most of these were originally built in the 1960s. researchers say, but this hasn’t been possible with inefficient So, they are ageing and reflect the technology of the time. radiator control and uneven heat distribution. A feature of the networks in the social housing sector is that most (85% according to the government) are unmetered, so those connected pay via a service charge, not by energy use. Landlords see this feature as an advantage, as it means those in most need (perhaps with young children, or with medical conditions) and on low incomes won’t be penalised for using more energy than their neighbours. But the SMF argues that this is wasteful as people have no incentive to use less. UK residents in heat networks have suffered recently from the hike in energy costs, which are uncapped, unlike other types of supply. The government proposes to appoint Ofgem to become heat networks regulator via the Energy Security Bill. Around the world, heat About 900,000 homes are covered by heat networks in the UK

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The team investigated whether digital devices attached to radiators could address the problems. These were used first to identify the highest energy use flat in the block (this could be because of the residents’ needs or because adjacent flats were cold). The required supply temperature of the network could then be determined, based on what was needed to give adequate thermal comfort in that flat. The researchers found that lower supply temperatures, which save fuel, could give residents adequate thermal comfort even in winter, without additional insulation or other building modifications. Researchers from Italy also stress the importance of moving to lower input temperature systems for a low carbon future. Reviewing studies from across Europe, they also confirmed that this was possible without major changes to the infrastructure of the network. Typically, networks were built with over-capacity and radiators larger than required. This means that with lower temperature input, thermal comfort can still be achieved with the system running for enough hours a day. In Groningen in the Netherlands, residents of a neighbourhood were consulted about what heating system they would like to have in future. District heating was the most favoured option, above individual systems. But it also drew the most negative responses, mainly because people feared high bills, the cost of the investment and the disruption of construction. The researchers noted that while it’s important to involve people from the start

in decision-making, it’s hard for them to consider abstract concepts when all options are open. We can’t keep heating like this: A fairer deal for heat networks, Will Damazer, Social Market Foundation http://tinyurl.com/42u4crvt Energy poverty, housing conditions, and selfassessed health: Evidence from Poland, Jakub Sokolowski and colleagues, Housing Studies http://tinyurl.com/yc6e75wm Demand side digitalisation: A methodology using heat cost allocators and energy meters to secure low-temperature operations in existing buildings connected to district heating networks, Michele Tunzi and colleagues, Energy http://tinyurl.com/5n8h2w6t Reduction of supply temperature in existing district heating: A review of strategies and implementations, E Guelpa and colleagues, Energy http://tinyurl.com/yryh6xy3 Involving Citizens in Heat Planning: A Participatory Process Design for Informed Decision-Making, Kathelijne Bouw and colleagues, Sustainability http://tinyurl.com/43zhz3rw

How to build more affordable homes: Are private sector partnerships an answer? The perennial question of how to get more affordable housing built has been in the minds of researchers in 2023. Around the world, the long-term trend has been for fewer numbers of new affordable homes to be built. But some countries have bucked it by tapping into the private market – with all the mixed blessings that entails. One of the problems of bringing the private sector on board is it tends to increase spatial inequalities based on income. In Istanbul, the Turkish institution TOKI (Housing Development Corporation) has set up public-private partnerships for high-end housing construction, in order to subsidise new housing for low-income people. The government is legally allowed to acquire land from municipalities either for free or at low cost – enabling affordable housing projects to go ahead. The housing is sold to low-income families on a 25-year ministry-sponsored loan. As a result of the free land and partnership, the government aim of keeping costs down for those on very low incomes can be achieved. However, it does mean that the affordable housing can only be built on the city’s periphery, not within the city where costs are high. And even then, researcher Suheyla Turk reports the monthly cost came to 32% of average social security-based

income and for those on the lowest incomes could reach an unsustainable 70%. The Nigerian government has brought in a variety of policies over the last two decades to tackle the persistent problems of shortage and high cost of housing. The rapidly increasing population and shift toward urban living have created acute problems. But as Enwin and Ikiriko note, policy responses have been piecemeal and of limited effectiveness. As in many countries, policies focused on shifting away from direct government intervention in favour of bringing in the private sector. One initiative, the Family Housing Fund, provides subsidies to developers to provide affordable housing. Another aims to work with community organisations to develop very local housing solutions. But researchers note a formidable series of barriers to increasing supply, including high construction and land costs, lack of basic infrastructure such as water and electricity, and weak planning measures. In addition, people living in poverty have little access to finance. Corruption and bureaucracy are also resulting in substandard construction, delays and misappropriation of funding, the authors note. In Peru, despite economic growth over two decades, government spending on housing and community services HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JANUARY 2024

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TOKI uses upmarket building to cross subsidise social homes

has fallen to just 0.45% of GDP – below the South American regional average. Funding to create low-cost housing is provided by Fondo MIVIVIENDA (FMV) but researchers note that this government institution previously actually built housing; now that’s undertaken by the private sector. One programme run by FMV is the Techo Propio which offers grants to people wanting to build or renovate their own homes. In addition, people wanting to acquire social housing can obtain 20-year loans. Both groups must have a minimum savings level. To date, most of the recipients have been younger adults, and the great majority were in lower income groups. A separate funding programme is more accessible to middle-income households. However, the researchers report that: “It became evident that there is a considerable gap between demand and supply. The existing supply is only able to meet 17.7% of the effective demand, leaving a substantial portion of the population with unmet housing needs.” This in turn leads people who cannot access decent low-cost housing to turn to informally built settlements that lack proper standards. Pakistan similarly faces a dramatic shortage estimated at more than 12 million homes, most of which are needed in rural areas and around half of which are needed for lowincome households. It’s thought that almost half of the urban population live in informal settlements. Recent government initiatives to develop microfinance for housing are showing promise. Analysis by Basri and colleagues of one loan scheme found it included some families from very low income groups that wouldn’t have been reached under previous government initiatives. In addition, households reported that they were able to meet their payments without excessive strain on their finances. Living conditions and sanitation in the new or renovated housing were of a higher standard than before. Importantly, recipients of the loans reported a greater sense of security in their home than before. They also reported that family and friends visited more often than before. They did have reservations about the amount of the loan, which is capped. The amount available needs to be

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doubled, they felt, to realistically cover costs. As a result, some projects were as yet unfinished. Most researchers point out that where the private sector is brought in to aid construction of affordable housing, it must go hand in hand with increased powers for local authorities – both to enable schemes and to ensure quality standards. Private finance integration to affordable housing production: A comparison between Copenhagen and Istanbul, Journal of Housing and the Built Environment http://tinyurl.com/2w2hzue7 Understanding the Challenges of Affordable Housing Provision in Nigeria: An Analysis of Key Factors and Policy Implications, Anthony Dornubari Enwin and Tamunoikuronibo Dawaye Ikiriko, International Journal of Theoretical and Applied Sciences http://tinyurl.com/bdnrm85u Policies and Mechanisms of Public Financing for Social Housing in Peru, Karen Soledad Villanueva-Parades and Grace Ximena Villanueva-Parades, Sustainability https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/11/8919 Impact of Housing Microfinance on SocioEconomic Indicators: A Study of Prime Minister’s Low-Cost Housing Scheme in Pakistan, Adnan Hushmat and Rabia Basri, International Journal of Mangement Research and Emerging Sciences http://tinyurl.com/mr3wphhh Evidence newsletter editor: Dr Janis Bright www.hqnetwork.co.uk email: evidence@hqnetwork.co.uk  follow us on twitter @hqn_news

Proving your worth – keeping tenants safe while meeting the consumer standards The countdown has started. The Regulator of Social Housing’s inspections begin in Spring 2024. Meanwhile, the Housing Ombudsman is publishing its special reports into investigations at landlords. No one wants to receive a follow up letter from the minister. HQN can support you to answer the key inspection questions. Can you prove you: • Hold the right data on all your homes? • Have accurate Tenant Satisfaction Measures and act on them? • Are taking all necessary steps to keep residents safe? • Are listening to and acting on what residents say? • Deal with complaints thoroughly? Do you learn from them? • Tailor services around the needs of tenants and look after vulnerable people? Are your plans to improve services plausible? Are they SMART? Does your board or cabinet have a firm grip on the service? Can they answer questions from inspectors? We can: • Brief leadership teams on what the RSH and Housing Ombudsman expects of you • Brief staff on how they can help meet the standards – “Empowering staff is key to improving service delivery” says the Housing Ombudsman • Run reality checks on the quality of customer-facing services (e.g. call handling, voids and record keeping) • Analyse the quality of complaint handling • Provide hands on help – document reviews and on-tap critical friend support through to intelligence-led in-depth mock inspections.

“The most helpful (and engaging!) session I’ve been to on consumer regs (and I’ve been to a few!). I shared the slides with our exec and leadership, flagging the key task slides in particular – some great challenges.” Rosie Hazeldine, settle

No landlord will be perfect at the start. HQN is working with landlords of all types and sizes, including those that have been through the RSH pilot exercises. We have a service for every budget, with discounts for HQN members. Members get access to our self-assessment toolkit on the consumer standards.

To find out more, contact Anna Pattison at anna.pattison@hqnetwork.co.uk or visit hqnetwork.co.uk/consultancy

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Housing in Practice Out of the void In the latest in our Housing in Practice series, Neil Merrick reports on a housing association that isn’t just trying to reduce voids by turning them around faster but is supporting residents into sustainable tenancies at the same time.

The team do a final check of the property

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The resident’s story

meets their needs. “It improves the flexibility within our stock,” says Mark Batchelor, Hyde’s director of property services.

In early 2023, ‘Anna’ (name changed) was accepted by the Hyde Group as a priority move, as she was fleeing domestic abuse. How is Hyde reducing turnaround times? As she had more children than when she first became a Hyde tenant, Anna moved with her family and cat from a Just over a year ago, Hyde pledged to cut the time its homes two-bedroom house in London to a larger property outside are empty by speeding up the process of preparing a the capital. She received help with moving costs and property for new tenants. redecorating her new home from Hyde’s domestic abuse Instead of waiting for a tenant to move out, it now assesses and hardship funds. a property up to four weeks beforehand – as soon as the Anna was full of praise for the support she received from outgoing tenant hands in their notice. This allows managers Hyde’s empty homes and lettings to evaluate the amount of work team. “I have never felt so alone that needs to be done prior to and isolated in all my life with “In 2022, it took an average the next tenant moving in. going through domestic abuse “We needed to optimise the of 55 days between a tenant and having to leave my home and notice period,” says Emmanuella moving out of a [Hyde] home everything I know,” she told Lisa, Edokpa, Hyde’s head of home a Hyde tenancy officer, in a letter. standards, who manages its and new tenants moving The availability of the three-bed empty homes and letting team. in. By October 2023, the house was partly down to Hyde “By the time a person moves out, turning around its voids faster. we have everything we need to turnaround time had been Meanwhile, the welcome that reduce the void time.” halved to just 27 days” Anna and her children received Hyde spends an average of was in line with the group’s policy £6,500 on each property in of creating sustainable tenancies, with people living in readiness for a new tenant. Gas safety and plumbing is homes that are suited to their needs. checked, and utility companies notified. Rubbish must be cleared out, while gardens may also need tidying up. Why is it important to reduce the turnaround time for Occasionally, more extensive repairs or redecoration voids? is required. It isn’t unusual for the voids team to spend 10 days inside a home prior to it being relet. “The time we work Along with most local authorities, the councils Hyde works on the void depends on the state a property is left in,” says with in London, south-east England, and the East Midlands Edokpa. have significant waiting lists. Faster turnaround of voids not only benefits prospective How successful has the new policy been? tenants, it also helps existing Hyde residents who request a priority move or request to move due to life-changing Hyde has approximately 31,000 general needs tenants and circumstances in the hope of finding a property that better 14,000 shared owners.

Void property – before and after HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JANUARY 2024

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In 2022, it took an average of 55 days between a tenant moving out of a home and a new tenant moving in. By October 2023, the turnaround time had been halved to just 27 days. Is it just a question of getting homes ready sooner? No. Empty homes represent poor use of a scarce resource, and are a wasted asset for social landlords. Hyde therefore strives to ensure properties are suitable for new occupants, so that a tenancy is likely to be sustainable. In the long run, this should reduce voids through tenants remaining in the property longer once it’s relet. According to Mark Batchelor, Hyde is “bringing the customer and the property closer together”. The key isn’t just getting a home ready to relet, but communicating with councils effectively so that Hyde matches properties with appropriate tenants. “They should not move into a property that is too small or does not meet mobility needs.”

“We don’t want anybody to live where they don’t want to” Michelle, Empty Homes and Lettings Advisor, Hyde Group With waiting lists growing, there’s a danger that some people will grab the first home offered to them, regardless of suitability. This makes it even more important to carry out checks beforehand, adds Batchelor. Prior to moving in, anybody under 25 is automatically referred to Hyde’s tenancy sustainment team, which offers advice on benefits and other types of support. Would-be tenants deemed ‘vulnerable’, including those with physical disabilities and mental health needs, receive additional guidance, while those in receipt of universal credit may be directed towards training opportunities. “We make sure the customer is in the right home and can sustain their tenancy,” says Edokpa. Support continues on the day a tenant moves in, and over the coming weeks. During the past five years, Hyde has set up a team of 11 empty homes and lettings (EHL) advisors in different regions who welcome tenants, ensure they are aware of their responsibilities, and ultimately hand them their keys.

to assess their suitability, and checking they can afford to rent the property. “Conversations with prospective tenants are extremely important,” she says. “Some applications can be straightforward, while others are more complex. An applicant could be a domestic abuse survivor or have challenges with mental health issues.” Initial interviews take place over the phone. Generally, an advisor meets an applicant for the first time when they show them around the property, inform them how to take meter readings, and discuss issues such as fire safety and heating and ventilation. By building up a one-to-one relationship, Michelle and other EHL advisors hope that new tenants not only start to feel at home faster but are committed to their tenancy. “We don’t want anybody to live where they don’t want to,” she adds. What does Hyde’s policy on voids and new tenants demonstrate? With housing in short supply, it’s more important than ever that houses and flats don’t sit empty for long periods and, when available, are used to create sustainable tenancies. By building more homes and making existing ones available for reletting faster, Hyde wants to respond to people’s circumstances. This means finding out as much as possible about their needs beforehand, and then welcoming them to their new home. The work of EHL advisors is critical, explains Edokpa, not just to make people feel comfortable about their decision they are taking, but because advisors provide prospective tenants with their first impression of Hyde as a landlord. “We want to make sure they are happy with where they’re about to live and see it as a place they can call home,” she adds.

What specifically does an ELH advisor do? Michelle, an EHL advisor in Kent, has worked for Hyde for 20 years. Her role includes interviewing applicants

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The Hyde Empty Homes and Lettings team helps a tenant move into her new home

2024 HQN is delighted to announce the return of Housing’s Next Generation – the annual competition designed to showcase and celebrate the brightest young talent working in housing. Nominations open on 2 February and we’re calling on housing associations, local authorities, ALMOs and other relevant organisations to get involved. The stages of the competition are as follows:

FEB

Nominations open (2 February)

APR

Closing date for nominations (7 April) The top 20 are announced (22 April)

MAY

Completion of the top 20 challenge (12 May) Judges select the final ten (28 May)

JUN Live semi-final and final five announced JUL

Grand final at the HQN annual conference (16 and 18 July)

For more information, please contact Charlie Maunder at charlie.maunder@hqnetwork.co.uk

Ombudsman Corner

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By Richard Blakeway, the Housing Ombudsman

Recently I met with the board of a social landlord who asked what I thought about conditions in the private rented sector. For while the poor conditions in some of those homes provides no excuse for social landlords not to meet their own obligations, it exposes the uneven playing field of redress. Presently, private landlords can volunteer to join our ombudsman but few do, which means the vast majority of private tenants don’t have the same redress rights as social housing residents. That could be about to change. The Renters (Reform) Bill is currently working its way through parliament, and landlords will be required to join a government-approved ombudsman. The government has indicated this should be the Housing Ombudsman Service and have set out the strategic benefits of us providing redress for both social and private tenants. This intention was welcomed by the shadow minister, and also by us. I’ll come to why this is a very good thing to ensure a fairer rental market, not only for tenants but also landlords, including social landlords, in a moment. But, I hear some of you think, what does this mean for our existing work? It’s a reasonable question and has been a key consideration for us when considering our role in the private rented sector. We’re absolutely clear that expanding into the PRS shouldn’t undermine or dilute our work in social housing. It’ll therefore be funded separately and delivered by a separate team, including the preparatory work.

“...it’s also important that redress routes come together, to avoid accountability being diluted and access impaired”

But it’ll also bring benefits for existing members. We’re still operating from the same systems we had when we received a fraction of the complaints we do today, and had a fifth of the staff. Therefore, it’ll provide us with more opportunities to develop our systems, including for casework management and submitting evidence as well as automated casework updates, and to train, develop and retain colleagues. This will benefit everyone. We’re uniquely placed to deliver one front door, one back office and one coherent approach to dispute resolution in the rental market. But in delivering a coherent approach to redress in the rental market, we don’t expect existing caseworkers to take on this work but would bring in new colleagues. This coherent approach is crucial given the Landlord and Tenant Act doesn’t distinguish between tenures, alongside other key legislation like hazards, and this new legislation would also make the Decent Homes Standard universal. So, as the policy landscape converges, it’s also important that redress routes come together, to avoid accountability being diluted and access impaired. There would be no sense for neighbours in the same building being sent different routes for the same problem. We already see this every day, with about one in five residents who reach us having an issue outside our jurisdiction because, for example, their landlord is private. This approach to unifying housing redress will also add much-needed coherence to an increasingly complex, and sometimes fragmented, regulatory environment. These are points highlighted by others. The National Housing Federation rightly pointed out during the committee stages how, were a separate ombudsman to be created, those housing associations with private rented homes would have to join (at least) two ombudsmen. The Local Government Association pointed out the importance of coherence between redress and enforcement through councils – a critical point, given an ombudsman doesn’t operate in isolation. And

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legal experts pointed out the importance of coherence with the courts. It’s the right time for the Housing Ombudsman to expand our offer redress to all renters. Our delivery of new powers under the Social Housing (Regulation) Act is well advanced, with the Complaint Handling Code consultation completed and wider orders to examine policy and practice already issued to several landlords. Every change will be in place potentially before the Renters (Reform) Bill receives Royal Assent. The experience we have of recruiting and inducting new colleagues at pace – as well as being resilient in the face of unprecedented casework volumes – is also invaluable. At present, we complete an investigation about every 30 minutes. When our annual report is laid before parliament shortly, it’ll show we investigated more than half of cases within six months of them landing on our desk and we retain a relentless focus on timely adjudication. That experience and know-how could be essential here, especially our work with smaller landlords, with 16% of our current members owning fewer than 10 homes. The Renters (Reform) Bill is an expansive piece of legislation with many moving parts. The effectiveness of redress will depend on the implementation of the new landlord portal, the guidance around tenant-landlord relationships and the evolving role of the courts and councils. In developing our plans for redress, we’ll work with the courts and councils, and landlord and tenant groups as we design and implement them. This collaboration brings us back to that boardroom where I was asked that question. The reason I was there was because I know an ombudsman isn’t a substitute for effective landlord-tenant relationships. It isn’t a surrogate for complaints handling. That’s one reason why I’ve prioritised the introduction of our code and given

“Everyone deserves a decent home, and residents and landlords need an effective, impartial and independent ombudsman” landlords the tools to resolve disputes fairly and speedily themselves. This type of support would be key in the PRS, too. And while there are many good and committed private landlords, the problems of non-decent, ageing homes as well as poor complaint handling will be present as they are in social housing. Everyone deserves a decent home, and residents and landlords need an effective, impartial and independent ombudsman. Residents and landlords are seeing the benefits in social housing to deliver fairness and support learning and the improvement of conditions. Now there’s a valuable opportunity to extend these benefits across the rental market.

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Building a culture of excellence Jahedur Rahman, Operational Director, Housing and Building Safety, Haringey Council

It’s been said that ‘culture eats strategy for breakfast’. For Haringey’s housing service, building an open and positive team culture has been at the core of service transformation. Last year wasn’t easy. We took our ALMO, Homes for Haringey, back inhouse in June 2022. In January 2023, we selfreferred to the Regulator of Social Housing and were found in breach of safety standards. We also had a paragraph 49 Investigation by the Housing Ombudsman. In response, we published a 180-point improvement plan in April 2023, with a two-year deadline to get back on track. “In developing the plan, I was determined that we addressed all the issues we were facing head on. The plan provides the blueprint for our improved service and sets out in detail how we will deliver the changes, improvements and benefits that our residents need and deserve to see,” said David Joyce, Haringey’s Director of Placemaking and Housing. “And having open and honest conversations – at every level of our organisation and externally – have played a vital role in helping us move towards the goals we’ve set ourselves,” he added. Since self-referring, we’ve met regularly with the regulator. Not all the conversations have been comfortable, of course, but we’ve welcomed – and benefited from – external scrutiny. Our chief executive chairs a housing services improvement board, which includes representation from both the council administration and opposition councillors, and residents have provided a sounding board throughout. A new engagement structure is now in place to ensure their voices influence all our key strategic and operational decisions in future. And, of course, we’ve needed to bring our service with us, too. “Creating a positive team culture is central to our journey of improvement and has been a challenge when staff are adjusting to new ways of working and integrating into the wider organisation at the same time,” David continues. Despite the challenges, things are turning round. For example, in the last 11 months we’ve reduced the number of homes without a valid electrical certificate (EICR) from 8,282 to just 650. We’ve invested £12 million in compliance, including a new system to support our processes going forward. We’ve reduced the outstanding fire risk actions

by 50% and brought 1,000 homes up to the Decent Homes Standard. Since I joined Haringey Council 12 months ago, I’ve been mindful not to endorse a blame culture on past failures. The new governance process has enabled me to create a safe space for managers to share where they are, draw a line under the legacy issues and focus on where we need to be. Whilst the guiding principle is implementing our housing improvement plan, we’re on a journey to fundamentally change and improve the way we work. This means having honest conversations. I hold quarterly leadership forums so that managers can hear from me and my leadership team and external speakers. (Guests have included Housing Ombudsman Richard Blakeway, the Regulator of Social Housing and HQN’s own Alistair McIntosh.) Because good work isn’t always recognised and mistakes are held up as evidence, I also use these forums to reward and celebrate good practice and staff who have gone the extra mile. The Housing Service was also well represented at the council’s corporate staff awards recently, gaining staff further recognition. Support Officer Qasim Qureshi, who won the Courageous Award and Officer of the Year Awards, commented: “I’ve been working for five years in Haringey Council and as a person with a learning disability, I’m very happy with what I’m doing ... What I do love about my job is working with residents and being in the community, and I have a great team to work with as well. It’s a positive foundation on which to build.” We’re still nearer the start of our journey than the end and there’s a lot of hard work to do to achieve a culture of excellence. But every day I meet staff who are more responsive and working hard to improve performance. We’ll continue to hold ourselves accountable and make sure staff feel involved, so we can build the culture of excellence we want to be known for.

Qasim (left) with Haringey Council Chief Executive Andy Donald (right)

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Mourning the decline of ALMOs tenure nor the democratic accountability embedded within council housing. It’s therefore been disheartening, despite the hard evidence that ALMOs work, to witness the steady closure of ALMOs across the country. It’s been a challenging environment for all social landlords over the past decade, as austerity hit and demands increased and ALMOs were often seen (falsely) as too expensive. Yet, without additional funding or central government support many councils kept As I leave the National Federation of ALMOs (NFA) and join their ALMOs and some councils set one up even after the HQN, the country is anticipating a general election. This decent homes funding had ended. These councils value seems like a good time to reflect on what the ALMO model what their ALMOs bring through their highly-focused, brought to councils, tenants and the sector as a whole, and expert housing management service with in-built tenant what lessons could be learnt by everyone who’s committed engagement – and the results so far are clear to see, with to improving the quality of social homes as well as the the half-yearly TSM figures showing ALMO averages ahead services provided to tenants. of council averages in every category at no additional cost. What I’ve always loved about ALMOs is their focus on With the next government unlikely to have the luxury housing management. Having grown up in a council house of significant amounts of public money to spend, how and then going from university to the LSE to study for my might they use the lessons of that time to target funding to masters in housing under Anne Power and doing my trainee help improve services and the quality of homes for social year as a housing officer on Churchill Gardens Estate in housing tenants? Westminster with JSS Pinnacle, The carrot and stick approach I couldn’t help but be steeped was always one I thought worked in the importance of listening “It’s no good bashing social well – it’s no good bashing social to tenants as well as getting housing landlords over the head housing landlords over customer service right first time. repeatedly and shouting at them the head repeatedly and Over my career I learnt that to improve without offering many housing management some positive motivation and shouting at them to improve issues are complicated and the resources required to make without offering some require time, skill, perseverance a difference. The country is in and patience to resolve them desperate need of significant positive motivation and the properly. Unfortunately, not all of new social housing, resources required to make a amounts social landlords appreciate that and 20 years after the decent difference” and put enough resources where homes programme our existing they need to be – on the frontline. homes are in need of significant Joining the NFA back in 2007, investment. I got to work with a growing number of tenant-focused The forthcoming proactive regulation regime provides organisations driven by the decent homes programme to part of the solution. However, without additional resources improve services to access government funding to improve staff are likely to become demotivated gatekeepers of tenants’ homes. It was inspiring and highly motivating to scarce resources, which will have a detrimental impact on see such great leaders work with their boards of councillors both customer services and the quality and availability of and residents to drive cultural change and turn around homes. performance and attitudes to tenants. The prospect The offer of government investment through the of money helped enormously. It’s much easier to get Affordable Housing Programme or a new decent homes staff on board, engage with tenants and make hard but and regeneration programme should go hand in hand necessary changes when the result will be new kitchens with the requirement to treat tenants with respect, provide and bathrooms, improved energy efficiency and bettergood housing management services, and a prompt and looking estates. However, the benefits of the desire to work customer-friendly repair service. with tenants to improve the service and change the culture In 2024, social housing landlords will continue to be put before the money came in should not be underestimated. under scrutiny but I’d urge everyone to work to improve the In the heady days of 70 ALMOs operating across the basics and then make the case for more investment in social country we saw performance soar, with many ALMOs housing for the future – it’s not often the wider public and receiving the top 3-star rating from the Audit Commission, politicians look at our sector and we need to use this time to improving homes and showing there was another way to show what we’re capable of and what a difference that can manage council housing which didn’t lose the security of make to individuals, as well as society as a whole. Chloe Fletcher, Director, HQN

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Finding digital solutions to today’s housing challenges Mark Dewell, SVP, Education, Government and Social Housing, Advanced

While problems for the housing sector appear to stack up on an almost daily basis, employees are doing a sterling job of ploughing forwards. In an era of change and uncertainty, workers in both public and private sectors are adapting to the pace of change, utilising new digital solutions to work faster and with more efficiency. These solutions can support all areas of operation, from reducing voids to streamlining new builds. Although not a panacea, technology has an ever-more vital role to play in the housing sector, particularly as recent government legislation comes into effect. New regulations mean that housing providers must be on the ball when it comes to compliance and take a more proactive approach to health and safety and tenant communication. Beside new legislation, interest rates hit a 15-year high in 2023, pushing up costs for landlords and dissuading would-be buyers from entering the market. This meant fewer available properties and higher rent for tenants. Combined with the cost-of-living crisis, this led more of the UK population to seek out social housing, putting additional strain on an already overburdened system. To compound the problem further, interest rate hikes meant that local authorities and social housing providers were having to use a large proportion of their budgets servicing debt, rather than on public services – bad news for those who rely on the provision of social housing. The obvious answer to a housing shortage is to build, and on this front the UK government has had some impact. The Brownfield Land Release Fund 2 has, so far, supported at least 89 local authorities over 160 projects, and helped release brownfield sites for nearly 7,000 homes. However, funding doesn’t appear to be sufficient across the board. An analysis of government data by the Independent in 2023 concluded that only one-third of local authorities in England had completed any new home builds in 2021-2022, with more than half of councils failing to build a single home. This has led to a greater reliance on crosssubsidy – building a mix of homes for social and private rent. At the same time, many housing providers are dealing with an ageing housing stock, requiring the planning of maintenance and repair. On top of this, energy efficiency targets need to be met, increasing the workload further.

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When it comes to finding solutions, housing providers would benefit from technology designed to tackle additional workload. Field service management software, for example, should give managers a clear oversight on maintenance and repairs, and enable the deployment of resources in the most efficient way possible. In terms of procurement, housing providers should look to source software that lets them compare quotes, review compliance data and choose suppliers based on historical performance. When considering supplier management software, the solution should be able to give real-time insights into supplier risk, allowing the user to make changes based on informed data. Another area not to be overlooked is communication. Having an effective system in place for two-way dialogue between tenant and landlord has become highly important, both in terms of safety and legal compliance. The Social Housing (Regulation) Act requires complaints pertaining to damp, mould, other hazards and antisocial behaviour to be dealt with under strict timeframes, with unlimited fines for non-compliance. To deal with complaints effectively, housing providers would benefit from field service management software designed to improve client communication. Adopting this kind of solution should give the provider a clear view of appointment planning, leading to higher first-time fix rates and better client satisfaction. The software should also benefit the tenant, allowing for 24/7 access with automated replies and chatbot integration. Employee management is a further area to consider. Adopting a continuous performance management model (CPM) ensures staff members are given real-time feedback, with clear goals and objectives to meet. In contrast to an out-dated ‘annual appraisal’ model, the constructive feedback inherit in a CPM improves staff engagement and well-being, leading to increased retention. Housing providers also need to keep a keen eye on their environmental responsibilities. While it may be true that the government has pushed back on pledges concerning the sale of new gas boilers and fines for landlords who fail to upgrade their properties, housing providers must continue to forge ahead when pursuing green measures. Advanced’s recent white paper, Getting Your House in Order, goes into detail on the ESG challenge. The paper discusses improving the tenant experience, and how to use data to elevate levels of quality and safety in the home. Housing providers who put the environment at the forefront of their operations can not only set the standard for industry but ensure they’re ahead of the game in an ever-changing political climate. More importantly, green measures have an immeasurable impact on the people who live in our homes.

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SPOTLIGHT

A week in the life of... Name: Rani Mahal Job title: Repairs Scheduler Company: bpha

Colleague since: 2022 Location, location, Location: Hybrid. Office is based in Bedford Previous employment: Planner, Wates

Monday My week normally starts with going through the operatives’ tasks on our electronic system, TotalMobile. The system enables us to schedule jobs for operatives, moving appointments for customers and booking in follow-up jobs. The operatives are able to see the jobs in real time on their tablets while they are out in the field. Today, though, we had an outage which meant the first job of the day was to contact all the operatives to let them know where they needed to go. We then had to print out their daily schedule and email it to each of them. This changes the plan for the day but it’s great to see the team pull together and ensure the service to our customers isn’t affected.

Tuesday Today we had a couple come to our reception for help but who struggled to understand English. As I can speak both Hindu and Punjabi, I was asked by one of my colleagues if I could help translate for them. Being able to help both the customers and my colleague in this way gives me a great sense of satisfaction. It means that we’re able to provide the support and assistance that a customer may need in a way that’s easy for them to understand. Within bpha we have a number of colleagues who are multi-lingual and able to help colleagues when assisting customers where English isn’t their first language. This really helps to break down barriers and make customers feel valued.

“Customers take time out of their busy lives to be available for appointments so wherever possible we try to avoid having to reschedule”

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SPOTLIGHT

Wednesday All customers are sent a text message on the day of their appointment to let them know when an operative is on their way to them. Today one of our vans broke down, which meant we had to contact those customers who would be impacted to let them know there may be a delay. We were able to get the vehicle picked up quickly by our servicing partner and a temporary replacement provided, limiting the impact to customers. Customers take time out of their busy lives to be available for appointments so wherever possible we try to avoid having to reschedule. When we do, we always aim to accommodate the customer as much possible and where needed appointments are moved around to meet need and priority.

Thursday Two of our operatives were on a joint visit today which was scheduled to take all day. Unfortunately, due to extreme weather they were only able to complete part of the job. We then started to pull jobs forward for the two operatives for the rest of the day, which involved phoning customers to see if they were able to accommodate a repair being carried out on the same day at short notice. We also received an emergency repair which needed to be completed urgently. We were able to redirect our operative to attend the job for it to be resolved in working hours, avoiding it being pushed to out of hours and inconveniencing the customer.

“Being able to help both the customers and my colleague in this way gives me a great sense of satisfaction”

Friday We received a call from an operative this morning that when attending an address there was a health and safety concern, which meant it needed two people in attendance. After going through all the trades schedules, we were able to contact a colleague who would be able to be diverted to assist the job, without impacting on other appointments. This meant we were able to keep the appointment and the customer’s repair was completed as scheduled. We were also made aware that a colleague’s Solo Protect device had stopped working. Solo Protect is a visible body-worn camera, that records when activated. The device helps to ensure the safety of colleagues who are working alone in the field. We contacted our health and safety team who were able to identify the issue and get it back in working order, meaning the operative could get back to their appointments, without any being missed or having to be rescheduled. This is a role which is full of surprises, and we sometimes have to revert to plan B or even plan C, but the team I work in make it enjoyable at all times. Scheduling is never straightforward, and I’m proud of the work I deliver to play an important part in maintaining customers’ homes.

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SPOTLIGHT

In the frame  Milestone marked Stonewater Social landlord Stonewater marked its 6,000th new home with an event in Ewyas Harold, Herefordshire.

 A good year Eastlight Community Homes Eastlight’s All In project gave 20 Essex residents the opportunity to dedicate a year of their lives to creating a bold solution to a big social issue.

 Moving in Sovini Group Last year Pine Court Housing Association, part of the Sovini Group, acquired 23 homes in a £3.2m deal with Liverpool City Council – leading to local people benefitting from an affordable route to homeownership.

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SPOTLIGHT

 Clean living St Leger Homes The ALMO held a Day of Action which saw tenants and staff carry out litter picks in their neighbourhood.

 Drawing room bcha Support worker Bethany White has lead on the ‘Paint by Numbers’ project, which has seen the creation of several murals across bcha services.

 Tree-mendous Curo The social landlord helped hospice charity Dorothy House by picking up Christmas trees for recycling around Bath and Keynsham.

If you’d like to be featured In the Frame, please email your pictures to max.salsbury@hqnetwork.co.uk

HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JANUARY 2024

SPOTLIGHT

A life in 15 questions Victor Da Cunha Chief Executive, Curo Group

1. What do you do for fun? For me, having a full social life is as important as a career, so when I’m not focusing on social housing, I fill my time with friends, lots of music, some rather bad golf, watching Arsenal, traveling lots to Portugal, some holidays, lots of family time and an occasional cheeky soul weekender. 2. You have the power to change one thing about the social housing sector: what would it be? There’s so much broken with our housing system but if I had a magic wand, and could use it only once, I’d conjure up stable, long-term political leadership at cabinet level; I’d pop someone in there who understands the importance of a truly affordable home for all, someone who is ambitious, bold and prepared to challenge the barriers to the perceived wisdom that frames housing as a financial investment, rather than a universal basic human right for all. 3. What advice would you give to someone starting out in housing? For me, I’d always say, focus on the customer; listen and act on what you hear. If you do, we (the sector) and you (personally) will be successful. 4. Who’s your favourite author, and why? Don’t really have one but I’m currently doing a lot of reading from ‘babies first bath book’ because I have recently become a granddad for the first time and Sofia loves it. 5. Strangest thing you’ve ever experienced? I’ve lots of very happy experiences etched in my mind but I think the strangest experience must surely be the feeling you get the moment just

HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JANUARY 2024

the year. My mum cooks a fantastic gomes sa amongst other things.

before you are anaesthetised; those that have been taken to surgery will know exactly what I mean. It really does feel weird. 6. What are your three favourite albums? Music is really important to me and there are of course far too many great albums, but three obvious ones straight from the hip for me are: Off the Wall – Michael Jackson Raise – Earth Wind and Fire Never Too Much – Luther Vandross Bosh. 7. Sat snugly at home or travelling around the world? I love to travel but coming home is always lovely, too. 8. A world without music or a world without literature? I used to be a DJ and resident in a nightclub before I got married, so it must be music. 9. If you had to work in housing in another country, which would it be, and why? Err, Portugal. 10. Favourite food? Bacalhau a gomes sa – salt cod fish is our national dish in Portugal, and I’ve heard there are supposed to be 365 ways to cook it – one for every day of

11. Pessimistic, optimistic or unsure about the future? I’m very lucky to have been born an optimist. Sometimes too much of an optimist, some would say. I think being optimistic makes for a better life and personal wellbeing. So, my view is that we’ll navigate the future as we always have and will be stronger than we’re today. 12. You can resurrect anyone from history and talk to them for an hour: who, and why? James Brown. Gutted I never heard him live. 13. Favourite film? You can only logically assess films by genre. I refuse to accept that you can have one favourite film as a result. Whilst there are many possible genres, some initial thoughts are: Action – The Usual Suspects Sci-fi – Predator Comedy – Shaun of the Dead Xmas – National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation Romcom – Fifty First Dates John Wick (the first one). 14. If you didn’t work in housing, what would you do? 100% I’d be a DJ. There’s absolutely nothing better than seeing the joy in people’s eyes when they are dancing to a track they love. Music is a massive antidote to most of life’s bumps in the road. 15. What makes for a good life? Family, friends and doing the right thing with a clear sense of social purpose.

SPOTLIGHT

The last word Telling it like it is

By Hannah Fearn, freelance journalist specialising in social affairs

“The sentiments aren’t surprising to anyone working in housing. It’s obvious that a crisis of this depth will take years and a massive injection of funds to resolve”

I heard it first just before Christmas and then, once I had really started listening for it, its echoes were everywhere: dissent. Where chief executives, policy bods and other assorted social housing figures once ‘expressed concerns’, aired their ‘reservations’ or provided ‘necessary scrutiny’, now they’re agitating. They no longer deal only in analysis but outright criticism. With only months until a general election, they’re telling it like it is – and they’re angry. Andy Hulme, chief executive of Hyde Housing – a relative newcomer from the world of banking – speaks of his shock at finding social housing hollowed by decades of government underfunding and left abandoned by cuts to all the public services that used to support social tenants to live stable and rewarding lives. “You have a government that have removed 60% of funding from the sector over the last 10 years, and are effectively starving out some of the poorest families in the UK.” When I interviewed him in November he told me that 85,000 children in London without a permanent home was “absolutely outrageous”. “That’s a reflection of governments that have underinvested in the sector for over a decade. It’s an absolute disgrace, quite frankly, and it needs to be addressed.” Then Mike Ainsley, chair of the National Federation of ALMOs, lost his cool over the refusal to say “the ‘s’ word” – that’s social housing – and gives short shrift to anyone who won’t join him now in saying exactly what this country needs: a massive social house building programme. He wrote in Inside Housing late last year: “It is, in short, the Voldemort of the national political debate in this general election year. And – forgive me – I think we all need to be a bit more like Harry Potter if the Build Social campaign is to have any impact at all. Say that word. Say it loud and say it often.” Then Kate Henderson, the chief executive of the National Housing Federation (which has always advocated for a cooperative approach with government) described the King’s Speech as “disappointing” for housing, just weeks after warning that the sector knows how to fix the housing crisis but that “we need a government bold enough to commit to it”. And finally, when I interviewed calm-headed Peabody COO and CIH vicepresident Elly Hoult, she described our current situation as a “housing emergency”. The role of leaders like herself, she said, was to “continue to keep standing up, continue to keep campaigning”. The sentiments aren’t surprising to anyone working in housing. It’s obvious that a crisis of this depth will take years and a massive injection of funds to resolve. But something has changed, and that’s how willing housing leaders are to speak of the facts in the brutal terms they justify. If the polls are to be trusted there will be a new government this time next year. That shift means that a new generation of the sector’s leaders (some of whom are new to the sector, and some who are old hands) feel freed by the fact that an era of retrenchment and sidelining are likely to be coming to an end. They’re finding their voices and are no longer muffled by compromise. Attacks on government policy, and descriptions of the impact of ministers’ whims on the lives of vulnerable people, are now bold and explicit. They bring forth clarity and moral fortitude. How welcome that is. According to YouGov, housing is now within the top five concerns for voters. There’s no room for anything other than a lion’s roar.

HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JANUARY 2024

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