Housing Quality Magazine July 2021 by HQN Limited

ISSUE 4: JULY 2021 Interview: HSE’s Chief Inspector of Buildings What’s the future of customer expectations? Special pull-out: Evidence

Raising the bar With resident satisfaction rising up the agenda, what can housing do to improve?

HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JULY 2021

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CONTENTS 5 Welcome 6 News in brief 7 Housing by numbers 8 Life in 15 questions 10 In the frame 12 Evidence 22 Satisfaction scores 28 Interview: Peter Baker

July 2021

32 The future of expectations 36 HQN annual conference preview 40 Comment: Gridizen 41 Comment: Fuzzlab 42 Ombudsman Corner 44 A day in the life 45 The last word

Published by: HQN Rockingham House St Maurice’s Road York YO31 7JA Editorial: Alistair McIntosh Mark Lawrence Janis Bright Email: mark.lawrence@hqnetwork.co.uk Tel: 07523 920010

Advertising: All enquiries to: ellie.salsbury@hqnetwork.co.uk Tel: 07542 860095

Raising the bar The new tenant satisfaction measures were proposed in the Social Housing White Paper. But what does satisfaction mean for housing?

Safety in numbers

HQN’s annual conference

Evidence

Peter Baker, the Health and Safety Executive’s Chief Inspector of Buildings, sets out how the new Building Safety Regulator will work.

Focusing on the importance of the resident voice, we give you the full low down of our annual conference programme.

Want to see some analysis of the latest policy in the sector? Our friends at CaCHE and HSA have you covered.

EVIDENCE update The latest research and analysis – in plain English In this issue: 12 Welcome 12 Tenants’ experiences in Canada 13 Round-up of UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence projects 14 Time to regulate short-term lets? 15 Is social housing only available to poorer people?

Issue 31 | July 2021

16 Approaches to tenant participation in the private rented sector in Northern Island 17 Housing conditions and children’s educational outcomes 19 In brief

Welcome

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When the Social Housing White Paper eventually transforms into legislation we will see a much increased emphasis on treating tenants well – and rightly so. Safety and the physical condition of social rented housing are in the spotlight and the Ombudsman is cracking down on poor quality. Beyond that there’s a demand for inclusion and engagement with tenants, listening to their priorities and supporting tenants to give voice to their aspirations. In this issue we report on moves in Northern Ireland to do similar engagement work with tenants in the private rented sector: how could this be achieved? Joe Frey and Paul Hickman report on their research. In Canada the fortunes of the affordable housing sector have seen a political turnaround, with strong support now for housing as a human right and affordable housing tenants gaining voice in the process. Here in the UK the associations of housing and health are long established, but what about the

links between children’s education and the quality of their homes? Georgia Freeman tackles the thorny topic of how attainment may be hampered by poor housing conditions. There’s long been a view that social housing in England has become residualised – housing only those in greatest need. But is that process destined to ever deepen? New research suggests the process actually halted some years ago, though it may be starting to take hold again. Much of the affordability crisis is of course because of shortages of housing at reasonable cost. How much is short-term letting on digital platforms contributing to the problems? Research across 10 countries in Europe charts the efforts of local authorities in the largest cities to regulate this fast-growing sector. And as always we bring you quick updates from around the world on the latest housing research.

Janis Bright HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE Editor, Evidence

JULY 2021

Tenants’ experiences in Canada A new study charts the turnaround in Canada’s political approach to affordable housing. The recently established National Housing Strategy calls for a human rights-based approach

to housing. In contrast with previous decades, say a team of researchers, the Canadian government is prioritising housing with the 10-year funded strategy to create more affordable housing.

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Do you want to get rich quick? Housing is the way to do it! Take a look at the financial press. It’s full of articles about firms that run housing for people with learning disabilities. That’s where the money is. Our government foots the bill so the profits are great. On top of that, the firms say, with justice, that they’re providing a much-needed service. It’s that or nothing! Then you turn to our housing press and it’s quite a different story. The RSH plainly doesn’t like the model. Is it a fair deal? Do the associations that lease homes from the firms take all the risks, while the firms keep all the profits? And the RSH worries about the quality of care in some places, too. We need to get to the bottom of this. If you ticked the ethical box for your pension, you might well be funding these firms. So, you have skin in the game. It’d be great to get objective information on the value for money and quality of care. But my hunch is that this is no way to run a service for people with learning disabilities. Why don’t we just set the service up properly? It might even be cheaper in the long run. If you did that you could set the right sort of standards and invite bids to provide the service. The one snag would be trying to keep these contracts out of the clutches of Matt Hancock and his friends and family! Frustratingly, we never seem to hear from the people who live in these homes. What do they think? We can get some insights from Made Possible, a book edited by Saba Salman. You might know Saba, as she is a journalist covering housing, among other things. Her sister has a learning disability, so Saba’s seen good and bad examples of care. But that’s not her main point. Made Possible is a collection of “stories of success by people with learning disabilities”. And it lives up to the billing as it covers people who are actors with main parts on the TV, campaigners, musicians who’ve played at Glastonbury, and councillors. Of course, they’ve not had smooth lives, which makes their achievements all the more impressive. One of the themes of the book is that “society treats you a little

bit like a child”. We all lose out if we keep doing that. Here’s what Gavin Harding MBE has to say: “I became the first person with a learning disability to be employed by the NHS in 2015. I’m a learning disability advisor, and since I began work, two other learning disability advisors have joined my team. We’re all on proper wages and have proper jobs and responsibilities. It’s important because so few people with a learning disability are in paid work – less than 6%.” So, now the NHS has people with learning difficulties as colleagues, not patients. That’s a step in the right direction. Maybe housing should take a leaf out of this book because it can make a difference. Gavin worked on a ground-breaking report for the NHS called Beyond the High Fence. It’s an unflinching account of the problems people with learning disabilities and autism face in hospitals and prisons. In some ways it’s an even bleaker version of events than Time, the recent TV series on prisons. Gavin and the team give a set of practical recommendations for commissioning more effective services. Let’s hope they get listened to. Coming back to housing and support, why don’t we build a regulatory system from the ground up? Why don’t we give more of a voice to the residents? And why don’t we spend the money we need to? General de Gaulle attributed his success to the inspiration of Anne, his daughter, who had Down syndrome. We could benefit from doing the same.

Alistair McIntosh, Chief Executive, HQN

(Made Possible by Saba Salman is available from www.unbound.com)

HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JULY 2021

News in brief Elephant in the room

Are we proud?

Unlike in the Health Secretary’s office, there aren’t any cameras in the housing secretary’s place of work. But if there were, they’d likely spot a social housing-shaped elephant. In a recent announcement by the department, Robert Jenrick said that the government was committed to tackling the “complex root causes” of rough sleeping. The government will aim to do this by bringing together various agencies, including thinking about “health, justice, immigration and employment alongside housing”. But, once again, there’s no mention of social housing, the solution that has a proven track record of success. And Jenrick has form in this area. It’s been highlighted on these pages before that the housing secretary’s use of language around rough sleeping – namely adding to the stigma by saying drugs and alcohol are as much of an issue as housing is – has been completely inappropriate. And while it’s true that rough sleeping and homelessness is a complex issue, there’s broad consensus that most problems are fixed with secure social housing and comprehensive support packages. It’s about time they addressed that elephant.

June has seen the celebration of Pride Month in the UK, and the sector has been marking it in several ways. HQN adopted a new logo for the month, as did many housing providers and councils, in a show of support and solidarity with the LGBT community. We also shared many blogs from around the sector, and developed a new best practice group around allyship with our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Network. But is the sector doing enough, and should it be proud of what it’s achieved in this space? Some housing providers have used the month to highlight different blogs and resources that encourage more inclusive language, or explain the need to develop internal initiatives. And it’s these actions that will lead to Pride Month being more than just a tick-box exercise and see real change for employees and residents within organisation. One of the other actions housing providers have been taking is to sign up to the HouseProud pledge, which “empowers landlords to be more responsive and accountable to their LGBTQ+ residents”. The idea, much like the thinking around race, is to ensure decision making and processes benefit everyone and are as inclusive to as wide a range of people as possible. Housing is a proud sector in terms of pushing for social good in the country, but it now needs to show that it wasn’t merely warm words for Pride Month and that it can be an inclusive sector for both residents and staff.

Watch HQN TV for a weekly roundup of the housing news

Return of merger mania? After the Regulator of Social Housing said at a conference it expects to see more mergers due to a tough external landscape, it seems as if merger fever has swept the sector. The most recent and high profile is the Riverside Group adding One Housing Group as a subsidiary. One Housing were known to be in financial difficulty, and there are many who have publicly stated how decarbonisation alone would bankrupt them. But some of the issues from the ITV News investigation stem from landlords being too remote and large to see the problems on the ground. The sector wants to make sure this doesn’t become the norm.

HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JULY 2021

20,000 “low carbon social homes for rent” pledged by the Welsh Government

990 £248 YEARS

313,043

the amount of money people using foodbanks had to survive on after housing costs

households that have been bought through Help to Buy since 2013

(Trussell Trust)

£15bn of new finance agreed in the year by housing associations (Regulator of Social Housing)

Housing by numbers

£10bn 990 the amount the Mayor of London has put into retrofitting social homes

YEARS

the number of years Metropolitan Thames Valley will offer on its leases for all new leasehold sales

£161m the amount per year councils could save if government ended “unfair evictions” (Generation Rent)

520,000 the number of planning permissions needing to be granted to hit 300,000 new homes per year (Lichfields)

36%

£2.8bn

the percentage homelessness fell by between 2019 and 2020

investment in housing supply by registered providers, down 18% on the last quarter (Regulator

(ONS)

of Social Housing)

the amount by which Ongo Homes has cut rent arrears in the last year

HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JULY 2021

A life in 15 questions Sandra Skeete Octavia Housing’s Chief Executive reveals what she would change about herself, her biggest achievements and regrets, as well as what she would spend a lottery win on. 1. Tell us about your career and how you ended up in your current role I’ve spent my entire career working in social housing, 20 years of it in leadership roles. My career was kick-started by a brief spell on a positive action training scheme that has since come to an end. I’ve worked in London and the South East, the Midlands, and South Yorkshire. With a background in housing management, I’ve always been very focused on the experience of residents and the quality of services. Good quality, affordable housing is vital in laying the foundations for people to build their lives and to tackle inequality. I was attracted to Octavia by its strong legacy and reputation for reaching into communities beyond the traditional role of a housing provider. Covid-19 has hit many communities hard. Now, more than ever, housing associations have a vital role to play in improving quality of life and equality of opportunity. I’m honoured to be in a position where I can draw on my experience to provide the leadership to help make this happen. 2. Describe yourself in three words Diligent, curious, ethical. 3. Favourite place on earth? Barbados – sun, sea, sand, wonderful people – paradise on earth and where I feel truly at home.

HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JULY 2021

10. Biggest achievement? I’m most proud of surviving the many obstacles and challenges that I’ve faced throughout life, such as in an educational and professional setting, and to have succeeded, and thrived, against the odds. 4. What would you change about yourself? I wish I’d stuck with that gym membership 25 years ago. 5. Describe your home My home is my sanctuary, a place to unwind, a safe place, and one where family and friends are always welcome. 6. Most overused phrase? Not sure – perhaps I should ‘phone a friend’. 7. Most treasured possession Letters from my grandmother, who was born in 1900 and passed away in 1989. 8. Best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? Don’t let others limit what you can achieve in life. 9. If you won £1 million on the Lottery, what would you spend it on? Helping my children out of the nest and onto the housing ladder (buying myself freedom in the process) – as well as supporting people and causes important to me.

11. Biggest regret? My motto is to live a life without regrets, so I’m determined to do the very best I can to avoid them. Having said that, I wish I could’ve had a career break when my children were younger. 12. What makes you angry? Injustice, gaslighting, abuse of power, and people who turn a blind eye. 13. Recommend a book Just as I am: A Memoir by Cicely Tyson. It’s beautifully written and inspirational. 14. The best piece of television in the last 12 months I’m not a great TV fan and the Blockbuster phase didn’t hook me in, but, thanks to Netflix, that’s changed over the last 12 months. Grace and Frankie had me laughing out loud. 15. Tell us a secret about yourself I love art, but swapped art at A level for government and politics, which I’m equally passionate about. Perhaps it’s time to dust off the easel.

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In the frame

 Design delights Nehemiah UCHA

 Community care Bournemouth Churches Housing

Furnishing specialists MADE.COM and Curzon Cinemas have transformed a communal TV room in one of the sheltered housing schemes, helping residents who aren’t yet able to go out.

Association The Mayor of Weymouth, Cllr Colin Huckle, cut the ribbon to officially open the community front room, a new mental health drop-in service from BCHA and Dorset HealthCare.

 Safer Streets B3Living As part of the organisation’s drive to make communities safer, B3Living has got residents involved in various projects as part of a Safer Streets initiative.

 Planting positivity Believe Housing A community allotment will help residents in two County Durham villages rebuild their confidence after lockdown, receiving a £200,000 fund from the housing association.

 Inspiring inclusivity Darlington Council Darlington has been chosen as a pilot for a national project, aimed at providing safe spaces for people with non-obvious disabilities.

HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JULY 2021

 Wonderful Windrush Unity Homes To mark Windrush Day, Unity Homes worked with Leeds Trinity University to open an exhibition illustrating the growth and diversity of Leeds Windrush businesses and their positive impact on local communities.

 Magical Murie Housing21 Joined by her daughter, granddaughter, and great grandson, beloved Housing21 resident Murie celebrated her 100th birthday. She received a card from the Queen, a spectacular cake, and said it’s important to keep interested in life.

 Litter-less Arches Housing

 Excellent estates Ongo Homes

The housing team at Arches joined the community litter pick as they aim to not only tackle an eyesore but also promote health and safety.

Staff have been out on estates “giving something back to communities” by painting, weeding, filling skips, sweeping, planting, and chatting to residents.

 Celebrating culture Leeds Council Every current recipient of Leeds Council’s arts@leeds project has been given an added financial boost as they plan to entertain and engage the people of Leeds.

 Jab joy Islington Council Working in partnership with Islington GP Federation and Arsenal Football Club, Islington Council has been hosting mass Covid-19 vaccination events at Emirates Stadium.

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

HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JULY 2021

Issue 31 | July 2021

16 Approaches to tenant participation in the private rented sector in Northern Island 17 Housing conditions and children’s educational outcomes 19 In brief

Welcome When the Social Housing White Paper eventually transforms into legislation we will see a much increased emphasis on treating tenants well – and rightly so. Safety and the physical condition of social rented housing are in the spotlight and the Ombudsman is cracking down on poor quality. Beyond that there’s a demand for inclusion and engagement with tenants, listening to their priorities and supporting tenants to give voice to their aspirations. In this issue we report on moves in Northern Ireland to do similar engagement work with tenants in the private rented sector: how can this be achieved? Joe Frey and Paul Hickman report on their research. In Canada the fortunes of the affordable housing sector have seen a political turnaround, with strong support now for housing as a human right and affordable housing tenants gaining voice in the process. Here in the UK the associations of housing and health are long established, but what about the

links between children’s education and the quality of their homes? Georgia Freeman tackles the thorny topic of how attainment may be hampered by poor housing conditions. There’s long been a view that social housing in England has become residualised – housing only those in greatest need. But is that process destined to ever deepen? New research suggests the process actually halted some years ago, though it may be starting to take hold again. Much of the affordability crisis is, of course, because of shortages of housing at reasonable cost. How much is short-term letting on digital platforms contributing to the problems? Research across 10 countries in Europe charts the efforts of local authorities in the largest cities to regulate this fast-growing sector. And, as always, we bring you quick updates from around the world on the latest housing research. Janis Bright Editor, Evidence

HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JULY 2021

to housing. In contrast with previous decades, say a team of researchers, the Canadian government is prioritising housing with the ten-year funded strategy to create more affordable housing.

In line with the strategy’s basis of accountability and inclusion, the researchers interviewed tenants in Calgary to find out about their experiences. Most of the tenants had moved in because they could not afford market prices; in fact, many had previously been homeless. More than a third were unable to work, with the great majority reporting mental and physical health problems. Most tenants reported having less financial strain since moving in, and some had more money available. They also reported better self-esteem, hope, safety, and education for their children. A third said their employment situation had improved. But this was not universally the case: about one in five reported worsening of their employment situation, more stress, and more discrimination. The researchers conclude that while there were benefits, moving into affordable housing was not a solution in itself: many of the tenants also

needed significant support. They were still dealing with mental and physical health problems, not being able to find a job, language barriers, and lack of transport. To overcome these, tailored interventions would be needed, and this capacity must be built up. The researchers found the tenants had long term aspirations around employment and moving into market housing, but these were often a long way off. The tenants felt they were likely to be living in affordable housing for the foreseeable future. Is the right to housing being realized in Canada? Learning from the experiences of tenants in affordable housing units in a large Canadian city Kaylee Ramage, Meaghan Bell, Lisa Zaretsky, Laura Lee and Katrina Milaney Societies 2021, 11, 53. https://doi.org/10.3390/ soc11020053

Round-up of UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence projects The last year or so has thrown up a lot of new challenges for researchers in housing studies, as well as highlighting issues that have concerned us for some time – such as the impact that housing can have on people’s physical and mental health and wellbeing, writes Gareth Young. At CaCHE we immediately turned our focus to the pandemic, exploring different dimensions of housing and what Covid-19 might mean. In our series, Housing policies and the Covid-19 pandemic, we spent time trying to make sense of what the evidence tells us, examining international comparisons as well as divergence within the UK. These projects ranged widely from exploring the impacts of the pandemic on the economy and housing market, the impact on housing and placemaking, the resilience of housing systems and their institutions, as well as the impacts (and future learning) from the responses to homelessness, domestic abuse, and the private rented sector. We have also been doing a significant piece of work on raising the standard in the UK private rented sector, in collaboration with the TDS Charitable Foundation and the SafeDeposits Scotland Charitable Trust. Ongoing projects are looking at energy efficiency and housing and wellbeing.

As these projects come to a close, we are taking this learning and moving onto our next phase of research. Building on both the Delivering Design Value and The potential role of modular construction in addressing systemic supply issues (forthcoming) projects, the two respective teams are embarking on a collaborative project examining the livedexperience and post-occupancy evaluation in the UK’s new build housing sector. Of particular interest is in understanding if post-occupancy evaluations can provide a robust evidence base for improving the design and sustainability outcomes of the volume housebuilding industry. We will be partnering with Crisis to begin to explore social housing allocations, producing new evidence to influence local and national government policy and practice, focusing on allocation practices to improve access to accommodation for low income, at risk of homelessness, and homeless households. With the ongoing concern surrounding the UK ‘cladding scandal’ we have started a project with UK Cladding Action Group, to help understand the mental wellbeing impacts that leaseholders have experienced. This will give a voice to the experiences of those living in buildings affected, with an aim of identifying recommendations and actions for different stakeholder groups. There will be an exploratory project on the future environment facing the housing system – both at HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JULY 2021

the level of housing policymaking and the level of housing organisations. There’s been an increased focus on futures thinking and anticipation in business environments and across policymaking and strategic, and this work will explore how some of these practices – such as horizon scanning, strategic foresight, or scenario planning – might be relevant to housing organisations. In Northern Ireland researchers are exploring the Dublin-Belfast Economic Corridor (DBEC) to determine the extent to which current and local policy influences cross-border housing market dynamics, and how the DBEC concept may in future impact on policy and markets. We also have a number of projects focused on tackling issues of the climate emergency and housing. We have recently undertaken a three-year project exploring decarbonisation of the UK housing stock. In partnership with the Scottish Funding Council, we are undertaking a demonstration project evaluating the carbon reduction secured by high-quality Enerphit retrofit of an eight-property tenement block in Glasgow. A key aspect of this work is assessing scalability and replicability. Building on this work, CaCHE are part of an interdisciplinary collaboration with engineering science to address challenges to the wider use of air source heat pumps as a cost-effective, renewable source of energy for heating UK homes. You can read more about this work in a recent blog from our director, Professor Ken Gibb. Finally, CaCHE are looking to launch a new initiative around housing and equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). We are having extensive conversations with a number of partners and critical friends and will be launching over the summer with a series of activities, including blogs, videos, discussion, and a number of

research projects. The first two projects will be an evidence review of current understandings and response to ethnic inequalities in housing within contemporary policy and practice, and the second will explore the experiences of Romanian migrants in post-Brexit/Covid-19 Britain, focusing on their how their cultural values and inequalities of labour and migration-status shape their experiences of housing and home. To keep updated on all of our work, you can join our mailing list, where you’ll be able to stay in touch with what we are up to.

Time to regulate short-term lets? New research by UCL’s Claire Colomb and Tatiana Moreira de Souza looks at the growing problem of Airbnb-style letting in European cities. The research spans a dozen large cities, including London, across ten countries. The tremendous growth in recent years of shortterm letting has been fuelled by online platforms such as Airbnb. But, say the authors, a growing body of research has outlined the problems it brings: a decrease in the supply of long-term rentals, higher rents, and the displacement of long-term residents.

HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JULY 2021

They point out that while those impacts may not be numerically significant at the level of an entire city, the difficulty is that they are highly concentrated in particular neighbourhoods. That has put the social and economic fabric of those areas under pressure. But attempts to regulate the market are contentious and politically charged. Half of the cities studied have tried to limit or reduce the number of short-term lets by requiring owners to apply for a change-of-use permit. This could apply to the whole city or particular areas. But there have been challenges from owners, and

Amsterdam lost a case in 2021. Paris has gone further in requiring owners to apply for a change-of-use permit from residential to commercial, that includes a requirement to pay toward a programme of converting commercial units into housing. Enforcement of any regulations is difficult, with limited capacity of authorities to check and ever new ways for landlords to conceal their lettings. To date, say the researchers, only Barcelona and Paris have managed to strike agreements requiring platforms to give them lists of active ads, though the authorities say these have been incomplete. Sharing of data is regarded as essential to good enforcement. In one recent court case, Airbnb was found not to have a general obligation to monitor the content of its listings. Conversely, a separate case found that the public interest of combatting a long-term rented housing shortage could justify proportionate regulation. Covid has of course dampened the market

for short-term lets. But as tourism begins to get going again, local authorities will face a dilemma, the researchers say. With city economies highly dependent on tourism they will want to support that sector. But the demand to protect local housing stocks for local people will remain. There are three recommendations: That national and local governments must give local authorities the necessary tools to regulate in the public interest, in a way that takes the local context into account That city authorities should have a right to access relevant, accurate, and individualised data on housing used for short-term letting That any debate on managing or controlling the growth of short-term lets should be part of a wider discussion on solving the housing crisis and housing inequalities.

• • •

Full research published by Property Research Trust https://bit.ly/35OULvB

Is social housing only available to poorer people? A fascinating study by Becky Tunstall looks at the process of residualisation in social housing, and concludes that the process halted many years ago, writes Janis Bright. There has long been a popular belief that social housing in England has become residualised – in other words, housing only the poorest in increasing concentrations, driven by the shortage of housing. But while Tunstall, building on earlier work by Pearce and Vine, accepts that strong differences in the tenures remain, she challenges the view that residualisation strengthens inevitably over time. According to Tunstall, significant differences in income among housing tenures were a phenomenon of the late twentieth century, becoming more marked as the private rented sector declined. In the 2000s political leaders used the concept of residualisation to frame social housing as problematic, and therefore in need of change.

tended to contain several earners – for example, adult children.) By 1983 that figure had moved to under 45%, and by 1999 to just one third. In employment and economic activity, there was little difference among the tenures in the 1960s. But that changed through the 1980s and 90s, and by 2004 economic activity among social renters was down to 56% of the average. Unemployment among social renters was commensurately higher than average. The turning points in these trends came during the 2000s, Tunstall finds. From 2000 to 2012/13 the relative poverty rate among social renters fell from 234% of the average to 201% - still high, but less than before. Similarly, social renters made up 68% of all housing benefit claims by 2016/17, compared with 79% in 2008/09. Employment rates among social tenants grew from 60% of the national average in the 00s to 70% in the mid-2010s, while unemployment first stabilised then moved toward the national average. Further change

Origins of the process When did residualisation in social housing begin? Tunstall records that in the mid-1970s council tenants’ income was just under three quarters that of owner occupiers, on average. (It should be noted, however, that council tenant households

All of this points to a reverse of residualisation, or de-residualisation, Tunstall finds. However, she suggests a further reverse may be emerging now. The proportion of housing benefit claims made by social tenants has gone up again, from 68% in 2016/17 to 71% in 2018/19. Convergence with the HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JULY 2021

average on employment and economic activity appears to have stalled, and unemployment rates have begun to move away from the average again. The causes of residualisation are also examined. Right to buy took large numbers of better-off tenants out of the social sector. But residualisation has happened in other countries without such a policy, and residualisation in the UK continued after the peak of RTB, Tunstall argues. Other explanations include the increasing emphasis on housing those in greatest need, including

homeless people. Changes in the tenure system, demographics, and patterns of demand, and structural employment change are also possibilities. This leads to a discussion of explanations for de-residualisation, including whether there is a ‘natural limit’ to this effect, stabilisation of income inequality, and demographic change. The deresidualisation of social housing in England https://bit.ly/3h46N9w

Approaches to tenant participation in the private rented sector in Northern Ireland The rapid growth of the private rented sector since the start of the new millennium has characterised housing markets in all advanced Anglophone economies, write Joe Frey and Paul Hickman. This growth was driven by a combination of economic and socio-demographic factors that together with government policies led to a shortage of social housing and a growing affordability problem for first-time buyers. In Northern Ireland, as in other regions of the UK, almost one fifth of households now live in the PRS. However, while tenant participation has become firmly embedded in the social housing policy landscape, comparable policy and practice does not exist for the PRS. The Department for Communities in Northern Ireland is addressing this issue and as part of this process commissioned the Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence (CaCHE) to undertake a small NI-focused study to examine the challenges of extending tenant participation in the PRS. The study was completed in April 2021. It comprised: a rapid review of the relevant literature; 11 in-depth interviews with stakeholders representing a range of organisations in the public, private, and voluntary sectors; and a focus group with core members of an existing collective tenant participation vehicle in Northern Ireland: Renters’ Voice. The key findings, which will be published shortly in a report, are: Research participants recognised the potential advantages of extending tenant participation in the PRS for all stakeholders. There was a

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consensus that involving tenants through collective participation mechanisms would lead to better government policy and decision making. Tenants would benefit from ‘smoother’ tenancies, better mental health, and greater agency, while landlords would benefit from increased yields – the result of tenants being more likely to look after their homes and pay the rent. Participants were also acutely aware of the challenges of extending tenant participation in the PRS in Northern Ireland. Significant barriers included: the absence of any regulatory requirement for private landlords to engage with their tenants; the high turnover characteristic of the sector meaning that tenants are less invested in the sector and therefore less motivated to become involved; and the high proportion of small landlords (four fifths of all landlords in Northern Ireland own only one or two properties), many of whom were disconnected and difficult to engage. Nevertheless, the study made a number of practical recommendations that could facilitate a government-led strategy for extending tenant participation in the PRS. These included the importance of consultation with key stakeholders from across the sector; the need for adequate resourcing and the introduction of a light-touch regulatory framework; providing both incentives for landlords and evidence of the commercial benefits of greater engagement with their tenants; and, finally, based on experience from the social rented sector, the importance of starting small and extending incrementally over time. The study also recognised that the context for tenant participation in social housing is very different from the PRS and that lessons cannot

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be easily transferred. However, there is some transferable learning in relation to tenant participation mechanisms. Given that there is no regulatory requirement for landlords to engage with their tenants and the prevalence of very small landlords, attention should focus initially on extending collective tenant participation. There is already an agency-led tenant participation vehicle in place: Renters’ Voice. This initiative has a core group of tenants who regularly provide input and feedback on issues of general concern to private tenants and could be more formally convened as a PRS policy panel (like the Housing Policy Panel already in operation for the social rented sector). The study also recognised the potential benefits of a multi-stakeholder PRS forum, with an NIwide remit or indeed a PRS forum in each of the 11 council areas. Councils and community groups

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could play a key role in identifying tenants who may be willing to participate in collective structures. Their involvement would more likely enhance the representativeness of the tenant members, an important consideration given the diversity of the PRS. Traditionally, collective tenant engagement in the social rented sector was carried out via meetings. Providing alternatives that focus more on digital methods would facilitate participation in an engagement structure that is compatible with tenants’ circumstances and needs, and, in particular, their desired level of commitment in terms of time. Finally, and in some ways most importantly, tenants should see the impact of their participation – only then will their commitment to the process of ongoing participation be secured in the longer term.

Housing conditions and children’s educational outcomes Inequality within education has gained significant attention in recent years. After continued educational disparities through the Covid-19 pandemic, it appears that this is the time for reform, as the future of schooling, and work, is likely to change forever. But what reforms must happen to help disadvantaged children? Georgia Freeman, Graduate Business Manager at MarketAI, considers the importance of housing. Twenty-five years ago, Tony Blair listed his top priorities for coming into government: “Education, education, education.” This statement opened the conversation around improving education by raising ambitions, developing young talent, overcoming neglect, and allowing Britain to educate society better. The conversation was extremely important but raised the question: How much focus can we put on education policies purely? There must also be a view of society’s broader context and inequalities that lead to educational differences. Schools are a public institution to educate, but the social condition underlying this is complex; the imperative is that disparities are addressed. The recent petition signed by over a million people for footballer Marcus Rashford’s free school meals campaign highlights the importance of social causes in the UK and their prominence. This campaign gained mass support from the general public and highlights the wish

for equality. Those involved therefore might likely agree with implementing policies to improve children’s education. Concern over educational outcomes regarding housing conditions, inevitably, will become more prevalent due to the Covid-19 pandemic, as those experiencing poor housing conditions tend to receive lower grades. However, due to the unique phenomenon of Covid-19, there is little previous data to compare. Blurred lines surround what has caused poor educational outcomes throughout the pandemic, whether it be: Housing conditions themselves   The environment within the house   The equipment and technology available to the child.

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The cause of poor educational outcomes proves challenging to distinguish and evaluate due to the many aspects of housing conditions. Perhaps this is why we have not yet identified and solved the problem of poor educational outcomes. What we do know is that children living in poverty are significantly disadvantaged educationally compared to their wealthier peers. Impact of overcrowded housing My research identified links between educational attainment and overcrowding. These links include factors such as difficulties in homework HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JULY 2021

completion in overcrowded households and lack of sleep for children sharing bedrooms. Some 60% of children living in overcrowded conditions at the age of 15 are repressed in school achievement. Impact of temporary housing Insecurity and frequent moves when living in temporary accommodation can make settling into schools difficult for children, and disrupt their progress. Many studies show that moving to a new house often during childhood can lower educational attainment rates throughout adolescence. Many believe that movement between houses causing the loss of social relationships usually built in the early years is the likely cause. This does, however, depend on the quality of the move. Shelter believes the following factors contribute to the difficulties: Expensive travel patterns   No place to complete homework   Frequent absence (on average 55 days per annum due to the accommodation  changes)   Childhood depression

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Clearly, the issue is not natural differences in ability and skills between individuals but the

JOIN NOW! The Housing Studies Association (HSA) is a UK-wide membership organisation which brings together researchers, practitioners and professionals to promote the study of housing. HSA runs a programme of events including our annual conference and our public lecture on housingrelated themes. The Association also offers: • Events grant scheme enabling members to disseminate and discuss their work, • Seminar Series grant competition • Conference bursaries to early career and/or nonwaged housing researchers and practitioners • The prestigious annual Valerie Karn prize for best paper by an early career housing researcher. Become a member from just £25 a year and access these benefits plus reduced rates to our events. See www.housing-studies-association.org Follow us on twitter @HSA_UK.

difference in opportunities and backgrounds. Action on equality of opportunity must be implemented from a young age: a study by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (Chowdry et al 2010) found that one-quarter of the cognitive gaps between rich and poor children are already apparent when the children are only three years old.   Impact of structurally inadequate housing My research showed that children living in damp and mouldy homes are 1.5-3 times more likely to have symptoms of respiratory problems such as asthma than those who live in dry homes. If children are experiencing coughing and wheezing, negative impacts on sleep and school attendance are likely, which long term can limit the child’s personal development. Growing up in damp and cold conditions has detrimental effects on children’s physical health, which consequently can affect a child’s chances of good education due to their illness. This correlation between poor housing and health has been described as “unarguable” (Thompson et al 2001). Research showing causative connections between poor housing, health and education has demonstrated the change when conditions improve. Friedman’s study for Ecotec (2010) found that when central heating was installed into unheated and damp bedrooms of children aged 9-11, school absence reduced from 9.3 to 2.1 days per 100 children through the reduction of asthma and respiratory problems. Another impact of structurally unsound housing is high lead levels found within older, less expensive housing structures and paint containing lead, which can cause poisoning. Lead paint sale was banned in the UK in 1992; however, exposure may still be present due to continued circulation of these products, or houses which have not had this paint removed. Research has shown this can affect a child’s intellectual and neurological development, even at low levels. Conclusions The expense to change housing conditions is going to be high, but what price a child’s education? Addressing the following key problems to improve educational outcomes will be vital: Overcrowding: the government must work to ensure every child has a suitable bed to sleep in. A good night’s sleep will help children focus and therefore learn better in school.

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housing: this must be provided as suitable housing that does not lead to overcrowding and is of an appropriate structural standard. Minimising the number of moves for children would also prevent distress.   Structurally inadequate housing: this must be monitored by landlords, to ensure that the houses they are providing are not contaminated by lead or mould. If tenants understand these risks, they will be more likely to report the problems. The Housing Ombudsman’s current investigation into damp and mould highlights the importance of this issue, aiming to educate people, and provide suitable recommendations for residents and landlords who are experiencing problems with damp and mould.

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The research outlined formed part of Georgia Freeman’s dissertation - “How housing conditions affect the educational outcomes of children” in Business with Economics (2021). Chowdry, H., Crawford, C., Dearden, L., Joyce, R., Sibieta, L., Sylva, K., & Washbrook, E. (2010). Poorer children’s educational attainment: how important are attitudes and behaviour. Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 1-72. Thompson, H., Petticrew, M., & Morrison, D. (2001, July). Improving housing, improving health: the potential to develop evidence based healthy housing policy. In CEM Center— University of Durham Third International, Interdisciplinary Evidence-Based Policies and Indicator Systems Conference, July.

In brief History revisited: Rent strikes of 1907 A paper by Lucas Poy compares the tenants’ strikes in Buenos Aires and New York that took place in 1907/08. The two cities were home to many migrants and other low income groups living in overcrowded neighbourhoods and facing high rents with very poor conditions. Thousands of households, many led by women, joined the strikes. The tenants gained some successes, but failed to hold these over time. https://bit.ly/3dd6IPK Community activity for fixed-term tenants Fixed-term tenancies only dampen tenants’ willingness to participate in community activities to a limited extent, a study from Taiwan finds. A group of researchers from National Taipei University of Technology based their study on social housing tenants with six-year tenancies. They found tenants still wanted to participate where the activity was enjoyable, or there was benefit to themselves and the neighbourhood. https://bit.ly/35Usu6C Commodifying housing in the Balkans Commodification of housing in Serbia, Slovenia, and Greece has produced significant inequalities, researchers find. In the post-socialist period, Serbia and Slovenia privatised the stock, leaving individuals responsible for housing costs and exacerbating inequalities. In Greece, since the 2008 financial crisis many homeowners have faced debt and eviction. https://bit.ly/3jeoKVm

Irish Generation Rent faces insecurity The precariousness of housing for Generation Rent is outlined in a paper on the situation in Ireland. Richard Waldron charts the insecurity, high cost, and poor quality faced by younger tenants. He finds significantly higher levels of precarity among lone-parent households, larger families, those that are divorced or separated, the unemployed, and low-to-middle income households. https://bit.ly/3hb81zY Can Vienna avoid gentrification? Vienna’s late-20th century policy of ‘gentle urban renewal’ is examined in a new paper. The city sought to partly subsidise renewal programmes to avoid gentrification and removal of existing tenants as buildings were improved. But author Gerhard Hatz finds that market forces did still influence the outcomes, as empty renovated housing was let to tenants from higher socioeconomic groups. Some sitting tenants did receive improved homes but others refused the improvement offer. https://bit.ly/3vVtSR2 Evidence newsletter editor: Dr Janis Bright www.hqnetwork.co.uk email: evidence@hqnetwork.co.uk  follow us on twitter @hqn_news

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The Resident Voice Index™ initiative: Where do we go from here? In anticipation of the release of the first set of results from the Neighbourhoods & Communities survey later this summer, MRI Software is sharing the core themes that emerged from the preliminary consultations with both housing sector professionals and residents. Multi-disciplinary action to improve communities During the focus groups, one larger housing provider with homes across the UK spoke of the challenges faced in working with teams from over 160 local authorities and trying to engage in work that helps increase localism across their homes. The local environment may not be something all housing providers are directly responsible for, but to mitigate negative impacts and encourage positive changes, joined-up thinking and co-operation are required. Safety and antisocial behaviours Residents expressed worry about poor behaviours not being dealt with and, in many instances, not being reported to housing providers and the police. The residents’ perception was that some neighbourhoods were suffering in silence as a result. But it’s not just social safety that should be of concern – building safety is also a key priority. Listening to residents and acting on what they say will need to become core to service delivery and provable. Residents and providers on the same page Across the focus groups there was a desire for the role of housing providers to be defined clearly and the expectations of residents to be communicated clearly, alongside honesty and clarity when residents’ expectations are not in line with what can realistically be delivered. One provider spoke of moving away from paternalistic models of housing provision towards open and communicative relationships, underpinned by respect, quality homes, and shared goals. Changing how we communicate Improved communication was very much at the heart of what residents wanted to see from their providers. A key component of this is obliterating jargon from resident correspondence, instead using plain language. One provider’s research found that only 20% of their residents ever contacted them and, consequently, they knew very little about the remaining 80%; working out ways to collect their views was a key concern. Interestingly, when asked if they would feel uncomfortable speaking to housing providers or third-party organisations about more personal topics, such as mental health, the majority of the residents we consulted held the opinion, ‘ask me anything, but tell me why first and tell me how it’s been used later’. The Resident Voice Index™ journey A first look at the results of the Resident Voice Index™ Neighbourhoods & Communities survey will be presented by Doug Sarney, MRI Project Lead and Solutions Principal at the HQN annual conference on 14 July.

HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JULY 2021

SETTING THE BAR The fire at Grenfell Tower exposed a shocking culture towards tenants, where they were neither listened to or respected. The sector has been shocked into action from that night, with a new Social Housing White Paper and a more proactive regulatory regime. But what’s meant by satisfaction, and does it encourage organisations to hit the levels needed?

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atisfaction, according to the Oxford Dictionary, is a “fulfilment of one’s wishes, expectations, or needs”. But when the housing sector uses this word to describe the services it provides, is it happy at hitting that level? Satisfaction seems to mean the bare minimum that satisfies regulations or standards, rather than trying to be exceptional in the core areas. And it would seem a number of landlords are still failing on the basics. The recent attention given to the sector by ITV News has unearthed a huge problem, with Croydon Council, the first landlord to be investigated, now ruled non-compliant by the regulator. L&Q, Bromford, and Clarion have also been under the spotlight. It remains to be seen what action the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) decides to take there. And ITV itself has said there are hundreds more complaints they’re following up on, which would suggest much more discomfort for the sector before it’s over. It’s already led to the Housing Ombudsman launching its own review into damp and mould. The Social Housing White Paper was a key document in shaping how the sector should go about improving satisfaction levels, introducing the new consumer regulation measures that would underpin the future of the social housing sector. A crucial part of this are the new tenant satisfaction measures, which you can see outlined on the right. But how does the sector encourage its worst performing landlords to step up, and

“By creating a culture of service excellence, rather than just focusing on transactional metrics that can inadvertently incentivise hitting minimum levels, housing providers can meet the needs of their customers and deliver better business results”

Draft tenant satisfaction measures Theme

Draft tenant satisfaction measures

Keeping properties in good repair

Decent Homes Standard compliance Responsive repairs completed right frst time Tenant satisfaction with landlord’s repairs and maintenance service

Maintaining building safety

Compliance with health and safety obligations: • Gas safety • Electrical safety • Fire safety • Asbestos • Water safety • Lift safety Tenant satisfaction with the health and safety of their home

Effective handling of complaints

Number of complaints relative to the size of the landlord % of complaints resolved within agreed timescale Tenant satisfaction with landlord’s complaints handling

Respectful and helpful engagement

Number of complaints relating to fairness and/or respect, relative to the size of the landlord Tenant satisfaction that their landlord listens to their views and takes notice of them Tenant satisfaction with landlord’s engagement with tenants

Responsible neighbourhood management

% of communal areas meeting the required standard Number of complaints relating to communal areas, relative to the size of the landlord Tenant satisfaction with landlord actions to keep communal areas clean and safe Tenant satisfaction with landlord contribution to the neighbourhood associated with their home Number of complaints relating to antisocial behaviour, relative to the size of the landlord Tenant satisfaction with landlord’s handling of anti-social behaviour

Overall

Tenant overall satisfaction with the service their landlord provides

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“It’d be great to see landlords being more proactive and innovative when it comes to using complaints to rebuild their relationship with their residents”

how does the sector also incentivise itself to not just hit minimum standards, but to provide the basics on a really standout level? Jo Causon, Chief Executive at the Institute of Customer Service, shares her views on how housing can improve customer satisfaction: “The last 15 months have been challenging for all, and the housing sector serves a broad and diverse set of customers, and the organisations that serve them often have a range of objectives and goals. “However, what has become very clear during this time, is where organisations have focused on understanding needs, been clear about their purpose and actively listened, they’ve progressed. “Success depends on consistently delivering and measuring activity across a range of dimensions: the actual customer experience, how effective the complaint handling process is, whether the organisation demonstrates a genuine customer ethos and emotional connection, and, finally, its ethical footprint and how well it’s trusted. “We know there’s a clear link between employee engagement and customer satisfaction. “By creating a culture of service excellence, rather than just focusing on transactional metrics that can inadvertently incentivise hitting minimum levels, housing providers can meet the needs of their customers and deliver better business results.” Another aspect is around the difference between what satisfaction means to landlords and what it means to residents.

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For example, a complaint resolution for a landlord is potentially a bit of compensation paid out, but what some residents may want is a different form of outcome, such as a new kitchen or garden. And on complaints, which is a key part of the Social Housing White Paper measures, this can be a real sticking point. Verity Richards, Head of Dispute Support, The Housing Ombudsman Service, says: “I’m sure we can all agree that, ideally, we want to see the problem resolved for the resident and action taken by the landlord to ensure that the issue doesn’t happen again. “In reality, it’s often more complicated than that because we’re looking at housing services, particularly in light of the challenges posed by Covid-19. “We do expect that where the requested action isn’t possible or appropriate, landlords clearly explain their decisions so that residents can be sure that they’re being fairly considered and transparently. “It’d be great to see landlords being more proactive and innovative when it comes to

using complaints to rebuild their relationship with their residents moving forwards and really listening to the customers’ voice, even where their experience is negative.” Once again, simple actions go a long way within satisfaction – timely and compassionate responses to complaints and resolution shouldn’t be too much of a shock. Couple this with Causon’s views on clarity and culture, and the picture starts to be painted for how to get this right. For Rob Gershon, HQN Residents’ Network Associate, the issues around satisfaction stem from processes being slanted: “For years landlords have collected different kinds of data to measure satisfaction, but often in a very specific context. “One of the most common being that people are asked how they feel about services immediately after a successful bit of repair or maintenance, meaning that skyhigh ratings don’t reflect the wider picture. “These fundamental measures should not be discounted. Relatively simple expectations of a landlord’s responsibilities

– to keep homes warm, safe, decent and secure, and to deal quickly and politely with complaints – are good measures of getting the basics right. “The charter [Social Housing White Paper] speaks about things that are more over-arching than the basics, though with particular concerns that landlords are able to demonstrate how they’re making themselves accountable to tenants. “In this regard, tenant satisfaction measures become something different, reflecting issues that address problems where landlords might have a need to examine and change their internal cultures.” One organisation looking to change the

“The challenge with any measure is converting it into actionable insight to inform how we improve our services” HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JULY 2021

“So, maybe a more hybrid but commonsense approach will work for some housing associations? It’ll be interesting to see if the rest of the G15 pick this up”

processes in relation to satisfaction is A2 Dominion. Now being shared with the rest of the G15 group of housing associations after some success internally, A2 Dominion has added ‘customer effort’ to its suite of customer experience measures, alongside customer satisfaction (C-Sat), net promoter score (NPS), and customer voice. The London-based housing association decided to make the move after Harvard Business School said customer effort was a “better indicator of customer loyalty” than customer satisfaction, and the Institute of Customer Service started using it in their UK Index reports. How does it work? A2Dominion will ask customers to score how easy they found it to work with the organisation, tailoring the question to the service they use. For example, how easy was it to get a repair fixed or resolve a complaint. The score can then be calculated in several ways: • Percentage of customers who found it easy or very easy to get their issue resolved (high being good, low being bad)

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• Average effort score (low is good, high is bad) easy score – percentage easy scores minus percentage difficult scores (equivalent to NPS)

• Net

By using these methods, A2 Dominion has found it has made more “informed decisions on resources and organisation design, digital strategy, and operational improvement initiatives”. Ellie Broughton, Asst Director of Customer Experience (Insights), who leads on this initiative for A2Dominion Housing Group, explains the thinking behind it: “At A2Dominion we’ve always tracked customer satisfaction but, over time, we’ve supplemented it with other measures, including net promoter score (good for commercial benchmarking) and customer effort (how easy it was for the customer to get their issue fixed).

“We use these measures to check our direction of travel and to compare customer experience across different services, channels, and customer groups. “The challenge with any measure is converting it into actionable insight to inform how we improve our services. So, we also capture what residents are saying – the ‘customer voice’ – to help us understand why they’ve given us the scores they have and what matters most to them. “Recently we’ve seen good results from analysing customer effort and customer voice together. We’ve found that effort is more within our gift to influence than C-Sat and that it’s the single biggest driver of overall satisfaction. “We’ve adopted customer effort as a group KPI and have started tracking how easy work is for staff, too. We’re helping our teams understand how they can be easy to deal with and are focusing improvement work on the areas staff and customers struggle with the most. Ultimately, we’d all like an easy life!” So, maybe a more hybrid but commonsense approach will work for some housing associations? It’ll be interesting to see if the rest of the G15 pick this up. Many in the sector will have been working hard on the themes of the Social Housing White Paper, and with ITV News sniffing about, that’s going to take on even more of a focus. Is it as simple as getting the basics right? In many cases it seems so, but it must be underpinned by strong culture. With incoming consumer standards, housing providers and local authorities will need to make sure everyone in the organisation is pulling in the same direction.

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SAFETY IN NUMBERS Peter Baker was announced as the Chief Inspector of Buildings earlier this year, with the responsibility for establishing the Building Safety Regulator. Mark Lawrence caught up with him to find out his priorities for the new role, the importance of resident involvement, and how collaboration is at the heart of his new way of working.

HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JULY 2021

“Everything I say is dependent on what been proven in other sectors to significantly happens next, the Building Safety Bill needs influence behaviour. to go through Parliament. It will go through all He adds: “It’s going to have teeth, shift the its scrutiny and pop out the other end. It may balance away from a lack of clarity to one look different coming out as it does going in. where the duty holders that create the risk are So, we can’t say for absolute certain how all the ones that are responsible for managing it.” this is going to work, but we have enough.” And on that new emphasis, one of Baker’s It’s a big caveat to start the interview with, top priorities is to work with industry closely but Peter Baker, the new Chief Inspector of to create a system that everyone understands. Buildings at the Health and Safety Executive He says: “One of the things that’s crucial for (HSE), is right to add it in. me as we develop the new framework, is that The Building Safety Bill, the piece of we really need to be engaging with building legislation introducing the Building Safety owners and future developers about what Regulator, was only formally announced in the new regime is going to look like. We don’t the Queen’s Speech in May, after being heavily know final details, but we know enough that scrutinised in draft form. industry can start getting Introduced in response on with and getting ready to the fire at Grenfell “It’s one thing keeping for it.” Tower, the Building Safety Similarly important for on top of your risks, Bill looks to build on the the new Building Safety but it’s another to be Fire Safety Act that has Regulator is what it isn’t, able to demonstrate to just received Royal Assent and ensuring that the and will seek to change the construction industry a regulator how you go system and regime that led doesn’t focus on things about it” to that devastating night that “aren’t going to be on 14 June 2017. making a huge difference But Baker knows there’s no time to waste at the expense of something important”. and is keen to make inroads before legislation There’s also a host of best practice that’s comes to pass, with industry needing to “help currently happening, in both the social and itself” along the way. private sector, that Baker is keen to use moving And while his role is new, Baker isn’t a new forward, not wanting to reinvent the wheel face on the scene, having worked for HSE when there’s no need to. for 35 years, leading in roles looking at major But he adds that there was close working hazards and previously holding the role of needed with those who “won’t be engaged Chief Inspector of Construction. in this, don’t understand it, probably a bit And, he says, this combination of experience frightened by it, and maybe even hoping it all is perfect for this new role: “I’ve got a lot goes away”. of experience of operating permissioning Baker says: “I expect that quite a few building regimes, which are safety case and safety owners haven’t been subjected to this level of report regimes where duty holders not only scrutiny before and frankly many won’t have have to manage and control risk, but also the support, competence, or infrastructure to those regimes that require the duty holder to understand risk and what to do about it. show the regulator how they go about doing it “One thing I always say is that it’s for industry through cases or reports. to help itself here – the more I can do to “These are the methods Dame Judith is encourage those that are getting on with it, expecting to be implementing as part of this getting to grips with it and learning from their new regime. It’s one thing keeping on top experiences, the more they can do to share of your risks, but it’s another to be able to within the industry and help those that are demonstrate to a regulator how you go about struggling. it.” “Everyone needs to work together on this to Baker calls the opportunity in front of him turn it into a reality.” a “once in a career opportunity” and believes Another key plank of Baker’s plans is the the sector should be similarly excited about involvement of residents within the Building doing the right thing. Safety Regulator. It’s also a key theme of HQN’s He says the changes being introduced have upcoming annual conference, where the HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JULY 2021

“We’ve set up a small residents’ steering group to help us and we’ll establish an interim residents committee, because, ultimately, we’ll have to have a residents’ committee as part of the new legislative framework, which will help us as we go about implementing the regulatory framework” Health and Safety Executive will speak about the new Building Safety Regulator. He calls this aspect “critically important” and adds there was a real need to restore residents’ trust in the system. “It’s really crucial and important for me as Chief Inspector to rebuild that level of confidence; that the new regulator is going to do what it says on the tin; is going to involve residents and put them at the heart so if they feel things aren’t working properly or they’re not properly involved, or that they see things they’re uncomfortable about in terms of the safety of their building, they can be confident that the building owner will do something about it, but that they also have an independent regulator to go to if all other avenues have failed, who will step in and have all the tools and the teeth to encourage the building owner to do the right thing. “That’s an important ingredient in making sure this whole system works. Without residents, it won’t work. “We’re setting up a stakeholder engagement strategy and residents will form part of that. It’s an incredibly broad community, social all the way through to private, and they all have different interests. “Some of the work we’re doing very early on is identifying the themes that really interest residents around the new regulatory regime and how best to target our engagement with residents to get the best outcome. “We’ve set up a small residents’ steering group to help us and we’ll establish an interim residents’ committee, because, ultimately, we ‘ll have to have a residents’ committee as part of the new legislative framework, which will help us as we go about implementing the regulatory framework.” Baker’s to-do list isn’t short or easy, but it’s one he’s clearly relishing. But if he’s to look to where he wants to be in July 2022, what would the key achievements have been? It’s another answer caveated by the uncertainty around the Building Safety Bill and the volatile nature of government policy.

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After reflection, he says: “I’d like the HSE to have a clear leadership role as the Building Safety Regulator in waiting. “We’ll have put in place a number of key building blocks, ready for the new regulatory regime, we are going to run up to this. We aren’t going to wait until it becomes law and then start; we’re going to slowly introduce various elements of the new regime. “A few things I would expect by this time next year. We’ll certainly have our interim industry competence committee up and running and holding the ring on all the work that’s been going on in industry around competence of the built environment. “We’ll be well on with our engagement with residents and our residents’ committee, really involved in the detail on the role of residents and how they’ll play a part in the future. “And the other area is that we’ll be able to clearly describe how we, as the BSR, as well as the other regulators in this space, will be working collaboratively in this space, not only for the future but within the existing framework, too.” The Building Safety Regulator is going to be the key instrument to stop another Grenfell Tower tragedy from happening. With Baker at the helm, residents can trust that there’s someone who won’t shy away from making big decisions or taking on those industry players that have proven so elusive so far. A new regime is on the way. Is the sector ready?

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MANAGING EXPECTATIONS POST-COVID — IS LESS MORE? HQN and Mobysoft recently held two roundtables to look at organisations’ responses to the pandemic and how they feel about the landscape. High on the agenda was the future of resident expectations. When the pandemic first hit in March last year, many housing providers and local authorities would admit they were way behind the curve on technology, agile working, and anything related to the future of work. But within three weeks the world flipped on its head and housing providers and local authorities across the UK found that, with significant focus and resource, everyone who could work from home, was working from home. And it’s something all the participants at the roundtables spoke about with great pride, with Jayne Winders saying they “wouldn’t have ever achieved these changes in this timescale without the pandemic”.

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So, what were some of the challenges? Most spoke of the difficulties on the more personal side. Patrick Odling Smee said: “The management challenge has been supporting those staff members remotely while they’re dealing with some hard and challenging tenant conversations. We also want to keep the quality of those conversations high, without anyone monitoring it.” Michelle Younger supported this view, saying: “There’s a big difference between working and working well. Some of the big challenges for the contact team were doing it for a long time rather than a short time. “The bigger challenge is lying ahead and what we do

now.” For Hony Premlal, the challenges for her were mostly around safety and care. “It was challenging to keep the pandemic under control and our residents safe in our supported housing schemes. We managed to keep the infection rate low and followed all guidance. “We managed to do welfare calls to nearly all of our tenants. This is something that’s never happened before in housing. How many times before have we called and asked what people really want? “It has helped residents see we really care. That extra support and care really improved our customer satisfaction.” And this was something that resonated with Paul Smith, who said the care element and staff wellbeing was, and in some cases continues to be, a huge challenge. He said: “Most of our staff are supported housing staff so they kept going in. There was a danger of it becoming a bit of an ‘us and them’ type scenario, with head office being able to go home but frontline going in. “In the second lockdown, we never went below three in the office and are now back up to six. It’s been important to some of our staff members. Some of the younger single members have been struggling during the lockdown and there’s been concern over their mental health and their motivation levels.” Nadhia Khan spoke of the struggle of balancing staff and resident concerns.

Participants in roundtable one Chair: Troy Henshall, Wandle Jon Land, HQN Patrick Odling-Smee, Havering Council Hony Premlal, BCHA Dawn Wightman, A2 Dominion Paul Smith, Elim Housing Michelle Younger, Thirteen Group Ailsa Dunn, Prima Group Jayne Winders, Magenta Living

“There’s a big difference between working and working well. Some of the big challenges for the contact team were doing it for a long time rather than a short time” She said: “The struggle throughout has been around balancing the needs of residents and the needs of staff. We’ve managed to shift customer satisfaction by 4% during the pandemic, which we’re really proud of.” For Andy Vincent, there were struggles around investment. “I think delivering improvements to people’s homes was hard. Our Decent Homes percentage has gone down hugely in the last year, as it wasn’t a priority. “But our rent collection performance has been fantastic and our arrears reduced significantly. A lot of that has been attributed to artificial intelligence and a smarter way of working.” Ailsa Dunn added that for Prima Group, the challenges centred around some customers being disappointed by the halt in investment works – for example, new kitchens or bathrooms. But there was a huge amount of pride in other areas: “Our rent arrears performance has been the best ever this year. We always HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JULY 2021

Participants in roundtable two Chair: Miles Lanham, Octavia Housing Sharon Burns, Trafford Housing Trust Cath Pullin, Alliance Homes Andy Vincent, Runnymede Borough Council Paul O’Callaghan, Aster Group Jo Ray, Karbon Homes Peter Gill, Citizen Nadhia Khan, Rochdale Boroughwide Housing Laura Davies, Connexus Greg Birch, Orbit Group

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“We found that gave the housing team a real focus and less of a focus on what was going on in the world. It helped people to calm down a bit and get their head into the relationship building and what we wanted to do” say we put the customer at the heart of it but now we have been forced to work differently, there couldn’t have been evictions etc. We have moved away from a process-led approach, and the difference has been amazing.” This was echoed by Jayne Winders, who added: “Our internal pride is around rent collection, it’s been as good as ever. “Anyone that contacted us saying they were impacted by Covid, whatever impact it was, we put a marker on them… they have paid over 100% of their rent at the end of the year, and it’s slightly under for the rest of the population. “Many of them were new to benefits and that intensive support really helped. The quick response we made for people was a real success.” For Laura Davies and Connexus, they had a slightly different challenge, coming from a rural perspective. “We thought we would be pointing people toward food banks and debt advice but it wasn’t like that at all. It was other logistical challenges around no bank cards or closed local shops. “We found that gave the housing team a real focus and less of a focus on what was going on in the world. It helped people to calm down a bit and get their head into the relationship building and what we wanted to do.” And with real successes around communication, rent arrears, and service improvement/transformation, what did the participants think about the future of expectations? Jo Ray felt some trends seen during the past 12 months held the key for the future direction. She said: “Our satisfaction improved massively in the first lockdown and while it held up in the third lockdown, the interactions were a lot more impatient and forceful.” This was echoed by Sharon Burns: “Complaints were nonexistent in the initial stages of the pandemic. But it seems that people’s tolerance has worsened during the pandemic – for example, in ASB where there are less incidents but far more reports. “Tolerance levels are definitely strained, especially for those juggling home, school, work, and all other aspects of life under one roof.” And Peter Gill believes the sector needs to do a lot of learning from the year, saying: “People were comparing us to other online services such as online shopping so there was a lot of pressure on our services and competing in that field. I think that’s the learning from us – that we need to put a lot more into that.” One thing all housing providers did was make welfare calls

to all residents, offering help and advice with anything they needed. Ailsa Dunn believes this is one of the main ways expectations have been increased. “Customers liked welfare checks and we’re looking at how we can weave that into our future offer. They miss seeing staff; the visibility of staff has been something mentioned. The importance of communication, being clear and saying what we can and cannot do has been vital.” Management of future expectations is something Hony Premlal was keen to point out, too. “All of the works that didn’t happen over the past eight months, residents are asking about it all at once. There’s also an expectation, I think, for us to be as connected with them as we were at the start of the lockdown. “If we can get the small things right, that’s the big difference we can make. Keep asking customers what they like, as they are the best ones to know. They don’t usually want rocket science; it’s usually logical and sensible.” Dawn Wightman believes expectations will change as the role of housing providers changes. “We’re needing to provide different services now. Our tenancy sustainment team are now experiencing 80% of tenants having mental health issues. And there are less and less organisations to signpost these tenants to, seeing us providing services we never thought we would before.” And when looking to the future of expectations, technology was one of the common themes. Patrick Odling Smee said: “We now have video inspections. Tenants don’t have to wait for an operative to come over, they can send over a video and show someone in the office who can then log a repair. We have got to, as housing professionals, raise people’s expectations and show people what’s possible and how it benefits them.” This is something Paul O’Callaghan agreed with: “We proved that when we were up against it, we could change quickly and could provide continuity of service. I wonder if that’s now raised customer expectations even more? “Why can’t I track my operative? That’s the way most residents live their lives. We need to break down that perception that it’s a bit advanced from our business model. It’s what our customers expect.” Greg Birch added on this: “The big thing that organisations like Amazon do well is letting you know every step of the process about what’s going on and being proactive about giving that information. Residents shouldn’t be having to chase us around repairs, we should be on the front foot all of the time.” So while many housing associations struggled with the different pressure points at the beginning of the pandemic, it seems from the roundtable discussions that some unintended positives came out. Personalisation of services and service delivery look to be key going forward, as well as the increased level of support for those that need it.

“People were comparing us to other online services such as online shopping so there was a lot of pressure on our services and competing in that field. I think that’s the learning from us – that we need to put a lot more into that”

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THE HOUSING QUALITY NETW Tuesday 13 July With a theme of moving forwards the opening day of the conference will look at precisely that: how landlords can get to grips with the incoming policy landscape. MHCLG will provide an update on the Social Housing White Paper; Jo Richardson will set out her stall ahead of becoming CIH President; and our 2020 cohort of the Housing’s Next Generation competition will be the final keynote, as they set out their vision for a housing association of the future. With some fantastic breakout sessions on everything from ESG to social capital, it’s set to be a thought-provoking first day.