Housing Quality Magazine January 2022

ISSUE 7: JANUARY 2022 The green benefits of ending furniture poverty Before the downgrade: Getting ready for consumer regulation Special pull-out: Evidence

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The uncertain future We ask sector leaders to predict how housing will fare in 2022

HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JANUARY 2022

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CONTENTS

January 2022

Features 20

etting the sector ready for the Tenant G Satisfaction Measures Standard The new consumer standards regulation is on the way... what can housing do to prepare?

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What’s in store for housing in 2022?

F rom welfare reform and new social housing to decarbonisation and safety, we ask experts to give their views on the coming year.

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Turning the tide on stigma Much of the conversation around stigma is old ground, but a new report has given social housing providers more to think about.

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20

Making a house a home P roviding furnished tenancies improves wellbeing, but it can also be environmentally friendly.

Evidence

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

Challen ging an d

Comment

Last

5 Welcome 6 News analysis 8 Housing by numbers 10 A life in 15 questions 12 In the frame

44 Karbon Homes 46 NetZero Collective 48 MRI Software 49 Ombudsman corner

50 51 52 54

Get interactive

Email: mark.lawrence@ hqnetwork.co.uk Tel: 07523 920010

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A day in the life Resident’s view Fact or fiction The last word

Advertising All enquiries to: gemma.meeks@hqnetwork. co.uk Tel: 07548 092297 Design: Sam Wiggle

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Published six times a year. All rights reserved.

Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited.

HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JANUARY 2022

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Tackling the furniture poverty puzzle 98% of social housing tenancies are let without any furniture

Find out more about how our flexible furnished tenancy solution transforms lives.

www.nfsfurniture.org.uk furnitureservice@yhn.org.uk

Welcome Well-meaning ventriloquists are doing harm to the idea of a tenant voice Many people claim to speak for tenants – but all too often they’re well-meaning ventriloquists. Why don’t we hear more from tenants themselves and at the right time?

Stigma and Social Housing in England, a study by Mercy Denedo and Amanze Ejiogu, points out that many of us fail to listen to the tenant voice. It follows that we don’t take account of their views. So, we have contractors telling tenants that they can come in and out of their homes as they please, and when universal credit reared its head, we assumed tenants couldn’t manage their money. It’s a sort of hybrid between a hostile and patronising attitude. And we know from ITV news last year that this doesn’t end well.

Landlords do have a lot on their plate. They need to bring in the cash to pay for fire safety work and decarbonisation on top of the normal outgoings. At the end of the day, most of the money for these bills must come from rents. So, it comes as no surprise that most landlords want index-linked rents of some sort. The problem is that many tenants don’t have index-linked wage increases – and, to make matters worse, heating and food bills are skyrocketing. Quite simply, we’re between a rock and a hard place.

I’ve not heard of many real conversations between landlords and tenants about this year’s increase. More often than not, landlords have opted for the full 4.1% hike. And you can see why.

But if we’re not talking to tenants about difficult issues like this, where does it leave us? Will we turn a tin ear to concerns about the practicality of heat pumps too? There is a better way.

When Gwyneth Taylor ran the National Federation of ALMOs she always sent in the tenants to talk to ministers. Why? Well, the tenants, as voters, just got a better welcome than chiefs would. And they spoke plainly. The record shows that Gwyneth did very well in keeping the funds coming in for much-needed improvements to council homes. But tenants could

only play that role after frank exchanges of views with landlords. Now, I’m not saying that ALMOs are perfect, nor am I harking back to the good old days. I’m just making the simple point that landlords and tenants can thrash out tough issues and that tenants can go on to be effective advocates at the highest level.

I wholeheartedly agree with Mercy and Amanze that we need a national tenant voice and I know for a fact that tenants are up to the job.

But timing is everything. We need to talk to tenants properly at the start rather than foisting Hobson’s Choice onto them. And the more we engage with tenants as equals or adults, the more we’ll have what you might call the tenant reflex in organisations. We really are going nowhere if the hostilities on Twitter keep on as they are.

The hardest bit of the job will be distilling what tenants want into clear messages. There are millions of tenants living very different lives and, to no one’s great surprise, they will hold varying opinions.

Just now, some of the tenants on Twitter regard tenants in official structures as ‘hand-picked’ – by which, I fear, they mean ‘puppets’.

How do you bring tenants together? In all likelihood, someone, or maybe a few people, will emerge who can pull it all together. That’s what usually happens.

One final plea is to make sure the national tenant voice has enough cash to do its own research and run its own figures.

We can’t continue in a situation where landlord bodies are fairly well-funded while tenants have no voice. You know what happens when we only listen to one side. It’s great for social media spats but bad for society.

Alistair McIntosh, Chief Executive, HQN HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JANUARY 2022

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News analysis

by Mark Lawrence

The perfect housing storm

White Paper 2.0

Are we about to see a ‘winter of discontent’ in housing terms?

Latest Shelter estimates put homelessness at 274,000 people (at the very least); Generation Rent warn there could be a Section 21 eviction every 32 minutes; and the National Residential Landlords Association’s figures show rent debt has risen 41% since May. That’s on top of previous Joseph Rowntree Foundation estimates that 3.8 million households are in arrears with household bills.

Government has done very little to help, unlike its counterparts in Wales and Scotland. It’ll fall back on its universal credit changes made in the Budget, forgetting the scrapping of the uplift and freezing of local housing allowance.

Many of the calls to reinstate the uplift or to introduce a Covid debt relief fund have fallen on deaf ears.

But the cost of living is going to start impacting more and more people, with a mixture of the pandemic and Brexit starting to bite many businesses and livelihoods. Will it be the straw that breaks the camel’s back for the government?

What will the Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities Committee inquiry into social housing quality and regulation really achieve that the Social Housing White Paper hasn’t already uncovered?

It feels like the latest attempt at working out some of the issues that have arisen from the investigation

by ITV News into the state of social housing in England.

As the presenter of that investigation, Daniel Hewitt, points out, it’s now the sixth inquiry in response to the series of investigations. And what’s come out of that so far? One association cleared without tenants being spoken to and a backlash from other associations who are being named and shamed too much by the Ombudsman. Hardly inspiring change.

And what recommendations are going to come out of this inquiry that aren’t simply implement the Social Housing White Paper?

The regulator, in its defence, will simply say it’s trying to implement

measures to stop this from happening and has started the ball rolling with TSM consultations, and the Ombudsman will say it’s ramping up the pressure and that change takes time.

Housing associations will point to the competing demands they face, from building safety and decarbonisation to building new affordable homes, and councils will rightly point to the huge funding blackhole they’ve experienced over the past decade.

Only government introducing the legislation to implement these reforms can really solve this issue.

Not another inquiry.

Watch HQN TV for a weekly roundup of the housing news

How to solve a problem like the PRS? The National Audit Office report into the regulation of the private sector wouldn’t have made pretty reading for many in power.

However, insiders felt it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

There was criticism of the government’s “piecemeal” approach to introducing new measures, the lack of use of current

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HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JANUARY 2022

regulatory tools by councils, and the concerning lack of data that should underpin any action.

It’ll be interesting to see how the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities responds in this year’s White Paper on the PRS, with opposing sides of the argument in agreement that a lot needs to be done.

Crawley Borough Council tenants benefit from retrofit programme designed to decarbonise UK homes

NetZero Collective launched in September 2020 as a collaboration between property services business, Liberty, and the University of Southampton. It aims to identify affordable solutions to decarbonising UK homes.

The first homes to reach the retrofit installation phase are owned by Crawley Borough Council. The works are expected to save 572 tonnes of CO2 by 2050 and save residents an average of £600 a year on their fuel bills.

Councillor Ian Irvine, Cabinet Member for Housing, added: “We are delighted that Crawley Borough Council tenants will be the first to benefit from the retrofit scheme, which will help us move towards our goal of being net zero by 2050.”

To find out more about NetZero Collective and how they can support you on your decarbonisation journey, visit www.netzerocollective.co.uk

Housing by numbers

total agreed borrowing facilities by the sector, an increase of £1.8bn (Regulator of Social Housing)

proposed measures in the Tenant Satisfaction Measures consultation

the amount poor quality and hazardous housing costs the NHS every year (BRE)

extra people that’ll be in relative poverty after housing costs following recent universal credit changes (Resolution Foundation)

of new Conservative voters who believe social housing should be made a priority (Centre for Social Justice)

enquiries and complaints the Housing Ombudsman received between July and September 2021, an increase of 83% on the previous year

the level of rent arrears for both Scottish councils and housing associations (Scottish Housing Regulator)

ASB cases in the year ending June 2021 (ONS)

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HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JANUARY 2022

orders and recommendations the Housing Ombudsman made last year to “make things right for residents”

ADVERTORIAL

Good quality property data is essential for effective planning – and for being successful in gaining Government funding 2022 will bring further waves of funding through the Government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF). The fund aims to upgrade a significant amount of the social housing stock currently below EPC rating C to deliver more energy-efficient homes, reducing both carbon emissions and bills.

To be successful in bidding for funding, a housing provider needs to have good quality data on their stock. In October 2021, BEIS published results of a survey1 amongst providers that illustrated the many challenges they face. It explored providers’ attitudes to improved energy performance, barriers to implementing new measures, and views on the new fund.

The survey captured providers’ knowledge of the SAP energy ratings for their stock. A SAP rating reflects a property’s energy costs associated with space heating, water heating, ventilation and lighting, minus the cost savings from energy generation technologies. The research found that only a quarter (26%) of social housing providers were sure of the SAP energy rating for a very high proportion of their stock. Almost half (47%) of all providers were unsure and a further 13% weren’t aware of the SAP energy rating for any of their stock.

Without sufficient knowledge of the energy attributes of a housing stock it is impossible to devise an improvement strategy that will take you cost effectively towards lower carbon and lower running costs. And to be successful in bidding for funding from the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, having confidence in the data you hold on your stock is a priority.

To help, Sava has a series of free 30-minute webinars running in the new year for social landlords to understand their current data and how to develop strategies to continually improve the quality.

• Understand how the new SAP 10 methodology will impact your carbon and energy strategy – Thursday20 January 2022 • An introduction to energy ratings for housing providers – Thursday 27 January • The top 5 issues that housing providers need to know about RdSAP - Thursday 3 February • The EPC – an essential guide for housing providers – Thursday 10 February • How to maximise the value you get from your investment in EPCs – an essential guide for all housing providers – Thursday 24 February • How to analyse the carbon emissions and energy ratings for your whole stock even with a small amount of data – Thursday 3 March • Is your housing data helping you tackle the de-carbonisation challenge? – Thursday 10 March All webinars are at 3pm. To book and see full details of the learning outcomes from each webinar, just go to www.sava.co.uk/software/technical-webinars/ About Sava Sava provides analysis software and consultancy to help housing providers gain a better understanding of their housing stock and carbon zero objectives. Sava established the UK’s first energy rating scheme over 30 years ago and its software is now used by over 200 social housing providers.

www.sava.co.uk | technology@sava.co.uk

1 Social Housing Decarbonisation Study – Views from Social Housing Providers, BEIS, October 2021 HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JANUARY 2022

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A life in 15 questions Mark Fletcher Newly-appointed board member at ForHousing, Mark takes us through his life – from treasured possessions to biggest achievements.

1. Tell us about your career and how you ended up in your current role I started my career in advertising sales working for a local newspaper in South Manchester. Swayed by the bonus-earning potential, I left uni and began to climb through the ranks before taking up a commercial and marketing role in the construction industry. Whilst in this role I was approached by a previous client who asked me to help them secure commercial support for an event. I helped them successfully in my free time and then made the decision to step out as a freelance sponsorship consultant.

I represented a number of festivals, awards, and events before being asked to help out with Manchester Pride. When my predecessor stepped down I was encouraged to throw my hat in the ring and I’ve been Chief Executive ever since.

I currently sit on the board at The Manchester College and also chair the LGBTQ+ Advisory Panel to the Greater Manchester Mayor and combined authority.

Having grown up in social housing I’ve always been keen to work within the sector and I’m thrilled to have joined ForHousing.

2. Describe yourself in three words Ambitious, loyal, sarcastic.

3. Best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Always retain your integrity.

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say it’s memories I truly treasure, not possessions.

4. Favourite place on earth?

Home.

5. What would you change about yourself?

I’ve learned to accept myself for who I am. I recognise all of my flaws, imperfections, and human hangups and I’m pretty comfortable in my own skin.

6. Describe your home Well, currently, my husband and I are in the middle of renovating our Georgian-built house which makes for quite an interesting place to live.

For me, home is a place to really live and this is the sentiment that was carried through to conversations with our architect.

When it’s complete we’ll have a modern, eco-friendly family home complete with a few gadgets and smart technology. It’ll be our ideal place to work, rest or play and a welcoming place to entertain family and friends.

7. What makes you angry?

Dishonesty and bullying.

8. Most treasured possession Whilst I like the possessions I own, I can’t actually think of one that I would consider as treasured. I’d

9. If you won £1 million on the Lottery, what would you spend it on?

I’d invest some of it in property for future family security and also in a holiday home abroad. I’d then reserve an amount and really take the time to think about how to invest in needy causes that I feel can achieve positive social impact.

10. Biggest achievement?

Becoming a dad.

11. Biggest regret?

Waiting so long to become a dad.

12. Most overused phrase?

To be honest.

13. Recommend a book Twelve Red Herrings, Jeffery Archer.

14. The best piece of television in the last 12 months?

I’m a bit of a telly addict and I love all different types of programmes, from hard-hitting social justice documentaries and gripping dramas, right the way to trash TV and reality shows like KUWTK (RIP).

15. Tell us a secret about yourself You can find me on the HSE Health and Safety Law poster, posing in a tool belt and seemingly hard at work in a loft. My picture is literally hanging on the wall of most businesses and organisations in the UK!

ADVERTORIAL

Putting sustainability at the heart of what we do Supporting over 6,500 households and up to 25,000 people, Rooftop Housing Group takes its responsibility to environmental sustainability seriously and has adopted both the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the new housing association Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting standard, and is already ISO14001 certified. Rooftop has committed to building new homes that are environmentally efficient, investing in existing homes to improve their energy performance as well as small scale projects such as parks for health and wellbeing.

Passionate about creating great homes, Rooftop has adopted a “Rooftop Living Homes Standard”, which is the minimum standard that new homes will achieve to ensure that customers have a high quality, energy efficient home, in a pleasant setting in which they can lead a successful life. This enhanced technical specification is regularly reviewed and updated with the aim to deliver Net Zero Carbon Homes.

Currently, at least 72% of new homes built by Rooftop achieve EPC A, and where possible developments will utilise a sustainable energy source rather than rely on gas, a plan that is four years ahead of government guidelines.

Other plans include a new development in Worcestershire that will not only include ground source heat pumps, but a community orchard, allotments, and a wildlife pond; and the installation of a pocket park for residents, on a former factory site in Gloucester is already underway.

Rooftop has also recently secured external funding to determine whether an existing site is suitable for a renewable energy scheme, such as a solar farm, to ensure best use of the land which is unlikely to be built on for many years.

As part of Rooftop’s commitment to sustainability, it has also completed the first phase of decarbonisation work to existing homes, funded by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and Rooftop’s own investment.

Awarded over £270,000 in funding, and internal investment of over £135,000 as part of a pilot decarbonisation project, Rooftop has fitted 56 solar PV systems and 20 ‘Quantum’ heating systems (high efficiency low carbon electric storage heaters) as part of the first wave. These systems mean that residents will see reduced bills, warmer homes, and the homes are now more sustainable.

The next wave of installations has begun and will deliver 80 solar PV and Quantum heating systems to 80 properties, with work continuing until March 2022.

The second wave of installations has again received over £270,000 funding from BEIS, and investment from Rooftop of over £135,000. The BEIS Funding supports Rooftop’s plans to ensure that its existing homes are made more energy and heat efficient, cheaper to run, responsible for less carbon emissions, and achieve EPC C. Boris Worrall, Rooftop’s Chief Executive, said “We want to make homes cheaper to run, more sustainable and easier to live in. We know that our customers are facing rising fuel prices. This is a first step on a major programme of work for the next nine years to invest in the homes of customers who currently live in lower energy band properties. It’s also great to be part of a national pilot programme testing how we can innovate to tackle the real and present threat of climate change.”

Website: www.rooftopgroup.org Email: enquiries@rooftopgroup.org Tel: 01386 420800

HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JANUARY 2022

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In the frame

 Green hearts Leicester City Council To mark #InternationalDayOfAction, 500 green heart pledges from schools, individuals, and organisations were displayed across Leicester as part of the #GreenHeartsFromLeicester campaign.

 Moving Marjorie Aspire Housing Resident Marjorie Williams celebrates moving into her new home, which is on the site of a former pub. She said: “After I lost my husband, I couldn’t stay in my old house, so this is just what I needed.”

 Nifty knitter Karbon Homes Dorothy Richardson brings joy to her village all year round, by decorating her garden with cute and quirky crafts. Last Christmas she knitted 200 angels and left them in a box outside for people to make a wish.

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 Teeside trees Thirteen Group

 Diwali distribution whg

Staff planted the first trees this week to mark the beginning of a new orchard in Middlesbrough. It comes as part of the UK’s largest annual tree celebration, National Tree Week.

Staff delivered hundreds of food parcels to families across Walsall as part of a charity project to spread cheer during Diwali.

HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JANUARY 2022

 Picking party Leeds Jewish Housing Association Staff carried out a litter-picking exercise for ‘Mitzvah Day’, the Jewish community-led day of social action. The activity involved LJHA staff members, volunteers from building partners Engie, PCSOs from Leeds North East Neighbourhood Policing Team, and residents.

 Community crafts Broadland Housing A half-term event was a perfect chance to bring tenants together. There were family arts and crafts in the morning, woodfired pizza at lunchtime, and ‘Boogie Bingo’ for all ages. There was also 1-to-1 support for those who needed it.

 Musical mayhem Wrexham Borough Council Pupils receiving free school meals are being given the chance to learn instruments, ranging from the cornet to the violin. The lessons are being provided by Wrexham Music Co-operative, with funding from the council.

 Wonderful wildlife Orbit Group Pupils from Westwood Academy in Canley have helped to create a new wildlife haven at a Coventry retirement community. The pollinator-friendly ‘pocket park’ at Tanyard Farm will encourage more wildlife to the area for residents and the wider community to enjoy.

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

HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JANUARY 2022

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EVIDENCE update The latest research and analysis – in plain English In this issue: 14 Welcome 14 Challenging and tackling social housing stigma 16 Sharing the benefits of homeworking

Issue 34 | January 2022

16 An intermediate rental model for Northern Ireland 18 Technology, housing and care 19 Talking about housing: How to shape positive attitudes

Welcome The autumn saw a raft of government announcements, from building safety to tenant satisfaction measures. Equally important was the attention to care services – though many issues remain despite the government’s proposals.

Technology can and does assist in adult care services, but what more could it achieve? Dr Kate Hamblin, from the University of Sheffield, reports on the Panel for Innovation Inquiry that’s seeking to find ways of integrating housing and technology into care for our ageing population. Dr Hamblin’s own work is exploring ways to overcome the digital divide and provide sustainable wellbeing outcomes for people who need support.

An issue that’s come to the fore in recent years is stigma in social housing. Mercy Denedo, from Durham University, and Amanze Ejiogu, from Newcastle University, discuss their report on how tenants, politicians, social housing providers, and the media contribute to the construction of stigma. They offer recommendations for

government and for housing professionals to overcome this damaging labelling.

Looking across the housing sector, The Frameworks Institute, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, and Nationwide Foundation looked at why it’s so difficult for housing advocates to achieve change in cutting inequalities, homelessness, and poor conditions. They’ve come up with some ideas to change entrenched public attitudes that amount to seeing housing through a commercial lens and therefore a value process that can’t be changed.

Intermediate renting has become a feature of England’s tenure landscape in recent years but hasn’t featured in Northern Ireland. Could the tenure help overcome the growing shortage of social and affordable housing there? Joe Frey and Ken Gibb report on their work developing a potential intermediate rent product and assessing demand for it.

Janis Bright Editor, Evidence

Challenging and tackling social housing stigma Te n a n t s , politicians, social housing providers, and the media contribute to the construction of stigma. Mercy Denedo

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(Durham University) and Amanze Ejiogu (Newcastle University) discuss their report on how tenants and those connected to them have experienced stigma, its impact upon them, and how stigma has been challenged Our study suggests that stigma is complex because social housing stigma intersects with other

societal stigmas, such as poverty stigma, benefits and unemployment stigma, crime stigma, mental health and disabilities, and race and immigration stigma.

The report places government policy and messaging at the centre of the problem, as a key influencer of public perspective, by promoting homeownership as the ideal standard for society to attain and positioning social housing for those who cannot achieve homeowner status. The government’s policies from 1970 onwards, such as adopting a needs-based allocation policy for social housing, and the depletion of social housing through the right to buy scheme, led to a consensus that social housing was something of a safety net – temporary, inferior, at best a springboard for homeownership, and, at worst, a necessity for the neediest members of society.

The media has also played a significant role.

Participants in our study repeatedly pointed to the deeply stigmatising negative portrayals of social housing and its residents in the media.

Worryingly, strained relationships between social housing providers (housing associations and councils) and their tenants also provide a source of stigma. We recorded countless accounts from tenants who, when highlighting typically poor maintenance of, or need for repairs to their socially rented property to landlords, were frequently ignored. When repairs eventually did occur, the work was completed with disrespect and disregard to tenants.

stigmatising, and have redesigned procedures to give residents a say in the development of policy and service delivery by giving tenants a voice in board meetings or scrutiny panels. However, this has had limited success.

Challenging stigma

Our recommendations

The government has made an effort to reduce – even eradicate – social stigma with policies designed to rebrand social housing through regeneration and promoting a socially mixed-tenure planning system. But, while such measures look good on the surface, the problem is much more complex. For real change to emerge, a bigger societal shift needs to occur. Policymakers need to stop emphasizing homeownership as the tenure of choice and positioning social housing as either a springboard for the ultimate goal of homeownership or a safety net for those who cannot, or do not wish to own their own home.

There’s evidence that housing associations and local councils have a growing awareness of how their paternalistic attitudes, engagement practices, and policies have exacerbated the stigma rather than tackled it. Several housing associations have now engaged in retraining their staff to understand how their policies and practices are envisaged as

Our report recommends the government adopt a rights-based approach to housing, making access to housing affordable for all, and encouraging people to stop using stigmatizing rhetoric to describe social housing and residents. To better address negative societal perceptions and stereotyping of social housing and its tenants, the sustained and collective programme needs to prioritise the construction of high-quality social housing, effective customer service, and a culture of respect for social housing. And, to best encourage a shift in public perception, such action needs to happen at the local, regional, and national levels.

Our report also recommends the creation of a strong tenant voice at national, regional, and local levels, while redesigning the regulatory and governance arrangements of social housing providers (housing associations and councils) to make housing providers more accountable to their tenants.

HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JANUARY 2022

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The majority of the social housing tenants we spoke with felt that housing management professionals didn’t understand the communities they served, and, consequently, couldn’t understand the stigma experienced by residents.

There’s a need for housing management professionals and board members to not only involve the tenants in decision-making but also get to know their tenants better by spending more time visiting the communities/neighbourhoods they serve. Our findings highlighted that tenants would like to be involved in this process.

Greater care also needs to be taken when allocating accommodation, to create more balanced and cohesive communities. For example, ensuring that a compatible mix of residents is located within specific housing blocks, estates, and communities to prevent reinforcing stigma further, or ensuring that adequate support is deployed when social housing is allocated to those

with additional care needs so that communities don’t become vulnerable to such stereotypes.

Respect and care should also be at the core of such interactions to enable housing providers to build trusting relationships with their tenants.

There should be deliberate, sustained, and genuine efforts by housing professionals to listen to their social housing residents and take meaningful actions to consider and address their concerns and be more accountable to their tenants.

Stigma

and

Social

Housing

in

England

Dr Mercy Denedo is an Assistant Professor in Accounting at Durham University Business School.

Email address: mercy.e.denedo@durham.ac.uk Dr Amanze Ejiogu is a Senior Lecturer in Accounting, Newcastle University Business School.

Email address: amanze.ejiogu@newcastle.ac.uk

Sharing the benefits of homeworking Working from home benefits low-paid workers as much as those who are highly paid, research from Demos finds.

The thinktank found that about three quarters of low paid homeworkers (earning under £20,000 a year) reported benefits in flexibility, productivity, work-life balance, and relationships with family.

Nearly all would prefer to keep working from home at least some of the time.

Low-paid workers reported saving money by working from home, though half of all hybrid workers reported that their costs had increased.

However, the advantages of working from home

aren’t evenly spread. Only a third of low-paid people were working from home, while about three quarters of highly-paid people were.

The researchers recommend the Decent Homes Standard review should include issues related to working from home, particularly broadband connectivity.

Inside jobs: the experience homeworkers in Britain today https://bit.ly/326JZ5g https://demos.co.uk/

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An intermediate rental model for Northern Ireland Joe Frey and Ken Gibb report on their study into how the new tenure might be introduced in the future.

For more than a decade, the housing market in Northern Ireland (NI) has been characterised by a growing undersupply of housing, and a particular shortage of social and affordable housing. Given the ongoing constraints on public finances there’s been a growing recognition that social housing alone won’t be able to address unmet

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housing need. Evidence from elsewhere in the UK and Ireland had indicated the potential to successfully provide affordable rented homes for ‘just managing’ households unable to access homeownership – including in the context of NI its longstanding, successful affordable shared ownership scheme provided by the Co-ownership Housing Association.

Unlike other UK jurisdictions, NI has never introduced a well-defined affordable rent product.

In response, NI’s Minister for Communities, Deirdre Hargey, in November 2020 announced her intention to introduce a form of intermediate rent (IR). Departmental officials had already been

examining existing mid-market rental products operating in other parts of the UK and the costrental model being introduced in the Republic of Ireland.

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Detailed study The Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence (CaCHE) was commissioned to undertake a more detailed study that investigated the demand for and potential design of an intermediate rent (IR) product for Northern Ireland that, to protect funding for social housing, wouldn’t require publicly-subsidised Capital Funding. Rather, the new product would be loan funded through longterm financial transactions capital (FTC), offering good-quality, well-managed private tenancies at affordable rents to lower-income households with insufficient points to access social housing, little chance of entering homeownership, and who would struggle to meet typical rents in their area of choice.

The key findings of the CaCHE study were that: Analysis of rents data showed that there are considerable gaps between social and market rents in some parts of Northern Ireland, particularly in the Greater Belfast area Evidence from elsewhere, particularly Scotland, indicates that a financing model combining financial transactions capital (FTC) and longerterm (20+ years) private finance can provide the basis for a viable IR product in NI There are more than 130,000 households privately renting in NI, of which an estimated 50,000 households (37% of all households in the private rented sector) pay 25% or more of their income in rent. More than 20,000 pay at least 40% of their income (requiring a 30-40% reduction in rents to bring these households under the 25% rent to income ratio) Ideally, the new IR product should be based on a simple model delivering sub-market rents (67-80% of market rents for a given locality and increased annually at CPI + 0-1% to ensure longer-term affordability) on longer private rental tenancies (recommended standardised five years). Additional subsidy flexibilities – e.g. cheap public land – should be a viewed as a bonus rather than a necessary element Decisions around how the IR product is offered to prospective tenants is important – the use of income ceilings, affordability thresholds, and perhaps evidence of insufficient social housing ‘points’ would suffice, even though the properties would be offered to the first person

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who applies and meets such criteria Creating confidence in private finance requires minimum scale and also a capacity to let properties quickly. The model could work potentially across different locations, settings, and solutions (stand alone, part of a mixed tenure development, new build and off the shelf, greenfield or brownfield site) IR properties should be delivered and managed by a social enterprise and/or independent charity or a private subsidiary of an existing housing association.

The research concluded that there are key decisions to be made at ministerial level regarding the detail of how the scheme would operate (e.g., in addition to the details of the dimensions above, how would it be regulated, and by whom). On 18 October 2021 the Department for Communities simultaneously published both the CaCHE report and its consultation document on proposals for introducing an IR product for NI – proposals which were grounded to a considerable extent on recommendations made in the CaCHE report.

The consultation period ends in January 2022.

Thereafter, the ministerial team will finalise the detail of the new product with a view to launching it in the 12 months that follow.

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.

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Technology, housing and care Dr Kate Hamblin from the University of Sheffield reports on the findings of a recent inquiry into technology and housing, and on research examining the role of technology in sustainable adult social care arrangements.

In October 2021, the Technology for our Ageing Population: Panel for Innovation Inquiry (TAPPI) launched its Phase 1 report exploring how technology and housing can be integrated to support the UK’s ageing population. The inquiry, chaired by Professor Roy Sandbach and supported by the Dunhill Medical Trust, brought together a panel of experts and invited submissions of evidence related to current practice in housing, care, and technology, with the ultimate aim of creating a “new framework for all stakeholders to refer to in the context of how technology can transform the landscape of everyday living environments for older and disabled people”.

The report brought together examples of good practice and evidence to produce 10 principles that state new housing should be: 1. “Adaptable – able to adapt to changing user needs and technological advances 2. Co-produced – involving people to co-create solutions to inform how they want to live their lives 3. Cost-effective – offer value for money and benefit both to individuals but also to workforces in local housing and care economies 4. Choice-led – enabling access to more options that meet individual needs and wishes 5. Interoperable – ability to integrate and work across systems and platforms to meet individuals’ diverse needs and aspirations 6. Inclusive – reduce digital, health, income inequalities to enable active involvement in home, local community or networks 7. Outcome-focused – improve health and wellbeing to improve quality of life or maintain independence 8. Person-centred – putting the person first to give control over own environment, care and support needs etc.

9. Preventative – focused on prevention rather than reactive models 10. Quality-focused – in designing products, systems and services to ensure ‘fit for purpose’.”

Technology has been a key policy focus, with successive secretaries of state for health and social

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care describing its “transformative” potential in care settings. The recent People at the Heart of Care: Adult Social Care Reform White Paper highlights that “digital tools and technology can support independent living and improve the quality of care” and allocates £150m in additional funding to support technology adoption in social care. As such, there’s a need for an understanding of how technologies can enhance care in practice, and the TAPPI Phase 1 report raises interesting issues and examples of the use of digital devices and systems to support people to live well in a variety of different housing contexts.

The Achieving Sustainability in Care Systems – The potential of technology project, part of the ESRC-funded Sustainable Care programme, submitted evidence to TAPPI based on reviews of the academic, policy and grey literatures, stakeholder consultation, and case studies of local authority approaches to technology and care. Our project’s aims were to explore the challenges to care system sustainability and the various ways technologies are being used to address issues such as the mismatch between the demand for and supply of care, as well as deliver wellbeing outcomes for people who need support.

The digital divide As the inquiry highlighted, we too in our research found the Covid-19 pandemic had acted as an accelerant for the use of technology. In our recent Sustainable Care and Covid-19 podcast, we explored with guests from the Technology Enable Care Services Association (TSA) and Hampshire County Council how the pandemic dramatically altered the way technologies are being used across the care sector, but also the implications for the technology enabled care sector itself.

However, as acknowledged by the TAPPI report, the ‘digital divide’ in access to devices and reliable connectivity as well as the confidence and skills to use technologies are important challenges that have persisted during the pandemic and aren’t evenly distributed across the UK. Our review of the research evidence highlights areas of England which are facing particular issues related to ability to use digital devices due to a lack of reliable broadband and mobile networks.

Digital is becoming increasingly important as the analogue switch-off takes place (to be complete by 2025) which will render much existing technology-enabled care provision unreliable,

with implications for housing providers who use devices and systems that rely on this telephone network.

The simple replacement of these devices with digital alternatives is contingent on the availability of reliable connectivity, as well as likely to incur significant costs. Some of the stakeholders we consulted with felt the scale of these issues was almost insurmountable and, coupled with a fragmented and confusing marketplace for both specialist and more mainstream digital devices, there are some areas of the UK where there is a degree of policy and practice inertia related to

technology and care.

These are important issues to navigate if we’re to harness the potential of technology in housing to help people live fulfilling lives. The announcement at the Housing LIN’s December Summit by the Dunhill Medical Trust that they intend to support the further advancement of TAPPI with a £1m grant and the proposed Framework for Action are therefore welcome areas of progress.

Dr Kate Hamblin is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Sheffield

Talking about housing: How to shape positive attitudes Research into public attitudes finds significant barriers to overcoming entrenched problems in housing.

The Frameworks Institute, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, and Nationwide Foundation looked at why it’s so difficult for housing advocates to achieve change in cutting inequalities, homelessness, and poor conditions.

They found three main problems. First, the public see housing via a consumerist lens – that it’s something to be bought and sold by those who have the means. Second, they see this as a natural process – ‘the way things have always been’. And, finally, this means they struggle to see alternatives or how affordable, good-quality housing could be made available for all.

Within this, the researchers found that people regard renting as a stopgap – a temporary situation on the route to homeownership. Interviewees often supported Right to Buy as part of this belief.

Turning to communications about housing, the researchers offer a series of ways to overcome these beliefs.

One is to talk about the security and wellbeing housing provides, rather than its place in wealth creation. Advocates should avoid describing housing as a ‘basic need’ without explaining what that means, they say. People’s understanding of need could be better served by discussing the way housing enables people to build their lives.

Interviewees acknowledged worsening inequalities and issues of discrimination in housing. But they tended to see these as natural consequences of the ways in which class, race, and geography exist in the UK. The researchers found people didn’t generally link these issues with policy decisions that may have created or worsened the situation.

The researchers say advocates should make the links between policy and housing conditions, and show how systemic racism and discrimination shape communities’ ability to access housing.

Advocates could also explain how policies such as regulating the private rented sector could help to reduce inequalities.

A particularly interesting finding was that although people saw the association between poor conditions and poor health, interviewees didn’t regard better quality housing as positively affecting life outcomes or health. Instead, they saw it as simply doing no harm. The task therefore is to show how good housing can have positive effects.

A particularly entrenched belief was that the quality of housing relates to cost. Affordable housing is therefore seen as poorer quality or being in a less favourable area.

Starting a dialogue about genuine affordability is important, the researchers say. This discussion must include showing that quality and cost aren’t inevitably linked. And it must also include arguing for high-quality social housing as a long-term home that can positively affect people’s lives.

Communicating about housing in the UK: Obstacles, opening and emerging recommendations https://bit.ly/3IP37W5 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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PREPARING FOR CONSUMER REGULATION After the Regulator of Social Housing released its consultation on the Tenant Satisfaction Measures Standard, we look at the different proposals within the document and set out some practical steps housing associations and local authorities can take to get ahead of the game.

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Summary of proposed Tenant Satisfaction Measures Overall satisfaction Keeping properties in good repair

Maintaining building safety

Effective handling of complaints

Respectful and helpful engagement

• TP01 – Overall satisfaction • RP01 – Homes that do not meet the Decent Homes Standard • RP02 – Repairs completed within target timescale • TP02 – Satisfaction with repairs • TP03 – Satisfaction with time taken to complete most recent repair • BS01 – Gas safety checks • BS02 – Fire safety checks • BS03 – Asbestos safety checks • BS04 – Water safety checks • BS05 – Lift safety checks • TP04 – Satisfaction that the home is well maintained and safe to live in • CH01 – Complaints relative to the size of the landlord • CH02 – Complaints responded to within Complaint Handling Code timescales • TP11 – Satisfaction with the landlord’s approach to handling of complaints • TP12 – Tenant knowledge of how to make a complaint • TP05 – Satisfaction that the landlord listens to tenant views and acts upon them • TP06 – Satisfaction that the landlord keeps tenants informed about things that matter to them • TP07 – Agreement that the landlord treats tenants fairly and with respect

Responsible neighbourhood management

• NM01 – Anti-social behaviour cases relative to the size of the landlord • TP08 – Satisfaction that the landlord keeps communal areas clean, safe and well maintained • TP09 – Satisfaction that the landlord makes a positive contribution to neighbourhoods • TP10 – Satisfaction with the landlord’s approach to handling of anti-social behaviour

While still only in consultation form, the Regulator of Social Housing’s vision for the Tenant Satisfaction Measures Standard reveals how they view the future of consumer standards regulation.

Given a beefed-up role by the Social Housing White Paper, the consumer standards aim to ensure that the culture and policies that led to the tragedy at Grenfell Tower don’t happen again.

There are 22 proposed measures – ten measured by landlords themselves, with the other 12 being measured through tenant perception surveys.

For years the regulator has warned housing not to wait for the measures to come into place to make changes on these issues, but a year to forget for many housing associations and local authorities shows there are some that didn’t listen to those calls.

When releasing the consultation, Chief Executive at the Regulator, Fiona MacGregor, said: “Our proposed tenant satisfaction measures aim to give clear and comparable data about the quality of services tenants in social housing receive. We want them to be a valuable source of information for tenants, local communities, and landlords as well as forming part of the wider picture that informs our consumer regulation.”

So, what’s proposed and what can housing associations and local authorities do to prepare?

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‘Keeping properties in good repair’ Repairs is the first of the categories being looked at by the TSM Standard. While one of the measures is on hold as it relates to the Decent Homes Standard, there are some that can be actioned now.

The regulator itself has noted that the measures for the Decent Homes Standard cannot be confirmed until the Decent Homes Review has taken place, with a recent Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities official telling HQN that it’s looking to include decarbonisation, safety, and an increased quality mark.

But what’s clear is that damp and mould will be part of the plans, certainly after the national media attention given to the issue by ITV News, in which the regulator and DLUHC were put under pressure to act.

On wider repairs, though, the key is to ensure target timescales are clearly reported and that responsive repairs are completed within this timescale. Reports from the Housing Ombudsman consistently show that repairs account for the most complaints from residents, and indeed it’s what MPs hear most from their constituents.

Being transparent with residents around repairs timescales and getting that right links into the next measures, which focus on satisfaction rates.

These are the first two measures recorded by a tenant perception survey and relate to overall satisfaction with repairs over the past year, and satisfaction with the time taken over the most recent repair.

According to the Housing Ombudsman Service, which produced a Spotlight report on repairs, most cases come from new lettings, responsibility queries, time taken, and record keeping.

Communication, which is also covered in another section of this feature, is another huge friction point and the report says it’s important that it’s addressed, and that all staff involved in the repairs process are properly trained and have the tools needed to provide a professional service.

Most residents will want their repair fixed first time and in a timely manner. If this is communicated well from the outset and the work is done professionally, housing providers should have no problems. Ensuring that contractors’ work is up to scratch is also the responsibility of the landlord and expectations on these groups should be set out at the initial procurement stage.

Maintaining building safety Staying within the asset management sphere, building safety has rightly been at the very top of the agenda since the fire at Grenfell Tower in 2017. As the sector approaches five years since the tragedy, much of the debate has been around who’s responsible and, ultimately, who pays.

Housing associations and local authorities have urged government for more access to the Building Safety Fund and there seems to be some movement in this area.

But the Tenant Satisfaction Measures Standard doesn’t focus too much on the building safety crisis from that lens, bar the one measurement to ensure that Fire Risk Assessments have been carried out.

Other measurements within this category – gas, asbestos, water, and lift safety checks – are all part of the current Home Standard, which landlords are already having to adhere to.

Recently, there have been a few cases of the regulator taking action on housing associations and local authorities over breaches of the Home Standard. Most of this relates to overdue surveys and assessments, or poor record keeping.

In other cases, there were no safety inspections at all.

However, the final measure in this section is a tenant perception survey question about feelings around safety and how well maintained a resident believes their house is.

Once again, a lot of this will come down to having proper data available, so that residents can be reassured that many problems will be picked up before they become an issue, and communicating effectively with residents about challenges when they do arise to make them feel safe.

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Effective handling of complaints Since the “beefed up” role of the Housing Ombudsman Service was announced with the Social Housing White Paper, complaints have risen high up on the agenda and the Ombudsman himself has wasted no time in setting expectations.

The first measurement, collected by landlords themselves, is the number of complaints relative to the size of the landlord. These will be both stage one and stage two complaints per 1,000 homes.

The other relates to the timescale in which any complaint is responded to, and whether that adheres to the Complaints Handling Code set out by the Housing Ombudsman.

Developing a coherent complaints policy is often the start point for many landlords, with most having informal routes through dissatisfaction with repairs or another service. In reports from the Ombudsman, this often results in further dissatisfaction or frustration for the resident, and can lead to compensation needing to be given.

The Ombudsman is also keen for landlords to treat all expressions of dissatisfaction as a complaint, meaning there are no missed opportunities in tackling the problem. The service has also hinted at using social media as a tool to ensure residents are able to complain in the way most suitable to them.

The other two measures in this category are tenant perception surveys, looking at satisfaction with approach to complaints and knowledge of making a complaint.

Consistency and clear communication are key elements to the satisfaction side with the development of a policy and procedure around complaints essential to ensuring that residents know how to make a complaint. Once that’s created, organisations will be expected to make it clear on their website, in written communication, and during in-person visits how to make a complaint if tenants feel something is unsatisfactory.

Respectful and helpful engagement Already a theme in many of the other categories, engagement and communication has been a sore point for many in the sector since the fire at Grenfell Tower exposed how little residents were listened to and how disrespected their views were.

Ministers at the Social Housing Green Paper roadshow heard that loud and clear from residents and it’s already prompted action from the National Housing Federation with the creation of Together with Tenants.

All three of the measures within this category are tenant perception surveys and will likely be heavily linked to the complaints side, with most interactions coming through that route currently. That’s why landlords should look at proactive engagement and involving residents in a range of decision making, from scrutiny groups to ensuring employment pathways into the organisation.

The last of the measures in this category, about residents feeling like they’re being treated fairly and with respect, relates to culture and mindset. If complaints, feedback, and views from residents can be used in a positive way to improve services, then it removes the negativity sometimes associated with resident involvement.

Setting expectations in this area are also important, and regular reports from both the Housing Ombudsman and the regulator show that being honest and transparent about what cannot be done is as important as stating what can be done and doing that effectively.

Responsible neighbourhood management While neighbourhood management can be a broad topic, two of the four measures in this category relate to anti-social behaviour. Of those two, one is measured by the landlord and assesses how many cases there are relative to the size of the landlord, and the other is a tenant perception survey looking at a resident’s satisfaction with the HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JANUARY 2022

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approach in handling ASB cases.

ASB is always a contentious issue and landlords have seen caseloads increase dramatically during the lockdowns in 2020 and 2021. Advice from experts is to make use of all the tools available, including Community Trigger and mediation.

Another part of the neighbourhood management category is satisfaction around communal areas. As with the repairs and maintenance side of the measures, much of this can be accurately and effectively tackled by routine inspections and regular engagement with residents about how they use the spaces.

The final measure within the neighbourhood management category is a tenant perception survey question around the ‘positive contribution’ the landlord makes to the neighbourhood.

While subjective, the key for landlords will be going back to that regular feedback from the engagement section.

This regular and ongoing conversation will develop stronger relationships but also allow the organisation to provide services the neighbourhoods want most, cutting down on waste and providing higher scores in this question.

Satisfaction The other measure in the proposed standard is overall satisfaction. Something that can be impacted by something as simple as bins not being taken out on time for a local authority, satisfaction is often a tough area to get right.

When Kate Dodsworth, now Director of Consumer Regulation at the regulator, was CEO at Gateway Housing Association, she wrote in an annual report that “we can do more to improve our customer satisfaction across all areas and that means listening better to our residents. I firmly believe that with residents at the heart of our organisation we can truly step up and deliver great performance.”

That may give hints about what she will look at as she oversees the rollout of the consumer regulations.

And this idea around satisfaction was echoed by Flora Vieites, Ipsos Mori, who told a HQN conference that “the best learning you can do is from your dissatisfied customers”.

She added: “You have to be credible and reliable and treat people as a valued customer if you want them to feel trust with you.”

Kate Roberts, formerly of IFF Research, added: “Evaluation should not be a tick box exercise and the Tenant Satisfaction Measures are no different.”

But she said there are things to look out for with satisfaction and feedback: “Break down the information and first of all ensure it’s clear and unbiased, but also representative. For example, if you do a perception survey on repairs and you get feedback from someone who hasn’t had a repair in six years, then it would be risky to assume that your services haven’t changed in that time.

“That’s not to say this response isn’t valuable, because it could show that you’re not communicating with residents about improvements within the repairs service, but it could also identify any areas where there’s still a level of resentment. There are opportunities to build that relationship from there.”

Roberts adds that organisations should “look at the positives as well as the negatives” and that a culture of an organisation is often best shown when putting things right.

“If you just look at the Tenant Satisfaction Measures and not about how you’re going to improve or deal with the issues, you’re going to fall down,” she concluded.

Another key point with satisfaction scores overall is that they can vary wildly. For example, shared owners have significantly lower satisfaction rates than other tenures and BAME communities are often reporting lower satisfaction rates with their landlord or neighbourhood. Getting to grips with this will be essential.

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What’s missing?

HQN’s top tips

While there’s a lot to learn and get on with, there are still some gaps. For example, in the HQN submission to the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee inquiry on social housing regulation, we stated that overall satisfaction ratings may not reveal serious problems in some localities.

And there’s a further potential issue on the tenant perception survey data in that it can be misleading to draw wider conclusions from small samples at large and complex landlords. How these end up working in practice may define how useful this new Tenant Satisfaction Measures Standard is. Past experience has shown that once residents feel like the landlord/regulator/ombudsman are all in it together to make a good score for the landlord, the relationship rarely remains constructive.

Another concern HQN has put forward is around improvements. It’s straightforward to put them out there, but they need to be tied to the resources that a housing association or local authority has. In this regard, a return to a similar incentive scheme such as the Decent Homes Standard (where ALMOs got more funding if they got a good inspection score) could be a potential way forward.

And finally, but perhaps most tellingly, there’s no direct link between the regulator and residents. There’s also no National Tenant Voice.

If residents don’t have a loud enough voice, they potentially won’t be heard. And when the voices of the most important people in the sector aren’t heard, important issues such as rent increases miss a balanced view on the impact of such decisions.

The consumer standards give housing associations and landlords an opportunity, and they should take it.

• Know your stock – make sure your stock condition survey is thorough and up to date and get assurance from professionally qualified experts.

Use the information to invest in it wisely • Get on top of your data – make sure it’s spot on. Have robust record keeping systems and processes.

Store it safely, keep it up to date, use it • Get out onto your estates and schemes. Be proactive about spotting and dealing with issues • Always put safety first • Know your tenants and leaseholders and what really matters to them • Invest, and keep investing, in resident engagement – it isn’t a ‘one off’ activity. Recognise and value diversity – Offer a menu of options – one size doesn’t fit all – Experiment and try out new things – don’t be worried if it doesn’t work – Seek out diverse views – reach out to all your different groups – Get residents involved at different decision making levels • Show tenants they matter. Listen, act on what they say and tell them what you’re doing (‘you said, we did’).

Show how their views are making a difference • Get your approach and your attitude to complaints right: – Value the feedback, use it as a positive learning opportunity to improve your services – Make it easy for residents to complain – deal with complaints promptly • Be clear about expectations, responsibilities and processes – see things from the customer perspective • Communicate clearly and regularly – with complainants, with your residents, with your stakeholders and partners • Set challenging targets and report back regularly on how you’re doing.

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WHAT’S IN STORE FOR HOUSING IN 2022?

After another year hampered mostly by Covid-19, housing will be looking to 2022 to leave the pandemic behind and focus on some of the key issues impacting the sector.

HQN asked sector leaders to give their predictions of what may come to pass in the coming year.

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Being ever the optimist gets quite tiring sometimes

By Aileen Evans, Chief Executive, Grand Union Housing Group As a founder member of SHOUT, we proved the economic case for building social housing way back in 2015. Shelter made it again in their report A Vision for Social Housing in 2019. My hope for 2022 is that the penny will finally drop!

If the government invests in properly affordable social rented homes, it’ll save the taxpayer money – housing costs will account for over £30bn of welfare spending next year. It’ll massively reduce what local authorities spend on temporary accommodation – in 2019/20 they spent £1.19bn. And, critically, it’ll also impact on the life chances of those who get to live in it, providing security and better educational and health opportunities.

Political decisions have led us to where we are now and the solution lies with politicians. However, if we want to change government policy then we have to change public opinion. While there are some seeds of that in the press, my hope is that there’ll be a tipping point in public understanding of the housing crisis and how it can be solved. Building the homes we need is the right thing to do as we seek to level up after the pandemic, and we now have to make sure we let both the public and policy makers know that.

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Supporting SME builders to play their part

By Brian Berry, Chief Executive, Federation of Master Builders My hope for 2022 is to finally see the detail of the government’s postponed planning reforms.

This may help alleviate some of the major obstacles small, local housebuilders face, with 63% of FMB members finding land availability and viability a barrier to building. What we need to see are solutions which ensure they can easily use micro plots that are often overlooked in local plans. Adding to the problems for SME housebuilders is the planning system more broadly, with 61% of FMB members citing this as another obstacle. More funding and digitising the process would go some way to improve the system and provide transparency.

I remain optimistic that we may see pragmatic solutions from Michael Gove, secretary of state at DLUHC. I’d also hope the government takes seriously the funding needs of local planning departments to help add resource to speed up what is a long and arduous trudge for housebuilders and ties up their precious resources. With levelling up firmly in the government’s sights, let’s see if positive solutions to these problems will be found in the year ahead.

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Getting a handle on the safety agenda

By Debbie Larner, Lead Associate, Health and Safety Network What’s down the line for building safety in 2022?

As we head into 2022, the Building Safety Bill will continue its passage through parliament. Initially, it was suggested that the Bill would receive royal assent in “spring 2022” – this feels rather ambitious, although government seasons tend to be rather fluid! What we’ll see this year is a raft of secondary legislation and guidance coming though that promises more detail on, among other things, the definition of higher-risk buildings, the golden thread, the complaints process (to be established by the accountable person), and the requirements for a resident engagement strategy. In March, we should also expect to see the publication of PAS 8673 Built environment – the framework for competence of individual building safety managers and nominated individual building safety managers. So, there’ll be much more detail surrounding the new building safety regime – and no excuses not to get your house in order in preparation.

What else? A few months ago, I’d have predicted further tumultuous times for leaseholders in 2022. Leaseholders who, over the last couple years, have faced potential jaw-dropping charges for both the removal of unsafe cladding and remedial works to make their building safe. But maybe our newest housing secretary may finally give leaseholders piece of mind – announcing recently that leaseholders shouldn’t have to pay. We will see.

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Building on the successes of Everyone In

By Steve Douglas, Chief Executive, St Mungo’s Despite a year of tragedy, loss, and change, in the homelessness sector it was also a year of hope, and achievement. The collective efforts of partners at national, regional, and local levels, across health and housing supported thousands off the streets and undoubtedly saved lives.

The Kerslake Commission captured the positives achieved during the pandemic. With a 21-strong independent advisory board, its two reports provided a comprehensive set of achievable and practical recommendations – a blueprint for change – welcomed across political, health, and homelessness sectors.

The government has already actioned some of the recommendations, including a three-year funding settlement.

But the pressures on those who are homeless or at risk of rough sleeping are growing, and there must be a continued and combined effort by all in 2022 to ensure that the commitment to end rough sleeping in this parliament is delivered.

The commission will reconvene again in 2022 to monitor progress and implementation of its recommendations, and to ensure we don’t slip back to the mind-set that street homelessness is inevitable. 2021 proved that it’s not.

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Keeping domestic abuse in our sights

By Kelly Henderson, Project Manager, Morgan Sindall Property Services

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There’s so much we can do as housing providers to recognise and respond to domestic abuse.

The Domestic Abuse Act, which passed into legislation in April last year, provides a focus for the housing sector to see it very much as core business.

Whilst many providers have already developed their response to domestic abuse, providing an important lifeline to residents, some are just starting out on their journey. The Domestic Abuse Draft Statutory Guidance Framework was produced to set standards and promote best practice for agencies working with victims, perpetrators, and commissioning services in relation to domestic abuse. On housing, it sets out that housing providers should employ professional curiosity, even if domestic abuse isn’t immediately suspected. In employing that curiosity, it goes on to point out that housing providers can play a unique role in supporting residents who experience abuse as well as reporting perpetrators.

The Social Housing White Paper indicated a change to regulation meaning housing providers would need to have a policy setting out how they will tackle issues surrounding domestic abuse and work in partnership with other agencies.

Housing providers ‘to do’ lists for 2022 should include examining their response to domestic abuse in advance of amendments to the regulatory standards coming from the Regulator for Social Housing. That improved response could be a much-needed lifeline for a resident.

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Multiple pressures for private landlords

By Ben Beadle, Chief Executive, National Residential Landlords Association One of the key trends over the year has been the extent to which the demand for rental housing is outstripping supply. This is set to continue as we enter 2022.

As more people return to their offices, the trend that has seen tenants moving out of major cities is also likely to be reversed. Already we’re beginning to see some signs of demand in London picking up again.

As we start a New Year the government should’ve provided clarification about what will be expected of the energy efficiency of the private rented housing stock. As part of this, ministers also need to be clear about what support will be provided for the sector to achieve this. The rental market contains some of the hardest to improve properties of any housing tenure and the government’s plans need to recognise this.

We can also expect to see publication of the white paper on the private rented sector which will fundamentally change the way landlords can repossess properties. The NRLA has been working closely with the government on this and it’s important that the detail meets the objective of a sector that’s fair for both tenants and responsible landlords.

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Using technology to drive change for residents

By Kate Lindley, Service Lead – digital and data, Socitm 2022 will be a year of accelerated investment in digital and data, largely as a result of a push for more efficient services as the combined impacts of stock investment, inflationary pressures, and more consumer-focused regulatory requirements are felt. The shift towards whole-organisation ways of working and related enterprise technology considerations also looks set to continue this year’s trajectory. Across the sector we’ll start to see whether the early adopters of larger systems to replace existing ‘best of breed’ products and the innovation projects to share design patterns and code around repairs deliver successful outcomes or not – which in turn may sow the seeds for some technology market disruption.

On the design side, the clear focus on greater engagement with tenants is already seeing a shift, with parts of the sector already looking well beyond traditional engagement mechanisms to embed service design techniques within internal teams, as well as employing external agencies to support the transition to new ways of working. The launch of Socitm’s Service Design Toolkit into housing will help providers as they get started.

Finally, making greater use of data continues to be a theme. With varying data maturity levels across the sector, some providers will continue to focus on getting the basic foundations, such as active data governance, right in order to mitigate risk and improve insight, while those who have already invested in scalable data platforms and capabilities will start to see the benefits of that investment.

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Tackling the unknown unknowns of climate change

By John Grant, Senior Lecturer, Sheffield Hallam University After COP26 the politicians have achieved a perfect result: they can say they’ve listened to the science, made some emotive and passionate statements, and even kept the words ‘fossil fuel reduction’ in the declaration. But this commitment gives us a very low chance of keeping the world below 1.5oC or even 2oC, so it looks like those working in industries which can reduce our carbon emissions will have to take the “bold and significant action”, or it’s going to get really bad.

This reminds me of Donald Rumsfeld’s speech about unknowns.

“There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don’t know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don’t know we don’t know.”

So, we know climate change is rolling in like a society and ecosystem crushing tsunami. But we also know the last budget questions our commitment to climate action – it didn’t mention climate change and even reduced taxes on some flights.

We know we don’t know if the commitments made to support developing countries and reduce deforestation and methane emissions will be upheld. We don’t know if this will be enough to keep the planet below 1.5oC (probably not).

However, there are unknown unknowns. Will our government really support the shift to a low-carbon society as part of the levelling up agenda? Will we start retrofitting large numbers of our houses and will new building regulations set a zero-carbon standard? But the question looms: even if we commit to these things, will they be implemented? We all still have the scars from the appalling management of the code for sustainable homes, green deal, and the green homes grants!

We need a real aspirational agenda for change, not just words.

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The looming crisis for those on low incomes

By Rachel Casey, Policy & Partnerships Officer at JRF People receiving universal credit saw £20 per week removed from their incomes last month when the government chose to press ahead with a damaging cut to the basic rate of social security.

Shortly afterwards, some positive steps for working people on low incomes were announced in the Budget. Changes to the taper rate and work allowance in universal credit will allow low-paid workers to keep more of what they earn. The increase in the National Living Wage is another welcome move that will help turn the tide on in-work poverty.

However, for many, the changes won’t mitigate the £20 cut or the intensifying cost-of-living crisis we’re now facing. And the measures offer nothing for those who aren’t in work or unable to work – a group who now have the lowest main rate of out-of-work support in real terms since around 1990. This rate isn’t enough to enable families seeking work to get back on their feet and it’s not enough to allow families unable to work to live with dignity. We urgently need to see investment in the adequacy of support for these families.

It’s worrying that the government is pointing to a £500m emergency grant fund for families struggling with the cost of basics like food and heating. This is an admission that our social security system isn’t doing enough to protect families from harm. As an immediate measure, we recommend that this fund is at least doubled to cope with demand over the winter, but we must tackle the fundamental inadequacy of our social security system.

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STOPPING STIGMA AT SOURCE The sector knows there’s an issue with stigma, but apart from a few campaigns and some training, little has really been done to tackle the root causes. Mark Lawrence looks at a recent study to see what more can be done to combat the issue.

ment window replace “There was a ng to and I was tryi thing going on about the contractors negotiate with stood home and he access to my rights. id, you have no there, and he sa what me, and we do You know, we co rights. se you have no we want becau nantg association te You’re a housin u can’t ’re nothing. Yo you know, you nient ’s sort of conve tell me when it for you.”

“I th ink some stigm times a in they pract not feel ice. neces They sarily or ob may call se it st analy rve it fro i gma, sis m a disco day in level, but t urse hey fe their el it e home aren’t v e s whe mend n the ry ed, th t at kin a d of th ps ing.”

“When you’ve go t the CEO saying that involving te letting the inmat nants is like es run the asylum , I think that’s – it the way down thro then goes all ugh the housing as sociation, doesn’t if they don’t belie it? Because ve in social housin g, I’m not quite su chose to have that re why they as a career, if they honestly think th at…”

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eats way it tr e h t in was atises g, which elf stigm s in t it e e n m io t a socia ed in up to using as d I walk turning n a e t , e la t a s “The ho t a usly ew all es ts. I onc on a sm was serio t a n fl o s r ’s t e its tenan n p t tually go in a tena ociation n s s e ld a v e e h I g . g in k bein hous a bloc hich ed. The living in c e n r u e le class, w o d w n o id n h m w e una it le e sound qu o me. Th n to peop t I w d ly o n e d t a g le lf p in e talk com e mys changed d as soon introduc e n d o a t u t e it n c t e t n r a a e diff a ch d her ing really inally, an ompletely e c ig b s r a d o n w ’t a n t s m c I wa to the conta king eye s talking a a w m s e a h s w y wa h she my mout d e n e p o “Lots o as I f social .” landlord e authori nic s and l ties pro ocal vide — are prov o r t h iding fo ink they r very d people isadvan and the taged y some recogni times d se tha on’t t we hardwo have rking very and custome i n r t s who ca elligent “If you’re looking at a pecking order of stigmatisation, n mana for them ge very w people who sleep in sleeping bags on the pavement selves. S ell o, I thin there is are ultimately at the bottom of that ladder of k perha a lot of ps paterna way soc stigmatisation. There’s an element of, if you live in lism in ial landl t h ords beh e council housing, you’re seen as someone who’s failed ave.” ‘to access the private market’, whether that’s private rented or owner-occupied.

“So, I think there’s an element of stigma around poverty of access to the private sector – because it’s out of financial reach, or it’s just something that hasn’t been happening in a family for generations.

“No one has access to the private sector; generations have lived in council housing. So, yes, I think the stigmatisation is because of perceived poverty.”

Many of the arguments and much of the discussion around stigma is old news. We know the reduction in social housing through deliberate government policy such as Right to Buy has had a negative impact; we know that the media has helped perpetuate this with demonising stories in the newspapers or on TV through programmes such as Benefits Street.

And we’ve started to see social housing providers acknowledge their role in this problem too. Many newer employees are shocked by the views some of their more entrenched colleagues have, let alone some of the contractors used.

But a recent report by Mercy Denedo, Durham University, and Amanze Ejiogu, University of Leicester, delves further into the debate, and pulls out some key considerations.

They state that stigma is “much more complex” than usually painted – mixing with other stigmas such as poverty, crime, mental health, disabilities, race, and immigration.

to things n io t c a e r to ok at the reaction e “If you lo h t … it d nts ersal cre that tena s like univ a w t a h ly r about t ith month w the secto e p o c o be able t ntally wouldn’t fundame t s ju g, it’s budgetin stic.” paternali

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ectful e disresp r o m d a at own “I have h people th m o r f s t from commen than I do s e s u o h il posely ex-counc s on a pur e v li t a h t anybody ty.” te proper a iv r p t il bu

“Having to acces s the s the trea ervices tment t was hat’s fo most st r me igmatizin the g. …. it you’re c was how onsidere d as so uneduca meone w ted and ho’s I’m not I’m very u n e d educated ucated, . You’re c uneduca onsidere ted, inca d as pable. I go as far w o u ld as to say almost uncouth, much I fe t h a lt that I w t’s how as treated tone whe . It was th n spoken e to.”

The report also finds that geography matters – in communities where social rents aren’t much lower than private rents, or where housing isn’t so heavily fought over, there’s significantly less stigma attached to the tenure.

And this stigma has “practical consequences” for social housing residents, the report states, impacting everyday realities, quality of life, and their life chances.

Nothing highlights that more than the quotes from social housing residents and staff that surround this feature.

So, what can be done?

The report says there are three strands. Government is urged to stop trying to fix the issue through the planning system and to instead adopt a “rights-based approach” to housing, making access to housing a fundamental human right. A similar approach has been taken in Wales and Scotland.

It’d also stop social housing being seen as the lowest in the pecking order and something “only for the neediest”, the report concludes.

But perhaps the most important is how the sector itself can play a significant role.

Current attempts to challenge and stop stigma from staff “have had very limited success” and most of the efforts have looked at wider issues such as media perception.

While there are difficulties faced by housing providers and local authorities when trying to tackle these issues, the report finds that much more could be done.

ng and hot water did not ati he the d an 13 20 in in “We moved tion t correctly fitted, the ventila work, the windows were no t were not connected. The staff tha system did not work, it was obstructive. They blocked d an de ru re we s thi for e responsibl used us leaks, which they then acc NHBC claims; we had roof rd in cked any repairs… The landlo of causing the leaks, and blo e structive and would not tak ob , de ru y ver s wa ing us social ho a setting given that they are up ly lar cu rti pa is is Th . any action ing.” charity set up for social hous

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Overarchingly, the conclusion is that a national tenant voice is needed. Not only would this help combat some of the negative stereotypes in the press, it would also improve accountability for both providers and the regulator.

Another recommendation for the sector from the report is to “redesign the regulatory and governance arrangement of social housing providers”. This is in order to make them more accountable, something that many hope the consumer regulations introduced by the Social Housing White Paper will lead to.

The report acknowledges the difficulties in setting something like a national tenant voice up, but says that currently “lack of political will and funding from the government and social housing sector” is the biggest barrier. That’s something that can be fixed.

One quote from a resident participant in the study particularly stood out on this: “I think there’s a reluctance on the part of housing association leaders to really recognise tenants because their power base will be challenged.

“The chief executive of a housing association thinks, who am I accountable to? I’m accountable to my board but how much? It depends on the strength of your board. I’m accountable in a little way to my local authority, but if I work in 52 local authorities it doesn’t really matter. I can upset one; I can work in another.

“I’m partly accountable to the government but actually the government aren’t giving me very much money at the moment, so that’s okay. I’m partly

accountable to the regulator but actually the regulator hasn’t said very much recently about tenants, so we’ve been okay.

“If the regulator says we have to do something about tenants, maybe we’ll do something about tenants again. We’ll do that. They’ll judge that as a leader and say, where are my priorities in relation to my accountabilities?

“At the moment it’s changing but there isn’t a strong relationship in accountability to tenants and to support tenants. Therefore, unless you’re really motivated by involving tenants it’s not a priority for most businesses. It’s not talked about at boards. It’s not a major issue on lots of boards’ agendas.”

And the setting up of a National Tenant Voice is something wholly supported by HQN. In a submission to the inquiry into social housing regulation by the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee, we say: “All too often tenants have no say at all. The NTV could bring a fairer balance between the views of landlords and tenants.”

Stigma is wide reaching and multi-layered, but that doesn’t mean it should be placed in the “too difficult” category. Social housing providers must play a leading role in tackling stigma of their own residents, and definitely not be contributing to it.

Many of the words around this page should be difficult for the sector to read, and it should act as a catalyst to ensure that when the next study is done, there’s only positivity and a national tenant voice.

“When I came to live in s dramatic ocial hou ally incre sing my ased. The I’m havin bills reason fo g to pay f r t o h r is m is y provider gas and e that s that th lectric su e housin p p ly for me. S from g associa o I can’t tion has go and fi c gas and h osen nd comp electric s etitively upplies. p having to riced Also the pay a £5 gas supp a month ly appears t , I’m administ he assum ration fe ption is t pay your e. It hat you’r bill, so yo e not goin u have to fee... Bec g to pay this a ause you dministr ’re in a h going to e a tion ousing as nforce th sociation ese high g on you, w w e’re as and ele ith the a ctricity ta ssumptio to compla riffs n that yo in becau u’re not se you’re question g o ing not going this.” to bother to

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MAKING A HOUSE A HOME Furniture poverty has long been debated in the housing sector, weighing up the costs of providing the service with the mental and physical wellbeing benefits for tenants. Mark Lawrence speaks to NFS, part of Your Homes Newcastle, about their approach and the green credentials it brings.

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he statistics speak for themselves when making the case for providing furniture packs.

Estimates say 49% of social housing tenants are living in poverty, 400,000 children in the UK don’t have their own bed to sleep in, and 4.8 million people are living without one essential appliance.

And yet only 2% of social homes across the country are let furnished.

This is where NFS, a furniture service provided by ALMO Your Homes Newcastle, comes in.

By providing furniture packs to those that need them, the service has seen tenants an average of £100 less in rent arrears, with many actually saving money.

NFS also prides itself on helping tenants to not fall into the arms of companies such as Brighthouse, a shop that sells furniture at cheaper prices for a ‘buy now, pay later’ deal, with extortionate interest rates that send many into further poverty and bankruptcy.

When NFS was first set up in the 1980s, it was very much single men using the service. Now, the trend has completely changed, with young women with children being in the greatest need.

On top of this, the cost of furniture for everyone has increased by 21% since Covid-19 swept through the country, meaning that it’s even harder for many to make a house a home.

This has led to 22% of all Your Homes Newcastle residents having a furniture pack, with 44% of under 21s taking up the offer.

The financial cost of not having a fridge or freezer is to the tune of around £2,000, estimates suggest, if you rely on microwave meals, not to mention the health benefits from fresh food.

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this service.

“When people move into our properties, they have a lot going on. There’s sometimes a push from teams to get voids filled and ending up with letting a home to a person who isn’t ready or don’t have the support to live in it properly.

“There’s always an initial nervousness around the responsibility of providing the service. Some people see it as an additional layer of asset to manage, when many teams are already stretched.”

Hudson also mentions the financial dilemma it can put organisations through – weighing up the moral good with the increased cost, with some of the furniture not always being cheap to obtain. But that’s where NFS comes in – spreading that cost so providers are able to provide these packs without it being extortionate for them or the tenant.

But it stretches to more than just the financial side for residents. It’s also massively impactful on mental health and wellbeing.

Your Homes Newcastle have found that people are taking pride in their homes more with the furniture packs, and tenants are staying in their homes for longer – providing stability and security.

Hudson adds: “It’s about things like kids inviting their friends over for tea. We found that it allowed people to open social doors that they otherwise wouldn’t.”

And the physical health side of it, being able to have carpets and furniture to stop the house being cold and draughty which often leads to damp, also shows its environmental benefits.

In turn, the increase in heat also impacts on the amount of energy needed to warm the home, reducing the financial burden in that area.

Curtains and energy efficient white goods also play a role too,

How to get started with furniture packs Getting started couldn’t be easier for organisations. There’s no minimum number of customers required – it’s simply as and when appropriate to meet the needs of their residents. At an initial meeting, NFS work collaboratively with organisations to understand their culture and ambitions around the furniture offer. Once a team member identifies a customer who would benefit from the service, the relevant pack is ordered with NFS and delivered and installed in the home.

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living without freezers

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living without a fridge

How to make the costs add up The NFS model is centred around rent, recycling, and reuse of furniture. It means that housing providers don’t have the outlay of large capital expenditure or concerns around additional assets to manage. NFS provide the products and are responsible for a full service of repairs, maintenance, and replacement of customers products should there be an issue. Once a customer no longer needs an item, due to tenancy termination or the sourcing of their own items, NFS simply collect the items and restore where appropriate. The recycling and reuse of items allows the cost of the service to be spread, and the flexibility passed on to the organisation and their customers.

1.9m

people live without a cooker

helping to create a more comfortable life for the resident while tackling the environmental agenda.

And the service’s recycling ethos also means that less furniture goes into landfill and less needs to be produced in the first place.

With all of the above, it’s easy to see why providing a full furniture pack provides an organisation with £6,500 of social value. From helping to tackle fuel poverty to mental health, the service has multiple positive impacts.

Another positive for the service is its flexibility, with people able to give back any furniture when they’re able to buy their own or swap it for seasonal packs, such as gardening packs in spring/summer.

The returned items are then recycled and put back into distribution.

Hudson explains: “Within the flexibility, we take on all the repairs and replacements at no extra cost. If one of the fridges or washing machines break down, one of our team goes out and tries to repair.

“If they can’t then it gets replaced at no extra cost. We also have a four-year cyclical replacement service, in which people get offered new products every four years. Some of them take it up but many like their cooker and want to keep it.”

And while NFS is mainly north-east England-based, it also has reach with both Coastline Housing in the South West and Phoenix Community Housing in London using the service.

While NFS is realistic that “we’re not going to end furniture poverty and all furniture problems”, they see themselves as part of the solution.

While there are obvious balances to weigh up for housing providers, it seems that the positives overwhelmingly win out against the increase in costs and responsibility. As Hudson concludes: “We can’t be setting people up to fail”.

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COMMENT

Improving energy efficiency with modern methods of construction Steve Riding, Development Contracts Manager, Karbon Homes

Housing providers across the country are under increasing pressure to build more new homes, faster. Paired with the desire to build greener homes to lower the level of carbon emissions produced by housing, and the efforts to support customers facing rising energy costs, housing associations are looking for modern methods of construction that ensure their new-build homes tick all the boxes.

We completed our first development using insulated concrete formwork, or ICF, an MMC technology which helps meet the demands for faster, more energy efficient construction.

We used ICF in the construction of 36 homes in the village of Greatham near Hartlepool. The technique sees hollow, interlocking blocks of thermal insulation dry stacked and filled with reinforced concrete.

ICF has been growing in the UK construction industry for a number of years now. The method is favoured by many because of its fast build speed, but one of its main benefits is the energy efficiency of the finished homes.

This is what really drew us to it. With ICF walls, our residents could get up to 50% in energy savings, as the polystyrene formwork used to contain the concrete stays in place permanently – giving instant double thickness of insulation that’s airtight.

At a time when rising energy prices are pushing more households into fuel poverty, it’s a no-brainer for housing providers to be exploring these alternative construction methods. With ICF we’re providing our customers with homes that are affordable in more ways than one.

An additional bonus of ICF is the freedom you have when it comes to the finish of the homes. The development is located in a historic, picturesque village and it was important to us that the homes blended in with the character of the village. We added a

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“With ICF walls, our residents could get up to 50% in energy savings, as the polystyrene formwork used to contain the concrete stays in place permanently – giving instant double thickness of insulation that’s airtight” traditional looking exterior, with a conventional brick and render finish, to match the other houses nearby.

Our specialist contractors completed the ICF construction and we were really impressed with the whole process. The pandemic did cause some delays, but thanks to this method we were able to deliver the development as we set out to do.

Residents have been moving into the homes throughout the autumn and we’re looking forward to seeing what impact the energy efficiency will have on them.

COMMENT

Retrofitting homes for a low-carbon future Neil Waite, NetZero Collective Lead

ordination support, from assessing properties through to ensuring the retrofit works are completed and deliver the efficiencies they set out to.

Measuring net zero

Achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 is a significant challenge for all industries.

For the housing sector this is even more significant because not only does it mean ensuring that homes being built now are fit for a low-carbon future, it also means bringing existing stock up to the same standards.

The NetZero Collective was launched last year to help housing associations and local authorities to better understand which technologies and energy efficient measures will help them to achieve their lowcarbon targets and, importantly, to create warmer homes that are more affordable for their tenants.

A partnership with the University of Southampton, we undertake the retrofit assessments which are then analysed using the university’s academic software to generate an accurate projected annual heat and energy demand for each home, based on its current design, construction, and occupancy, and runs analytics to propose a suite of retrofit measures to achieve net-zero energy use.

The role of the retrofit co-ordinator One of the benefits of NetZero Collective’s approach is that we can offer, if our clients choose, an independent retrofit co-ordinator to help manage the process.

This is a role that can independently sign off the property survey and approve the identified works, as well as overseeing the appointment of a contractor to deliver them, adding an extra level of reassurance and transparency for clients that work is being independently verified.

They can also oversee the handover to tenants and ensure that they understand how to use the technologies installed and check that it’s all working correctly.

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Ensuring the installed measures are achieving the desired carbon savings is equally important. Our installed monitoring equipment allows the University of Southampton to make that assessment, providing unique analysis of the elements a property needs to lower its carbon impact, using real time data.

This also means that if a tenant isn’t engaging with a particular technology such as a heat pump in the right way, it can be picked up quickly. We can then engage with them on how to use it so that we can ensure their bills remain lower, helping to tackle fuel poverty before it happens.

Enabling action The message emerging from COP26 was that, now more than ever, we need to be taking action to halt the effects of climate change.

At NetZero Collective we’re working with our clients to help them ramp up their retrofit approach to better enable them to deal with the scale of the challenge – we need to be retrofitting low-carbon technologies into existing homes at a much higher rate if we’re to meet the challenging targets set by government.

There’s no doubt that now’s the time for action – retrofitting properties with low-carbon technologies is a huge challenge and it’s vital that the housing sector tackles this now on a much greater scale.

ZER Agile working culture reducing colleague mileage and facilities emissions Reducing fleet emissions by switching to low or no emission vehicles

Retrofitting all existing pobl homes to net zero by 2030

Switching to renewable electricity supply for offices and buildings

Investing in skills and carbon literacy for colleagues and customers

Working with suppliers to reduce emissions from procured goods and services

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Helping colleagues switch to EV cars through salary sacrifice lease scheme

Pobl Forest Tree planting on existing land and managed woodland sites.

2000 native saplings planted in 2020 Delivering UK’s largest retrofit project in Penderry, Swansea. 650 homes aggregated energy model.

Enforced a ban on single use plastic in 2019. This included ordering spoons, cups and promotional items like pens and keyrings Making Pobl net zero new homes our new normal. establishing a pobl net zero standard.

To find out more visit https://www.poblgroup.co.uk/about-us/zero

Tel: 01628 681 088

COMMENT

Poor insulation and fuel poverty: A risk to assets, achieving net zero, and resident wellbeing

By John Buckland, Solutions Principal, MRI Software

At current estimates, the move to low-carbon heating in homes will take around 700 years to achieve.

Resident wellbeing In 2019, there were an estimated 3.18 million people living in fuel poverty in England alone; 15% of those were thought to be social housing residents. Poorly insulated homes leave residents at risk of experiencing fuel poverty, exacerbated by rises in energy prices, cuts to universal credit and the cost of living crisis.

There’s also a demonstratable link between fuel and food poverty. A 2021 report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation found that 37% of the social housing residents polled had experienced a reduction in their income since the beginning of the pandemic and had subsequently reduced their expenditure on food.

Housing providers have found themselves at the coalface of these issues and are adopting multiple strategies to protect their residents. In the short term, many are providing crisis funding to households in need through schemes such as HACT’s Energy Hardship Fund, which we’re proud to support.

For some, long-term proactive and preventative strategies are being deployed. These include fabricfirst approaches that improve homes and utilising analytical and predictive technologies that assist them, identifying households at risk, and supporting homes before crisis actions are necessary.

Housing stock in the UK is amongst the oldest and most fuel inefficient in Europe. The risks that arise from these ageing, inefficient homes have multiple impacts for organisations, the planet, and, most importantly, those who live in them.

Homes with unfit insulation, problems with damp and mould, and sustained underheating can cause long-term issues. This is a financial risk where longterm solutions are needed as opposed to costly ‘band-aid’ repairs for fuel-inefficient homes.

Encouragingly, social homes are leading the pack: 64.3% of housing association homes are EPC rated C or above, in comparison to 38% in privately rented homes, and 36% in owner-occupied homes.

In 2019, over 100,000 social homes were improved to an EPC rating of C or above. These actions are having real effects on residents’ lives and between 2010-2019, fuel poverty experienced by social housing residents halved.

For providers, technology solutions can establish a deep understanding of an organisation’s housing stock and is a great place to start in identifying the properties that can be improved. of housing

64.3%

Achieving net zero

association homes are EPC rating C or above

Carbon neutral targets have been a great driver for the sector to address fuel-inefficient homes. Presently, most housing providers are taking a ‘fabric-first approach’, meaning that if it’s possible to better insulate a property, they’ll act.

There’s much work to be done, with a recent report from the UK Committee on Climate Change explaining that “minimal progress” had been made around insulating buildings adequately and moving towards low-carbon heating.

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Ombudsman Corner

By Richard Blakeway, the Housing Ombudsman

Last year we published our report into complaints relating to damp and mould.

The report called for a more proactive, zero tolerance approach to tackling this issue. The increased media interest in damp and mould has been matched by an increase in disrepair claims.

It’s critical for complaint procedures to be accessible and responsive. Landlords need to ‘find their silences’ where complaints are not being raised but all indicators suggest there may be issues. It’s profoundly wrong for any resident to feel their best option is to resort to the courts or media. Effective complaint handling is preferable to increasing disrepair claims, which may take longer or leave the issue unresolved. It’s also important to remember the Ombudsman may order an independent inspection following an investigation and actions to resolve repair issues.

It remains the individual’s choice to pursue legal action, but the preaction protocol on housing conditions encourages the use of alternative dispute resolution. Yet we’ve seen the complaints process being closed once the protocol commences. This is a missed opportunity to use the complaints process to its fullest potential and resolve issues in a less adversarial way.

It’s my opinion that the protocol does not constitute proceedings. Our jurisdiction guidance for landlords has been revised to make this clear, and how complaint procedures and the protocol should work together is set out in this report. This should empower complaints teams to resolve issues, and we’ve also made representations to the Ministry of Justice to strengthen the protocol further to promote the use of the complaint

procedure.

The effectiveness of the complaints process was just one aspect of the report.

There’s a strong focus on culture, a theme of many of our reports, including our Complaint Handling Code, together with changes in behaviour and approach from being reactive to proactive, and from inferring blame to taking responsibility.

“Effective communication with residents is also essential and, from the evidence we saw, the tone hasn’t always been appropriate, particularly in the use of language such as ‘lifestyle’” Amongst our other recommendations was for landlords to adopt a proactive approach to identifying issues in homes, informed by data, intelligence, and complaints, and consider a comprehensive and consolidated policy to support a consistent and transparent approach to diagnosis and subsequent actions.

Effective communication with residents is also essential and, from the evidence we saw, the tone hasn’t always been appropriate, particularly in the use of language such as ‘lifestyle’.

I’d urge engagement with residents to review communication and literature, working together with them to codesign meaningful advice that shares responsibility and supports them at a distressing time.

HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JANUARY 2022

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A day in the life of...

Reena Chander Development Project Manager RHP

Employee since: 2009 Location, location, location: Teddington

Getting ready for the day 09:30 Each day kicks off with what we like to call a ‘Team Huddle’ with the rest of the development team. Due to RHP’s flexible working programme – ‘Your Work, Your Way’ – we’re often all dialing in from different locations, whether that be from home, the office, or even out on site. It’s not all business, though, and we get to have a bit of a social catch up too. This morning we were talking about the latest Strictly result!

11:00

Onto the on-site visits I’m now going to visit a variety of our developments, which are project managed by me in Kingston and Surbiton, as part of my regular site visits.

Here I meet with the relating site manager and the technical manager from RHP. We talk about a variety of things ranging from what’s going well, looking out for any potential health and safety risks, and check how many people are on site (this gives us a feel of how the scheme is progressing and is an indicator of any upcoming or current risks we may have that would hinder a timely handover!)

14:30

Reporting the risks Now I’m back in the office. I make sure I log all the things I’ve seen so that I’m ready for our monthly site review meetings. I also prepare a risk review of sites report to go alongside this. These reports will then go onto our head of development, who utilises these details to further report on the scheme progress to our executive group and the board.

16:00

Partnerships benefit everyone Next up I’m attending a catch-up with members of our home maintenance team. It’s important to know, whatever systems and accessories we put in, our new homes are a good standard, and ensure they’re both good for our customers and easy to maintain. An example of collaborative working is at our South Place development. We worked with Kingston Council from early doors to make sure the homes are designed in a way that fits the needs of the target audience they’ve profiled. This saves money as we’re My perfect day future proofing the home, and the customer feels rewarded too.

I love to start the day with a workout in the park – ideally the sun will Tackling defects and ensuring happy endings! be shining! I’m part of a group where we I’m in contact with customers from previous coach and empower women in different ways, developments which I’ve project managed that everything from confidence to financial literacy are in the defects period. Today, I’m speaking matters. Recently, we put on a fashion show for to a customer whose heating isn’t working. As charity and it was a huge success! Now we’re looking it’s a communal heating system, I contacted the to do workshops on aromatherapy, health and management company who confirmed that they wellness, and mindfulness – so I look forward to had issues in the plant and engineers were on site. arranging a retreat for these women who will They assured us that the system would be up again also learn a lot and get pampered! Who in the next hour. It’s nice to finish the day with a great doesn’t like that? So a perfect day is outcome for them! looking ahead to this and planning for it.

17:00

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Resident’s view Why tenants need to be taken on the net zero journey

By Neal Wylde, Orbit Group

The government’s requirement for social landlords to go net-zero carbon will be one of the most disruptive experiences in a social tenant’s lifetime.

For this reason alone, it’s important landlords not only respect tenants by engaging from the start, but also allow them to understand the journey they’re being taken on, the reason behind the government’s demands, and the impact this will have on their home.

Open communication is key to successfully engage with tenants and take them on the journey with you. A clear time scale must be included, as well as the amount of work required to convert a home to a net-zero carbon heating system and the impact this will have.

Landlords must make it clear the level of disruption will increase depending on the age of the property. Older properties will require more work to reach the level of insulation needed to make net zero-carbon heating systems work.

The level of insulation currently needed could not only upset the decoration of the room and any fitted units but also reduce the size of the room. If the insulation is being fitted in a kitchen or bathroom, tenants must be prepared to have the rooms completely overhauled and have all the internal fixtures moved.

The heating units themselves – for example, air source systems – are large units that’ll need to be mounted on the floor outside of the building, taking up valuable green space.

Elderly, vulnerable, or disabled tenants

will need to be supported during the works, not only to help move and prepare their home prior to the works being carried out, but also to offer support in rebuilding and redecorating their home.

There needs to be training and support supplied to all tenants, before and after installation. In the report, 97% of Orbit customers say that having heating that’s easy to use is important to them.

These heating systems don’t work in the same way as current fossil fuel systems like gas and oil. The tenants need to be made aware of this and then offered ongoing support until they’re comfortable with the new system.

“A clear time scale must be included, as well as the amount of work required to convert a home to a net-zero carbon heating system and the impact this will have” My final point is simple – work with the tenant. Take your time to be understanding, compassionate, honest, and open, but, most importantly, be respectful for the disruption this will cause them.

It’s a journey that’ll be hard for both landlord and tenant, but it’s an excellent opportunity to successfully engage with each other.

To download a copy of Orbit’s ‘Working with customers to make net zero carbon a reality’ report, click here.

HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JANUARY 2022

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Fact or Fiction: Climate change chumps Environmental disintegration beckons. Accordingly, the world is trying, sort of, to prevent it. But at least we’re all on the same page, yeah? Ha, right. Never mind the almost inconceivably enormous mountain of evidence pointing towards catastrophic planetary heating as a consequence of greenhouse gas emissions, many politicians don’t buy it. Here are five examples. One of them is untrue. Can you guess which one? It’s like a game.

1. Sun clots

2. King of thick It’s inconceivable an article such as this could be written without mention of America’s “favourite ever president”, Donald Trump. A less articulate Piers Corbyn, Trump has called CC a hoax, a scam, and a Chinese-devised scheme to somehow take over the world.

Inexplicably, the uber-imbecile was a signatory to a 2009 letter to then-president Barrack Obama that demanded action on CC! However, by 2010 he’d flipped into full denial mode, as evidenced by a polar vortex of tweets (back when he was allowed to do such things), such as “This very expensive

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HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JANUARY 2022

GLOBAL WARMING bullsh*t has got to stop. Our planet is freezing, record low temps, and our GW scientists are stuck in ice.” ‘Bullsh*t’ indeed.

and put on in a hurry, Nigel Lawson, has churned out yards of CC denial drivel over years, with a zest and regularity that must make him a dreamboat for any reading fossil fuel firms. The onetime Tory chancellor believes CC is an “economic” issue and had this to say last year: “I think that climate change is not a threat, it is happening very gently at a fraction of a degree per decade which is something we can perfectly well live with.” I love the “we”, coming from a walking husk.

3. Et tu, Mogge?

Haunted fairground of an MP, Jacob Rees-Smog, sorry, Mogg, is a CC denier – he couldn’t reasonably be expected to be anything else, could he? But what’s the spindly oddity actually said about our impending doom? Writing in 2014, he whimpered: “It’s widely accepted that carbon dioxide emissions have risen but the effect on the climate remains much debated while the computer modelling that’s been done to date hasn’t proved especially accurate.

Common sense dictates that if the Meteorological Office cannot forecast the next season’s weather with any success it is ambitious to predict what will happen decades ahead.” Which even a simpleton and CC novice like myself knows is Grade A gibberish.

4. Crackpot jackpot Skeleton wearing a face it’s stolen

5. Dim under Australian prime ministerialhopeful Bruce Daniels had some strange things to say on the 2011 campaign trail. At a rally in Darwin, Daniels told an amazed crowd that CC was a “Marxist plot… having lost the argument to inflict global communism upon us they regrouped and invented CO2 as the new enemy. They mean to control us”. He then suggested that the herds on his Alice Springs wallaby farm were an excellent barometer for the truth. “My wallabies have been leaping appreciably higher year-on-year since 2002. That’s only possible if the air pressure is high – which means temperatures, if anything, are falling not rising”. About half of Australia has subsequently burnt to the ground in a series of unprecedented bush fires. Daniels came 9th in the election.

Fiction: 5. Dim under

The man who’s somehow our prime minister, Boris Johnson, has been talking tough, if characteristically loosely, about environmental action of late. But always the case it never was. Back in 2015, the underthe-table thigh-grabber wrote approvingly of noted lunatic and climate change (and Covid!) denier, Piers Corbyn, who’s long blamed sunspots for weatherly variations on Earth. “I’m speaking only as a layman who observes that there’s plenty of snow in our winters these days, and who wonders whether it might be time for government to start taking seriously the possibility — however remote — that Corbyn is right.” [‘Snow’ here could be an oblique reference to wintering with Michael Gove.]

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The last word Innovation isn’t a luxury

Julie Brayson, Director of Transformation and Culture, believe housing

“By standing still, we’re actually doing everyone a disservice – whether it’s our customers, who depend on us to deliver in their communities, or even our own employees. But what, as just a single housing association, can we hope to do about it?”

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HOUSING QUALITY MAGAZINE JANUARY 2022

Perhaps it’s something about the discourse around services for the public in Britain that innovation is often seen as something that can’t be afforded, an add-on to be squeezed in at best – certainly not core business, or something to be trumpeted. But how can any organisation that’s charged with delivering for customers truly achieve that if it stands still?

For housing associations, many of our customers are the people impacted first by any changes in the national or regional landscape. At believe housing our vision is to deliver a life without barriers – but in truth those barriers are constantly evolving.

So, by standing still, we’re actually doing everyone a disservice – whether it’s our customers, who depend on us to deliver in their communities, or even our own employees. But what, as just a single housing association, can we hope to do about it?

Quite a lot actually; we’ve just held our first Innovation Academy.

Over three days, hundreds of our staff from every part of the business got together to tackle some of the biggest questions the organisation faces. They considered issues like induction of new staff post-coronavirus, and how best to communicate with customers in an ‘always-on’ world.

The academy approach was about harnessing the creativity that exists in every part of believe housing and experimenting with new ways to bring out their innovative ideas.

The academy brought in guest speakers to provide examples from fastpaced sectors like retail on how innovation made a real difference and gave their organisation a competitive edge.

Each of the days took inspiration from science, art, or magic, posing questions about how different approaches to innovation could produce results. Employees from believe housing were then given the opportunity to pitch their ideas and solutions, in suitably creative ways.

It might sound like a bit of an oxymoron, but innovation needs a process to get things started. You need to be certain you’re tackling the right issues and you need to make the solutions you devise deliverable.

Ideas pitched included the use of algorithms to best match customers to the support they need, and virtual reality technology to ensure new recruits fully understand the organisation.

The event was such as success that we’re already looking at expanding the concept and inviting other organisations in the region, and the affordable housing sector, to take part.

Everyone now knows that the mythical ‘they’ aren’t in charge of innovation, we all are. But innovation is a journey and I can’t wait to develop things further. I’m confident that we’re on the route to some truly amazing ideas that’ll really change what people think is possible for a housing association to deliver, and how.

ESG

Housing and Resident Management Platform

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