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CWAG Newsletter – October 2024

This Update includes the following

  • Government Plans for Reform of the Private Rented Sector

  • Review of Housing Policy Announcements

  • Recent Publications

Government Plans for Reform of the Private Rented Sector (PRS)

The Government has moved quickly to introduce legislation that will deliver the manifesto commitment to ban Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions and implement wider reform of the private rented sector. The Renters Rights Bill was published on 11th September 2024 and received its second reading on 9th October.

Whilst the Bill incorporates key elements of the previous government’s Renters (Reform) Bill, this legislation goes significantly further in terms of strengthening the position of renters through reform of tenancy law, introducing new protections to challenge unreasonable rent increases alongside enhanced enforcement and redress for tenants.

Key provisions include:

  • Section 21 evictions and periodic tenancies

Section 21 evictions will be abolished alongside the introduction of changes to tenancy arrangements. Assured tenancies and assured shorthold tenancies will be replaced by periodic tenancies providing more security and flexibility for tenants who will be able to remain in their home until they decide to end the tenancy by giving 2 months’ notice. There will be limited exceptions for example, houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) and designated student accommodation.

  • Grounds for possession

Landlords will be able to recover their property where they wish to sell or move-in close family, however tenants will benefit from a 12 month protected period at the beginning of a tenancy, during which a landlord cannot evict them to move-in or sell the property. There are also new safeguards for tenants who temporarily fall into arrears and the mandatory threshold for eviction is increased from 2 to 3 months and the notice period increased from 2 to 4 weeks.   There are also various specified grounds for use in limited circumstances where accommodation is intended for a particular purpose and where the tenant no longer meets the conditions under which the tenancy was granted (e.g. supported housing).

  • Rent Increases

New arrangements will be introduced designed to empower tenants to challenge unreasonable rent increases (often used as a backdoor means of eviction). If a tenant believes the proposed rent exceeds the market rate, they can challenge this at the First-tier Tribunal which will determine what the rent should be, either confirming the proposed level or setting a lower figure.

  • Private Rented Sector Ombudsman

Private landlords in England with assured or regulated tenancies will be legally required to join a new PRS Ombudsman. The service will be available free of charge to tenants and funded through a charge on landlords. Local councils will have the power to levy fines where landlords fail to join the Ombudsman.

  • Renting with Pets

Tenants will gain the right to request a pet in the property. Landlords must consider these requests and cannot unreasonably refuse. However, landlords will be able to require pet insurance to cover any damage to their property.

  • New Private Rented Sector Database

Landlords will be required by law to register with a new Private Rented Sector Database with penalties for those who fail to comply. The database will help landlords understand their legal obligations and provide information to tenants about landlord performance. It will also help local authorities to target enforcement activity. Landlords will need to be registered on the database to have access to certain possession grounds.

  • Discriminatory Practices

New measures will address discrimination against prospective tenants in receipt of benefits or with children with financial penalties for those who fail to comply.

  • Decent Homes Standard

The DH standard will be enforced within the PRS giving renters better value homes and removing the blight of poor property condition.

  • Awaab’s Law

The Bill confirms that Awaab’s Law will be extended to the PRS, setting clear legal expectations about the timeframes within which landlords must take action to make homes safe where they contain serious hazards.

  • Rental Bidding

Landlords and agents will be required to publish an asking rent for their property, and it will be illegal to accept offers made above this rate.

  • Local authority enforcement

There will be a new requirement for local authorities to report on enforcement activity along with expanded civil penalties for non-compliance (including fines between £7,000 and £40,000)

  • Rent repayment Orders

New measures will increase the deterrent effect of rent repayment orders making them easier for tenants and local authorities to access.

Review of Housing Policy Announcements

There have been a number of announcements relating to social housing policy in the first three months of the Labour Government:

Social Housing Quality and Professionalisation

The Secretary of State confirmed at the Labour Party Conference that Awaab’s Law will be introduced for the social rented sector this autumn, with plans to introduce it to the private rented sector at a later date, once the legislation is in place (see Renter’s Rights Bill above).

The government has also confirmed its intention to press ahead with the Competence and Conduct standard for the social rented sector to ensure tenants receive a professional service and are treated with respect and dignity. The timetable for implementation has yet to be confirmed.

The Secretary of State has also confirmed the government’s intention to consult on a new Decent Homes Standard for social and privately rented homes, however no specific timescales have been indicated to date.

Measures to ensure decent homes for all – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Building New Homes

Since the election there have been a number of announcements to promote newbuild development and wider economic growth, in line with the Labour Manifesto commitment to build 1.5 million new homes over the next 5 years.  These include:

  • Consultation on a revised Planning Policy Framework to overhaul the planning system, opening up new areas for development as well as speeding up planning approvals and delivering wider economic growth. (for further details see August Newsletter)
  • New Towns Taskforce to advise and support government aspirations to develop a programme of new towns.
  • New Homes Accelerator programme to bring together key agencies, leveraging resources to unblock large development sites around the country where progress has stalled.
  • Brownfield Land Release Fund will provide £68 million to 54 councils to fund demolition of empty buildings, site clearance and decontamination of industrial land.

The Autumn Budget on 30th October should provide more detail around funding for new social housing development.

Energy Efficiency, Decarbonisation and the Warm Homes Plan

Currently, properties in the private rented sector can be rented out if they meet EPC E and there is no minimum energy efficiency standard for social rented homes. At the Labour Party Conference, the energy secretary announced plans to raise the energy efficiency rules applicable to social housing as part of the governments Warm Homes Plan. The government will consult before the end of the year on proposals for private and social rented homes to achieve EPC C or equivalent by 2030.

The Warm Homes: local grant scheme has also been relaunched to help low-income homeowners and private tenants with energy performance upgrades and cleaner heating. Home upgrade revolution as renters set for warmer homes and cheaper bills – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

In the social housing sector, Wave 3 of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, now renamed Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund opened for applications on 30th September. Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund Wave 3 – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Local Authority Housing Fund

The existing proposals for a third round of the Local Authority Housing Fund are going ahead as planned over two financial years (2024-25 and 2025-26). The £450 million programme announced by the previous government will be made available to councils to acquire better quality temporary accommodation for families at risk of homelessness as well as providing suitable housing for those on the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme.

housing silhouette

Right to Buy

The government moved quickly to announce new flexibilities for RTB receipts which will be in place for an initial period of 2 years, subject to review at the end of 2025/26:

  • Councils can use up to 100% retained receipts to fund replacement homes, a significant increase from the previous 50% cap.
  • Right to Buy receipts may be combined with section 106 contributions.
  • The cap on the percentage of replacements delivered as acquisitions has been lifted.

A wider review of the RTB scheme is underway within MHCLG with a consultation due later in the Autumn. This is likely to focus on the level of RTB discounts, particularly the increased levels in place since 2012. The Secretary of State has indicated that the intention is to restrict rather than abolish the scheme.

Retained Right to Buy receipts and their use for replacement supply: guidance – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Local Connection or residency rules

The majority of stockholding councils have allocations schemes which include a local connection or residency test as part of the housing application process. However, in line with Labour’s election manifesto commitment that UK Armed Forces Veterans will be exempt from rules which require a local connection to access social housing, the government has recently written to councils setting out the policy position with formal regulations to follow in due course. The government has also clarified that a similar exemption will apply to other priority groups where demonstrating a local connection can be difficult, including care leavers and victims of domestic abuse.

UK Armed Forces Veterans given social housing exemption – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Recent Publications

Planning Consultation

LGA response to the Government’s consultation on the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is available on the LGA website. A useful summary of key points is available in the accompanying press release.

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CWAG Newsletter – September 2024

This Update includes the following

  • Submission to the Autumn Budget and Spending Review

  • Consultation outcome – Proposed reform of social housing allocations dropped.

  • Recent Publications

  • 2023/24 RTB sales and replacements

  • CWAG Organisational Changes

Submission to the Autumn Budget and Spending Review

CWAG has linked up with ARCH and the NFA on a joint submission covering both the Autumn Budget and the Spending Review.

The submission sets out the scale of the current funding crisis facing many council Housing Revenue Accounts (HRAs) and outlines its origins including the abandonment of both rent convergence and the formula for annual rent increases agreed within the 2012 self-financing settlement. The requirement to reduce rents by 1% per year between 2016 and 2020 significantly undermined capacity within HRAs reducing council income by an estimated £2.4 billion (amounting to an estimated loss of £42 billion from business plans by 2042). In addition, the further cap on rent rises in 2023-24 is estimated to have cut income by £644 million.

The income shortfall created by these measures has undermined the capacity of business plans to keep pace with stock investment needs, a situation further exacerbated by the emergence of new expenditure pressures including the cost of compliance with the new fire and building safety requirements, the new consumer regulatory regime, the need to improve energy efficiency and progress decarbonisation.

Drawing on the latest Savills research the submission sets out the scale of the current funding shortfall in relation to the existing stock and calls for a longer-term strategy to address this whilst setting out the necessary conditions for councils to deliver on the government’s ambition to build a new generation of council homes.

Joint ARCH NFA CWAG Autumn Budget  and Spending Review Submission

Consultation outcome – Proposed reform of social housing allocations dropped.

The previous government held an 8-week consultation between January and March this year setting out a series of proposed reforms to social housing allocations.

The proposals included a UK connection test; mandatory local connection, income, and anti-social behaviour (ASB) tests; a new ground for eviction for those convicted of terrorism offences and a ‘three strikes and you’re out’ policy for ASB.

The new government has now indicated that it will not be taking forward these proposals on the basis that the changes are either unnecessary, given there are already stringent national and local rules in place determining who is eligible and who qualifies for social housing; costly, given implementation requirements and likely increases in homelessness or TA numbers; or would potentially harm communities and individuals by increasing the public safety risk or risk of reoffending.

Consultation on reforms to social housing allocations – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Recent Publications

A new rent settlement – Savills – September 2024

A 10-year rent settlement which allows councils and housing associations to increase general needs rents by a maximum of CPI+1% each year has been trailed in the media ahead of the Autumn budget. This briefing note looks at the impact of increasing general needs rent by CPI+1% over the next 10 years and how this compares to likely future growth in market rents.

Savills has modelled increases in general needs and market rents to assess how the proposed rent settlement will affect the level of discount that social housing offers tenants. Broadly speaking, such a policy, if it came to pass, would not fundamentally affect relative prices across the country – in fact since 2016 the gap between social rents and PRS rents has been widening. This research and analysis provide helpful context for the debate around affordability.

Read Article

Securing the Future of council housing – Five solutions from 100 of England’s council landlords – Commissioned by Southwark Council – September 2024

The starting point of the report is that the council housing financial model is ‘broken’ and facing an expected £2.2billion black hole by 2028. Unless something is done soon, most council landlords will struggle to maintain their existing homes adequately or meet the huge new demands to improve them, let alone build new homes for social rent. The report calls for an immediate cash injection of £644 million, equivalent to the income lost from the 2023-25 rent cap to stabilise HRAs and prevent further waste caused by delaying or cancelling investment plans.

The five longer term policy recommendations to government are:

  • Establish a new fair and sustainable HRA model: including a long-term and certain rent-settlement, an adjustment of HRA debts and more favourable conditions for council investment.
  • Reform unsustainable Right to Buy policies: by reducing discount levels and eligibility, as well as protecting newly built council homes from sale.
  • Remove red tape on the Affordable Homes Programme and other funds: funding should be streamlined, allocated simply, reflect recent cost inflation, and allowed to be used flexibly to meet local housing need.
  • A Green & Decent Homes Programme: long-term funding to bring all council housing up to the new standard of safety, decency and energy efficiency by 2030 – and a road map for achieving net zero by 2050.
  • Fund new and replacement council homes: utilising new council house building to underpin the housebuilding sector.

Read report

Learning from Severe Maladministration – Housing Ombudsman Report – August 2024

This Housing Ombudsman report focusses on severe maladministration cases involving windows and follows earlier concerns raised by the Ombudsman regarding the handling of complaints regarding windows – see copy of earlier open letter sent to Chief Executives. The report is part of a series helping landlords prepare for the introduction of Awaab’s Law.

Read Report

2023/24 Right to Buy Sales and Replacements

MHCLG has published the statistics for Right to Buy sales and replacements between April 2023 and March 2024.

  • Total sales since the introduction of RTB reached 2,026,893.
  • Sales in 2023/24 were 6,275 (down 43% on 2022/23)
  • 3046 replacements achieved from receipts in the same period.
  • The average sales receipt was £98,454.

Read report

housing silhouette

CWAG Organisational Changes

Following the AGM we are pleased to welcome two new representatives to the Executive Group – Jenny Daisley from Shropshire Council and Henry Gregory from West Northamptonshire Council.

Southend on Sea City Council has taken over from Manchester City Council as the Administrative Authority for CWAG. The TUPE transfer of the CWAG Policy Officer post took place on 2nd September 2024 and the transfer of financial responsibilities will be completed shortly.

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CWAG Newsletter – August 2024

This Update includes the following

  • Housing Policy Update

  • Housing Legislation in the King’s Speech

  • Recent Publications

  • Diary Date – CWAG Annual General Meeting

Housing Policy Update

In a major policy speech on 30th July Angela Raynor, Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary, set out how the new government intends to deliver on the Party’s manifesto commitments on housing. The Secretary of State has also written to local authorities setting out the detail of the government’s programme. Read letter here

Planning Reform

Reform of the planning system is regarded as the key to addressing current housing shortages and delivering wider economic growth. A consultation covering changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) was issued to coincide with Angela Raynor’s policy statement. The consultation includes the following proposed changes:

  • A new mandatory standard methodology for assessing housing need and a requirement for local authorities to plan for the resulting figure.
  • A requirement to identify ‘grey belt’ land within the Green Belt, to be brought forward into the planning system.
  • New “golden rules” for land released in the Green Belt to ensure it delivers in the public interest including a requirement that development should include 50% affordable homes along infrastructure such as schools and GP surgeries.
  • Broadening the existing definition of brownfield land and a strengthened expectation that applications on brownfield sites will be approved.
  • Raising building densities in urban areas.
  • Clarifications around the ‘presumption in favour of sustainable development’ including new safeguards against poor quality development.

Housing Targets

Mandatory housing targets are to be reinstated requiring all councils in England to plan for increased housebuilding in their areas. The target set out in the Labour manifesto of 1.5 million homes over the life of the Parliament has been uplifted from 300,000 homes per year to just over 370,000 homes per year. This reflects a change in the methodology for calculating targets to ensure development is proportionate to the size of existing communities, while adding an extra level of ambition in the most unaffordable areas. The target for London has been reduced from 100,000 homes to around 80,000 homes per year.

 Green Belt Land

Commitments to focus development on previously developed brownfield sites remain, however there is an expectation that in order to achieve housebuilding targets, councils will need to consider development on parts of the Green Belt that are of low environmental quality, referred to as the ‘grey belt’.

Social Housing

The Secretary of State confirmed that the government has ambitious plans for social and affordable housing, namely to ‘deliver the biggest boost to social and  affordable housing in a generation’.  Detailed plans will be brought forward as part of the multiyear spending review due to conclude in Spring 2025.

There will also be an announcement on future social housing rents as part of the Autumn Budget Statement on the 30th October which will ensure council housing finances are put onto a secure footing with rent stability enabling councils ‘to be able to borrow and invest in new and existing homes’.

Right to Buy

The Government has announced a review of the Right to Buy including eligibility criteria and protections for new homes. A consultation on changes will be issued in the autumn. The increased Right to Buy discounts introduced in 2012 will also be reviewed and changes implemented via secondary legislation.

Increased flexibilities on how councils can use Right to Buy receipts have also been announced. The following changes will come into effect immediately and will apply for 2 years initially, subject to review:

  • Removing the cap on the percentage of replacements homes that can be delivered as acquisitions.
  • Removing the 50% cap on the level of RTB receipts that can be used to fund the cost of a replacement home.
  • Allowing councils to combine Right to Buy receipts with section 106 contributions.

Awaab’s Law

The Government has also confirmed that Awaab’s Law will be introduced into the social rented sector, with more detail and secondary legislation to implement this in due course.

Housing Legislation in the King’s Speech

The official opening of Parliament and the King’s Speech on 17th July set out the new Government’s planned legislative programme for the first parliamentary session. There are 4 Bills directly relevant to housing.

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill aims to speed up development by delivering improvements to the planning system including:

  • Modernising planning committees and increasing capacity at the local planning authority level.
  • Changing the rules surrounding Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects to accelerate the planning permission process.
  • Unlocking more sites for development through reform of the compulsory purchase compensation rules. The proposals aim to ensure that compensation paid to landowners is “fair but not excessive” in cases involving affordable housing and other important social and physical infrastructure.
  • Using developer nature recovery contributions to help unlock stalled development sites.

The Renters Rights Bill is a carryover from the Conservative administration; a similar Bill was a casualty when the General Election was called unexpectedly. The King’s speech confirms that the Labour government will seek to continue the proposed rental sector reforms along with some additional measures. The key areas to be covered by this legislation are:

  • Abolishing Section 21 ‘no fault evictions’ alongside clear and expanded possession grounds so landlords can reclaim their properties when they need to.
  • Strengthening tenants’ rights and protections, including enabling tenants to challenge excessive rent and new laws to end the practice of rental bidding wars by landlords and letting agents.
  • Giving tenants the right to request a pet, which landlords must consider and cannot unreasonably refuse.
  • Applying a Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector – tackling the blight of poor-quality homes.
  • Applying ‘Awaab’s Law’ to the private rented sector.
  • Creating a digital private rented sector database to bring together key information for landlords, tenants, and councils to target enforcement more effectively.
  • A new ombudsman service for the private rented sector that will set up to provide fair, impartial and binding resolution, to both landlords and tenants and reducing the need to go to court.
  • Making it illegal for landlords to discriminate against tenants in receipt of benefits or with children when choosing to let their property.
  • Measures to strengthen the enforcement powers of local councils including new investigatory powers intended to make it easier for councils to identify and fine unscrupulous landlords.

The Kings Speech also referred to a Draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill signalling the Government’s intention to re-examine the issue of commonhold and leaseholder rights, with the intention of moving beyond the Conservative government’s Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act. In addition, the English Devolution Bill includes the prospect of further devolution of housing powers to local government level.

Recent Publications

Consumer Regulation Review 2023/24 (published July 2024)

The Regulator of Social Housing has published the annual review of its consumer regulation work for the past year. Although the report covers the period prior to the new regulatory approach, the learning points and case studies are highly relevant in the context of the new standards.

Key messages:

  • Landlords must meet all health and safety requirements to keep tenants safe. The report highlights cases where required checks for fire, gas, electrical, asbestos and water safety had not been completed. There were cases where landlords could not provide assurance that all homes had smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. Also, in some cases remedial actions identified in fire risk assessments had not been completed within the specified timescales.
  • Landlords are expected to know the condition of the homes they manage and have effective systems and reliable information on condition and quality which is used to ensure tenants homes are good quality, safe and well-maintained.
  • Complaints can provide an important source of insight and intelligence for landlords about how their systems are working. Landlords must have the systems in place to learn from complaints when things go wrong.
  • Boards and councillors need to understand the required outcomes of the consumer standards and have good oversight and scrutiny arrangements.
  • Landlords need to engage effectively with tenants, treating them with fairness and respect.
  • Co-regulation requires landlords to refer themselves to RSH when they find a material issue, or a potential material issue, so it can be resolved promptly if required.

Download report

Why Councils are underinvesting in housing and how an updated debt settlement could put that right – Joint CIH / Savills Report (July 2024)

This report looks at options for addressing the erosion of the 2012 HRA settlement in recent years which has left HRAs chronically under resourced.

Running through the options available to secure additional funding for council housing, the report makes the case for re-opening the 2012 settlement as the most effective and straightforward approach.

This would involve transferring the estimated £17 billion of unsustainable debt from local authorities to central government enabling council housing finance to become sustainable for the long term, in line with the goal in 2012. An intervention on this scale is required to deliver headroom for investment in existing stock and to recreate the newbuild capacity that existed in 2012.

Download report

Radix Big Tent Housing Commission – Public Memorandum to the Housing Minister from Dame Kate Barker CBE (July 2024)

Kate Barker who 20 years ago led a landmark review into housing supply in the UK is currently Chair of the above Commission which aims to propose practical solutions to current housing problems. Following the General Election, the Commission has opted to publish some early policy insights in a memorandum shared with Matthew Pennycock the incoming housing minister.

Read Key Recommendations

Download Memorandum

Switching to social rent: delivering the homes we need – New Economics Foundation (June 2024)

This paper sets out the case for the new government to reform housing grant funding and refocus the programme on social rent. Conservative administrations have concentrated on funding affordable rent and shared ownership at the expense of social rent. The paper argues that this is fiscally inefficient because much of this housing would be viable without grant and funding should therefore be freed up for social rent which is undeliverable without significant grant input.

Addressing the housing crisis will also require fundamental reform of the way housing grant is allocated and administered, bringing an end to Treasury restrictions which have left Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) funding and Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) grants unspent.

Download report

Diary Date – CWAG Annual General Meeting

This year the CWAG Annual General Meeting will be on Thursday 19th September 2024 (10.00 -12.00). The meeting will take place over Teams. Please note the date in your diary.

Our speaker this year will be Eamon McGoldrick, Managing Director of the National Federation of ALMOs. Eamon will discuss progress on current proposals for sector-led improvement. Recent press reports have highlighted moves to set up a new representative body for council housing to achieve a strong coherent voice on policy matters and new arrangements to promote and share good practice. This is a timely opportunity to find out more about these proposals and consider the implications for councils with ALMOs.

The formal business of the AGM involves electing representatives of the Executive Group as well as reviewing the group’s finances and operating arrangements and Terms of Reference.

Annual General Meeting

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CWAG Newsletter – June 2024

General Election – What the Parties are offering on Housing?

The summaries below highlight the key policy areas and approaches as set out in the Party Election Manifestos:

Parliment and River Thames

Building New Homes

Labour

Plan to build 1.5 million new homes in England over the next parliament. Proposals include:

  • Restoring mandatory housing targets and strengthening the presumption in favour of sustainable development.
  • Prioritising a ‘brownfield first’ approach and a more strategic approach to the Green Belt which would allow the release of lower quality ‘grey belt’ land under certain conditions.
  • Building a new generation of new towns.
  • Introducing new mechanisms for cross boundary strategic planning that will require Combined and Mayoral Authorities to plan strategically for growth in their areas.
  • Reform of compulsory purchase compensation rules to improve site assembly and address the inflated price premiums achieved by landowners on land should planning permission be granted.
  • Supporting local authorities to fund additional planning officers, through increasing the rate of the stamp duty surcharge paid by non-UK residents.

Conservatives

Plan to build 1.6 million new homes in England over the next parliament. Proposals include:

  • Abolishing legacy EU nutrient neutrality rules to unlock development of 100,000 new homes with existing planning permissions.
  • Fast tracking the delivery of homes on brownfield land in urban areas and setting up locally led urban development corporations.
  • Raising housing density levels in inner London (to levels comparable with other European cities).
  • Supporting small and local builders by requiring councils to set aside land for them and lifting Section 106 burdens on smaller sites.

Liberal Democrats

Plan to increase building of new homes to 380,000 per year across the UK. Proposals include:

  • Building 10 new garden cities
  • Reforming the Land Compensation Act 1961 to allow councils to buy land for housing based on current use value rather than a hope value basis.
  • Improving planning outcomes by properly funding local planning departments, by allowing local authorities to set their own fees.
  • Expanding neighbourhood planning across England.
  • Expanding rural housing provision by encouraging the use of rural exception sites.
  • Trialling Community Land Auctions to help fund vital local services and ensure local communities receive a fair share of the benefits of new development in their area.
  • Encouraging development of existing brownfield sites.
  • Introducing ‘use-it-or-lose-it’ planning permissions.
  • Investing in skills, training and modern methods of construction.

Social and Affordable Housing

Labour

The labour manifesto commits to delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation. This will be achieved by:

  • Strengthening planning obligations to ensure new developments provide more affordable homes.
  • Prioritising the building of new social rented homes.
  • Making changes to the Affordable Homes Programme to ensure that it delivers more homes from existing funding.
  • Building capacity to enable councils and housing associations to make a greater contribution to affordable housing supply.

Conservatives

The Conservative manifesto makes only two references to social housing; to deliver on  existing commitments to introduce ‘Local Connection’ and ‘UK Connection’ tests for social housing and to implement a ‘three strikes and you’re out’ expectation of social housing landlords in cases of anti-social behaviour.

There is also a commitment to boost the availability of affordable housing for local people in rural areas and renew the Affordable Homes Programme to deliver homes of all tenures, and focus on regenerating and improving housing estates.

Liberal Democrats

The Liberal Democrat manifesto includes a target to build 150,000 new social homes per year. Also included are measures to protect the rights of social renters and proactively enforce clear standards and strict time limits for repairs.

Right to Buy

Labour

With the aim of better protecting the existing social rented stock, Labour will review the increased right to buy discounts introduced in 2012 and increase protections on newly-built social housing.

Conservatives

Plan to maintain their existing approach by ensuring RTB discounts continue to rise with inflation. They will also fight any plan by local authorities to abolish the Right to Buy altogether.

Liberal Democrats

Would give local authorities (and National Park Authorities) the powers to end Right to Buy in their areas.

Energy Efficiency / Net Zero

Labour

Labour plan to invest an extra £6.6 billion over the next parliament in initiatives to upgrade energy efficiency and cut bills for families, doubling the existing planned government investment. The Warm Homes Plan will offer offer grants and low interest loans to support investment in insulation and other improvements such as solar panels, batteries and low carbon heating to cut bills.

Conservatives

The Conservatives plan to spend £6 billion on energy efficiency over the next three years to make around a million homes warmer. In addition, an energy efficiency voucher scheme, open to every household in England, will be available to support the installation of energy efficiency measures and solar panels, helping families lower their bills.

Liberal Democrats

Liberal Democrats are committed to making homes warmer and cheaper to heat with a ten-year emergency upgrade programme. Starting with free insulation and heat pumps for those on low incomes, and ensuring that all new homes are zero-carbon.

Private Rented Sector

Labour

Labour will immediately abolish Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, preventing private renters being exploited and discriminated against by empowering them to challenge unreasonable rent increases. In addition, Labour will take steps to raise standards in the PRS, including extending ‘Awaab’s Law’ and ensuring homes meet minimum energy efficiency standards by 2030.

Conservatives

Conservatives will pass a Renters Reform Bill, alongside delivering the court reforms necessary to fully abolish Section 21 and strengthen other grounds for landlords to evict private tenants guilty of anti-social behaviour.

Liberal Democrats

Liberal Democrats will deliver a fair deal for renters by immediately banning no-fault evictions, making three-year tenancies the default, and creating a national register of licensed landlords

Home Ownership Initiatives / First time buyers

Labour

Labour will introduce a permanent, comprehensive mortgage guarantee scheme, to support first-time buyers who struggle to save for a deposit, lowering mortgage costs. In addition, Labour proposes to work with local authorities to give first-time buyers the first chance to buy homes on new developments, preventing off plan sales to international investors.

Conservatives

The Conservatives would continue to offer a Mortgage Guarantee scheme and permanently increase the threshold at which first time buyers pay Stamp Duty to £425,000 ( from £300,000). In addition they plan to introduce a new Help to Buy scheme which would provide first-time buyers with an equity loan of up to 20% towards the cost of a new build home, enabling first-time buyers to get onto the housing ladder with a 5% deposit. The scheme will be part funded by contributions from house builders.

Liberal Democrats

Liberal democrats would help people who cannot afford a deposit to own their own homes by introducing a new Rent to Own model for social housing where rent payments give tenants an increasing stake in the property, owning it outright after 30 years.

Homelessness and Rough Sleeping

Labour

Labour is committed to developing a new cross-government strategy, working with Mayors and Councils across the country, to put Britain back on track to ending homelessness.

Conservatives

The Conservatives plan to continue with existing plans to end rough sleeping.

Liberal Democrats

The Liberal Democrat manifesto commits to ending rough sleeping within the next parliament by:

  • Urgently publishing a cross-Whitehall plan to end all forms of homelessness.
  • Exempting groups of homeless people, and those at risk of homelessness, from the Shared Accommodation Rate.
  • Introducing a ‘somewhere safe to stay’ legal duty to ensure that everyone who is at risk of sleeping rough is provided with emergency accommodation and an assessment of their needs.
  • Ensuring sufficient financial resources for local authorities to deliver the Homelessness Reduction Act and provide accommodation for survivors of domestic abuse.

Recent Publications

This month there are a number of new reports addressing issues highlighted as part of the General Election campaign:

Report by New Economics Foundation – Reforming Right to Buy – June 2024

This is another report looking to influence the debate around the future of the Right to Buy. It outlines a package of proposed reforms that would retain the RTB in a format that no longer exacerbates the current housing crisis.

The key to delivering  meaningful change is to devolve decision making around the RTB  to local authorities, enabling councillors, who understand local housing issues, to decide on how the policy should be offered in their area.

Each local authority would have powers:

  • to suspend right to buy where it can be demonstrated that the policy is contributing to affordable housing shortages.
  • to end right to buy in respect of newly built or acquired homes.
  • to introduce measures to prevent homes sold under the right to buy from being let in the private rented sector.
  • Reduce discounts and extend qualifying periods.

In addition, Treasury rules should be amended to allow councils greater flexibility and full access to receipts to better provide replacement stock.

Download Report

Housing Subsidy’s long-term shift from supply to demand and what might be done about it – Prof Kenneth Gibb – UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence – June 2024

This paper examines the long-term shift from supply side housing subsidies providing capital subsidies to build new homes to personal demand side personal housing subsidies to help people pay for housing. This shift has been in progress for the past 50 years resulting in the housing cost element of universal credit representing the largest government subsidy to housing (amounting to more than £31 billion in 2023/24 which equates to about one-tenth of the entire social security budget).

Whilst the paper makes the case for reversing the reliance on demand led subsidies, it sets out the immense difficulties involved in shifting back to capital funding in any material way. Change cannot be accomplished quickly and involves significant cost and funding challenges in advance of beneficial impacts coming into play. However, there is a clear case for rebalancing supply and demand subsidies as part of a consistent long-term policy for the housing system.

Housing subsidy’s long-term shift from supply to demand and what might be done about it – UK Collaborative Centre For Housing Evidence

English Housing Supply Update Q1 2024 – Savills

This report highlights that planning consents for new housing have fallen below current completions for the first time since 2009 with poor outlook for new home delivery. 232,500 new homes were built in the twelve months to Q1 2024, but only c. 222,000 new homes are estimated to have gained full planning consent in that time.

As a result, completions are now likely to fall even further below housing need – Savills forecasts suggest that the number of new homes being built may be as low as 160,000 in 2024/25.

Savills UK | English Housing Supply Update Q1 2024

Diary Date – LGA Webinar – New Regulatory Regimes – Postponed

The LGA webinar bringing together the Housing Ombudsman and Regulator of Social Housing to discuss recent changes and new regulatory requirements has been postponed until after the General Election.

The new date is 25th July 2024 (10am – 11am)  For further details see the LGA website

Diary Date – CWAG Annual General Meeting

This will be held on Thursday 19th September 2024 (between 10.00 and 12.00) via Teams.

CWAG Newsletter – June 20242024-06-18T15:52:32+00:00

CWAG Newsletter – May 2024

This Update includes the following

  • Progress of Renters Reform Bill

  • Consultation Outcome – Changes to RSH Fee Regime

  • Recent Publications

  • Future Meetings

housing development

Progress of Renters Reform Bill

After almost a year, the Renters Reform Bill finally completed its passage through the House of Commons on 24th April 2024. Delays were due to concerns around the capacity of the Courts to process possession cases.

A significant number of amendments have been made including:

  • Tenants will not be able to give notice that they wish to end a tenancy for at least 6 months after taking it on, rather than after two months as previously proposed.
  • Abolition of section 21 “no fault” evictions will not take place until court reforms have been implemented (the Opposition continues to press for a clearer implementation date as the legislation currently leaves the timing a matter for Ministerial judgement).
  • Provisions have been added to allow landlords to recover possession of properties let to full-time students at the end of the academic year to ensure these are available for reletting to students in the next academic year.
  • The Minister also committed to undertake a review of local authority private rented sector licensing schemes with “the aim of reducing burdens on landlords”.
  •  The Government will review the implementation of the tenancy reforms within 18 months of measures being applied to existing tenancies.  

The Bill has now moved to the House of Lords receiving it’s first and second reading in the on 1st May 2024 and 15th May 2024 respectively. Secretary of State, Michael Gove has stated the government’s intention to enact the legislation by the ‘summer’ with Implementation by the Autumn.

Consultation Outcome – Changes to RSH Fee Regime

The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has announced the outcome of its consultation on proposed changes to the charging regime for social landlords. The Decision Statement indicates that there was broad support for the new approach which will see fees paid by social landlords to cover the full cost of regulation in the sector.

For councils, this will mean a requirement to pay fees for the first time to cover the cost of the RSH’s more active regulation against the Consumer Standards, including the new the inspections regime. Councils owning over 1000 homes will be charged at a pro rata rate of £6.63 per property.

The new arrangements come into effect on 1 July 2024. Invoices will be sent out in June. For more details see the RSH Decision Statement

Recent Publications

Reforming the Right to Buy  (The Housing Forum) – April 2024

Whilst ending the Right to Buy altogether would be the best way of safeguarding the social housing stock, this report recognises that all the main political parties currently want to retain the RTB in some form. This briefing paper sets out a series of recommendations to tackle the most problematic aspects of the current scheme including:

  • Removing the RTB from Newbuild homes
  • Using covenants to prevent the letting out of property, or alternatively requiring properties to be offered to the council  to be let if not used for owner occupation.
  • Allowing councils to receive the full value of RTB sales.
  • Modernising exemption criteria e.g. to include larger homes and bungalows.
  • Discounts should be reduced to no more than 20%.

Download report

The Finances and Sustainability of the Social Housing Sector (LUHC  Committee) – Published 29th April 2024

This report from the Levelling Up Housing and Communities Select Committee highlights the severe financial pressures currently facing the social housing sector.

Current issues have arisen because of repeated government-imposed rent caps coinciding with unprecedented costs for decarbonisation, fire safety and the regeneration of older homes. Whilst overall the sector is deemed to be generally resilient, the impact on social housing newbuild has been stark as providers retrench and focus on their existing stock.

Given the chronic shortage of social housing the Committee recommends that the Government should set and publish a target for the number of social homes it intends to build each year, prioritising grant funding for social housing rather than the current focus on affordable rent and shared ownership. The Government is also urged to use the planning system to support social housing build schemes using land value capture as a tool to ensure land price does not inhibit development of new social homes. Other proposals include greater flexibility in the net additionality guidelines used by Homes England as these are a barrier to regeneration schemes in many areas. The Government is also urged to fund fire safety works in the social housing sector on the same basis at currently available to the private sector.

Download Report

Rethinking Repairs and Maintenance : 12 Guiding Principles (Chartered Institute of Housing / National Housing Federation) – Published 9th May 2024

This report relates to one of the action plan recommendations in the 2023 CIH / NHF ‘Better Social Housing Review’, namely ‘Housing associations should partner with residents, contractors and frontline staff to develop and apply new standards defining what an excellent maintenance and repairs process looks like.’

This guidance identifies twelve guiding principles for how social landlords should work with residents to improve the repairs and maintenance services. The 12 principles are grouped into themes which are intended to be addressed consecutively, starting with culture and resident engagement, tackling discrimination, and involving frontline colleagues to understand and improve performance.

Read Report

Future Meetings

CWAG Finance and Business Planning Meeting Thursday 6th June 2024 (10.00 – 13.00)

This event for finance officers and others with an interest in HRA strategy and business planning will be led by Steve Partridge from Savills.
To book a place, contact the CWAG Policy Officer.

New Regulatory Regimes – LGA with the Housing Ombudsman and Regulator of Social Housing – Thursday 13th June 2024 (3 pm. – 4 pm)

The LGA is hosting a webinar that will bring together the Housing Ombudsman and Regulator of Social Housing to discuss the recent changes and new requirements impacting on councils.

A representative from the Housing Ombudsman will discuss the new Complaints Handling Code, including how local authorities should identify the member responsible under a council’s statutory duty. The Regulator of Social Housing will set out the powers available to them under the new regulatory regime, including inspections and grading of local authority housing services. There will be opportunities to raise issues and question both before and during the event.

For further details see the LGA website

CWAG Newsletter – May 20242024-05-20T10:56:03+00:00

CWAG Newsletter – April 2024

This Update includes the following

  • CWAG Organisational Update

  • Government confirms CPI + 1% rent settlement for 2025/26

  • Consultation Response – Competence and Conduct Standard

  • Good Practice Consultation – Housing Ombudsman

  • Recent Publications

  • CWAG Finance and Business Planning Meeting  – diary date

CWAG Organisational Update

Members will be aware that Southend City Council is planning to take on the Administrative Authority role on behalf of the group once all members have signed up to the Service Level Agreement. On transfer the policy officer post will transfer along with management of the group’s financial affairs.

In addition, the group has a new Chair. Geoff Beales from Colchester City Council has taken on the role on an interim basis as Anna Milner has stood aside from the position following the decision by South Tyneside to bring management back in house by 2nd October 2024. The post will be subject to an election at the Annual General Meeting in September. Anna will stay on as an Executive Member until the AGM.

Government confirms CPI + 1% rent settlement for 2025/26

The Government has confirmed that the existing social housing rent settlement will be rolled over by a further year until April 2026. This means annual rent increases will continue to be capped at Consumer Price Index (CPI) plus one percentage point for 2025-26.  This early announcement provides greater short-term certainty effectively deferring negotiations around the longer-term rental settlement for the next government.

Consultation Response – Competence and Conduct Standard

The Competence and Conduct Standard Consultation sets out the implementation arrangements for the new regulatory standard requiring senior housing managers and executives within social housing to either have or be working towards a relevant professional qualification.

The CWAG response recognises the value of relevant professional qualifications in improving performance and driving up standards in the social rented sector. However, alongside this there are concerns around the tight implementation timescales and the potential for these to negatively impact staff recruitment and retention in the short-term. The proposed timescales do not offer sufficient time to implement the necessary organisational and training challenges alongside succession planning.

In addition, the costs associated with introducing these measures are likely to be significantly higher than estimated in the impact assessment. No additional resources have been identified to cover implementation and associated costs which will need to be funded from already stretched Housing Revenue Accounts.

Other issues highlighted include role descriptions that are a poor fit with ALMO clienting arrangements and potential problems for organisations using external contractors where roles are deemed in scope of the new regulations.

View consultation response

Good Practice Consultation – Housing Ombudsman

The Housing Ombudsman has launched a consultation for social housing landlords on a proposed new approach for issuing Good Practice. The proposals relate to new powers conferred on the Housing Ombudsman in the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 to issue guidance on good practice in carrying out housing activities covered by the Ombudsman Scheme.

The consultation is about providing access to ‘good practice’ as opposed to ‘best practice’. As such, the proposed approach will encourage landlords to self-assess against a good practice template at the point an issue arises rather than wait for a complaint about the topic. In practice, there may be entirely justifiable reasons for the landlord’s response to differ from suggested good practice, however undertaking the self-assessment allows for the decision to be documented and scrutinised.

The consultation seeks feedback on the Ombudsman’s principles of good practice and proposed approach as well as suggestions for potential topics. The intention is to issue ‘good practice guidance on two topics per year. Initial suggested topics include:

  • making an effective apology
  • deciding on appropriate levels of compensation
  • effective complaint handling during merger or stock transfer
  • effective root cause analysis of complaints
  • knowledge and information management

The consultation closes on 21st May 2024

Good-Practice-consultation-26-March-2024.pdf (housing-ombudsman.org.uk)

Recent Publications

Housing Outlook Report Q1 2024 Resolution Foundation (March 2024)

This review sets the UK housing market within the context of similar advance economies and examines whether the housing crisis in the UK, particularly affordability pressures and quality issues are specific to the UK. Homes in the UK are more cramped, poorer quality and more expensive relative to general price levels than in other OECD countries. The housing stock is also the oldest in Europe (4 in 10 homes were built before 1946) with consequent issues around damp and poor insulation. The report highlights why housing is likely to feature prominently in this year’s General Election.

Download report

Follow-up report: Spotlight on Noise complaints – Time to be Heard – Housing Ombudsman (April 2024)

The Housing Ombudsman has published its evaluation into its Spotlight report on noise complaints. The report highlights several positive developments in this area including the following:

  • Landlords responding more sensitively and being more open to potential contributing factors underlying noise complaints.
  • Introducing timescales for responding to noise complaints.
  • Triaging noise complaints to ascertain whether they fall under household noise or ASB..
  • Focusing on preventative actions, such as using void improvements to help reduce noise concerns for incoming residents.
  • Developing a less confrontational approach including changes to the language used e.g. no longer using terms such as ‘perpetrator’ and ‘incidents’.

Download report

Learning from Severe Maladministration – Housing Ombudsman (April 2024)

This new Housing Ombudsman report is intended to be first of a new series of reports looking in more detail at the learning from recent casework where there has been a finding of severe maladministration. This report highlights cases involving 8 landlords.

Learning from Severe Maladministration (housing-ombudsman.org.uk)

Shared Ownership Report – House of Commons Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee (March 2024)

This report looks in detail at the current problems with shared ownership including rapidly rising rents, uncapped service charges, liability for repairs and maintenance costs and complex leases which combined mean shared ownership has become an unbearable reality for many people seeking to become homeowners. The report makes a number of recommendations that are urgently required to improve shared ownership to address current weaknesses  undermining this ownership vehicle.

Download report

Finance and Business Planning Meeting – Diary Date

The next CWAG event is a Finance and Business Planning meeting on Thursday 6th June 2024 (10.00 – 13.00)
Steve Partridge – Savills Director of Housing Consultancy will be leading this event for finance officers and others with an interest in HRA strategy and business planning. The event is a free event that is open to CWAG members. To book a place, contact the CWAG Policy Officer.

CWAG Newsletter – April 20242024-04-22T09:04:18+00:00

CWAG Newsletter – March 2024

This Update includes the following

  • Right to Buy receipts and the Budget

  • Final version of RSH Consumer Standards published

  • Recent Publications

southend housing

Right to Buy Receipts and the Budget

The recent Budget included details of arrangements for the coming year covering the use of Right to Buy receipts to fund replacement affordable homes.

On the positive side, the Government has responded to calls for increased flexibility around the proportion of Right to Buy receipts that can be used as part of the funding package to deliver replacement homes. Local authorities will now be able to use a higher percentage of Right to Buy receipts, up from 40% to 50% of scheme costs, a change that should assist scheme viability and funding pressures.

However disappointingly there will be no extension of the temporary arrangement allowing councils to keep 100% of the Right to Buy receipts from council house sales in 2022/23 and 2023/24. This will now come to an end this month and receipts generated from sales in 2024/25 will be subject to a 20 -25% clawback by the Treasury, reducing resources and scope to deliver replacement homes.

Other regulations limiting the proportion of replacement homes that can acquired as acquisitions have been retained at 50% until 2025/26. Longer term the Government wants to see a balance between the delivery of new build homes using Right to Buy receipts and acquisitions, to ensure that Right to Buy receipts contribute to new housing supply.

Final version of RSH consumer standards published.

On 29th February the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) published a series of documents setting out the final arrangements for Consumer Regulation which will come into effect on 1 April 2024. A detailed summary of the new approach to regulation is set out in the publication Reshaping Consumer Regulation – our new approach. Guidance explaining  how the new regulatory arrangements will operate, including inspections, is set out in a collection of documents available on the ‘How we regulate’ page on the Regulator’s website.

The four revised consumer standards are:

Safety and Quality Standard – Sets outcomes about the safety and quality of tenants’ homes and the landlord services they receive.

Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard – Requires landlords to be open with tenants and treat them with fairness and respect so they can access services, raise concerns and influence decision making, holding their landlord to account.

Neighbourhood and Community Standard – Requires landlords to work constructively with other organisations to help ensure tenants live in safe neighbourhoods.

Tenancy Standard – Sets outcomes about how landlords allocate and let homes and manage tenancies.

housing silhouette

Recent Publications

The economic impact of building social housing – Report by  Centre for Economic and Building Research (CEBR)

This NHF and Shelter commissioned report sets out the arguments in favour of building social housing and forms part of the pre-election debate around housing policy. Based around scenario modelling the report tracks the economic, social and employment benefits of building 90,000 new social homes per year over a 10 year period. According to the researchers, significant benefits would accrue from the start of the programme with projections indicating that the programme would break even in the third year post construction achieving a net present value of £2.4 billion.  Download Executive Summary

Local Housing Allowance – What can Claimants Afford? – Savills Research

Research by Savills analysed over one million Zoopla asking rents in 2023 and concluded that only 8.5% of homes listed would have been affordable using the new uplifted LHA rates. From April LHA will increase on average by 17%, or £110 more per month, compared to when rates were last increased in April 2020. However, in the 4-year period private up to November 2023, private rents have grown on average by 29% across the UK suggesting that those reliant on housing benefit will continue to struggle. The report highlights the wider problem of affordability and high demand impacting all tenures emphasising the urgent need for delivery of more affordable homes to both rent and buy.

Download report

Complaints Handling Failure Orders Report (October – December 2023) – Housing Ombudsman

This latest quarterly report highlights a significant reduction in the number of complaints failure orders issued in the final quarter of 2023 compared to the previous quarter. With the introduction of the new Statutory Complaint Handling Code from April the report provides several good practice compliance examples relating to accepting complaints, agreeing extensions and provision of evidence.

Download report

The State of Local Government Finance in England 2024 Report – Local Government Information Unit

This annual survey of local government in England highlights the extreme and unprecedented financial pressures currently facing local authorities with 9% of councils indicating that they face bankruptcy in the next financial year and more than half warning they will be in a similar situation within the next 5 years if funding pressures are not addressed.

Download report

CWAG Newsletter – March 20242024-03-25T15:41:35+00:00

CWAG Newsletter – February 2024

This Update includes the following

  • Calls for Reform of Right to Buy

  • Current Consultations

  • Diary Dates

  • Recent Publications

Croft House

Calls for Reform of Right to Buy

The Conservative Government has signalled its ongoing commitment to the existing arrangements having recently confirmed that the maximum discounts available to tenants will be increased from April 2024 in line with the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) figure of 6.7% to £102,400 outside London and £136,400 in London.

However, in this election year, the debate around the future of the Right to Buy scheme is coming into sharper focus with calls for fundamental reform now being actively debated. Two recent publications highlight growing calls for change.

LGA Right to Buy Position Statement

On 9th February the LGA issued a new position statement on the Right to Buy calling for fundamental reform.

Set within the context of current housing challenges with more than one million people on council housing waiting lists and 106,000 households living in temporary accommodation. LGA research highlights that there has been a net loss of 24,000 social homes each year since 1991 and if nothing is done a further 100,000 social homes will be sold by 2030 with only 43,000 replacements built.

The position statement argues that the continuing depletion of the available social housing stock through the RTB scheme needs to be addressed. Whilst stopping short of calling for a ban on RTB, the LGA would like to see the scheme fundamentally reformed with local flexibility for councils to shape the scheme so it works best for the local area.

Proposals include:

  • Allowing local authorities to set the discount levels at which homes can be purchased, including a possible discount of 0 per cent.
  • Increasing the tenancy qualification requirement from 3 to 15 years.
  • Allowing councils to retain 100% of receipts along with greater flexibility to combine with other funding and removal of restrictive time limits on using receipts.
  • Granting the cost floor indefinite protection for properties purchased through Right to Buy and allowing the cost floor to be increased by inflation ( specifically with an index based on construction cost inflation).
  • Possible complete exemption for newbuild properties and those that have been retrofit or improved.

UCL Direct Provision of housing: Fourth Research Report – January 2024

This latest report published in January by researchers from the Bartlett School of Planning considers current issues hindering local authority direct provision of housing. This is a wide ranging study covering different aspects of policy however the RTB policy in England is identified as a major factor undermining and disincentivising new council housing provision. There are two key recommendation on linked to RTB:

  • Right to Buy reform including either abolishing it altogether or limiting it, for example so it does not apply to newly built homes for at least 15 years.
  • The ability for authorities to retain 100% of Right to Buy receipts over a longer period of time and with greater flexibility over their use.
housing silhouette

Policy Consultations

There are currently three Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities open policy consultations impacting the the social housing sector.

The January Newsletter included an overview of proposals in the Awaab’s Law Consultation which includes strict time limits for social housing providers to address dangerous hazards in their properties. This consultation ends on 5th February 2024.

Consultation on reforms to social housing allocations

This consultation has been styled ‘British homes for British workers’ and proposes reform of the regulations governing new social housing allocations. The stated aim is to ‘crack down on rule breakers’ and ensure that ‘valuable and limited’ social housing is allocated fairly.

Most of these new tests apply to future applicants and people on waiting lists only; however, those relating to terrorism and anti- social behaviour aim to establish new grounds for evicting existing tenants in specific circumstances.

These proposals seek to ration available social housing by applying additional eligibility criteria but will do little to address the current housing shortage and the lack of new supply.

This consultation ends on 26th March 2024.

Download consultation document

New social housing eligibility tests proposed:

  • UK connection test – A requirement for social housing applicants to demonstrate a connection to the UK for at least 10 years.
  • Local connection test – Applicants must demonstrate a connection to a local area for at least two years before they can be allocated social housing.
  • Income test – This would set out a maximum threshold for household income which if exceeded would exclude the household from applying for social housing. The consultation does not specify what this threshold level should be but seeks views on what would be appropriate.
  • Anti-social behaviour test – People who have unspent convictions for certain criminal anti-social behaviour would be disqualified from social housing for a defined period of between 1 and 5 years. A ‘three strikes and you’re out’ policy would apply for existing tenants anti-social behaviour convictions.
  • Terrorism test – Those with unspent convictions for terrorism offences could be disqualified from social housing eligibility.
  • Fraudulent declaration test – This would introduce a period of disqualification for those ‘knowingly or recklessly’ making false statements when applying for social housing.

Consultation on Competence and Conduct Standard for social housing

As part of the Government’s post Grenfell drive to improve standards in the social housing sector, the government is consulting on a proposed new direction to the Regulator of Social Housing.

The measures set out aim to ensure that those in senior housing management positions in the sector have appropriate professional qualifications.

It has been estimated that around 25,000 housing management staff will fall within the scope of these measures who will be expected to secure new qualifications. The implementation of such an extensive sector wide training programme has raised questions around the capacity of the training sector to deliver within such constrained timescales as well as how the programme will be funded.

There are also concerns around organisational impacts if staff are absent from their job roles to undertake their studies or possible staff retention issues if staff are expected to undertake training in their own time.

The consultation raises a number of other potential issues including the implications for staff retention and recruitment with the prospect of staff shortages and increasing costs. It is feared that older experienced staff may opt not to undertake the required training. There are also queries around precisely which roles are in scope and whether the measures will be applied to external consultants and specialist repairs contractors.

This consultation ends on 2nd April 2024.

Download consultation document

Key proposals

  • All senior housing managers and executives who spend a significant amount of their time on housing management (defined as 50% of their job role) will be required to have or be working towards an appropriate professional qualification.
  • The new arrangements will commence from April 2025 with a two-year transition period, at the end of which all affected staff must be either qualified or have commenced studying for their qualification.
  • Course content must be tailored towards social housing and include appropriate knowledge of law and policy, as well as practical service delivery and customer service skills.
  • The consultation makes provision for an extended 4-year transition period for small organisations (with fewer than 50 units) and allows for some flexibility around issues such as maternity leave and staff on long-term sick leave.
man studying with notebook and laptop

CWAG is planning to respond to these consultations, please send any comments on the consultations to the Policy Officer. 

Recent Publications

Financial distress in local authorities LUHC Select Committee Report (published 29/01/24)

This report looks at why councils are facing financial distress and struggling to maintain services, with particular pressures in social care, children’s services and homelessness. It sets out the challenges facing the next Government, regardless of political persuasion. A fundamental review of local authority funding and taxation will be required. Download Report 

The Provision of Floor Coverings in Social Housing – Learning Report 3: Landlord Perspectives – Altair (published January 2024)

Altair research report exploring the costs and benefits of landlords providing floor coverings in social housing. Download Report

Relationship of Equals – Housing Ombudsman Spotlight Report (published January 2024)

The latest report in the Housing Ombudsman Spotlight series focusses on attitudes, respect and rights. It examines what it means to be vulnerable in social housing and how landlords can better respond to the needs of vulnerable residents. The report also calls for a Royal Commission to create a long-term plan for social housing as current approaches are not working for residents with a vulnerability. Download Report

Quarterly Home Office Fire Safety Reform Bulletin. No 4 – February 2024

This bulletin provides information on the latest fire safety developments and links to recently published and updated guides.

Diary Dates

CWAG General Meeting – 27th February 2024 (10.00 -12.00)

The meeting will focus on Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs) and preparing for the forthcoming changes to regulation. Speakers include Jonathan Cox from Housemark who will be discussing learning to date from TSMs, and Lucy Heath from Shropshire Council will be sharing impressions and feedback from the recent RSH pilot inspection.

Competence and Conduct Standard Consultation Roundtable – 6th March 2024 (10.00 -11.30)

The NFA has arranged a Teams /roundtable with DLUHC representatives to discuss the Competency and Conduct consultation. If any CWAG members are interested in attending, please contact the Policy Officer for further details.

CWAG Finance and Business Planning Meeting – 6th June 2024 (10.00 -13.00)

A follow up meeting date has been arranged with Steve Partridge from Savills – further details will be available nearer to the meeting date.

CWAG Newsletter – February 20242024-02-26T12:37:04+00:00

CWAG Newsletter – January 2024

This Update includes the following

  • The ALMO Model: first results from Tenant Satisfaction Measures

  • Consultation Awaab’s Law

  • Recent Publications

  • Diary Date – CWAG General Meeting

derbyhomes elderly homes

The ALMO Model: first results from Tenant Satisfaction Measures

A new report commissioned by the National Federation of ALMOs reviews initial TSM performance using data collected by Housemark during the first six months of surveys from April to September 2023. Data was provided by 19 ALMOs and comparisons made with data from 53 local authorities with direct management.

The analysis shows that at the median point ALMOs outperformed local authorities on all TSMs and housing management metrics analysed. They also perform better on value for money, with an average overall cost per property of £2537; this is £81 lower than the direct local authority management average.

The headline finding is that on average the better performance and higher tenant satisfaction delivered by an ALMO costs no more than direct delivery of housing services by a local authority. In many areas, the ALMO model costs less and offers better value for money.

Report Findings

Overall satisfaction

Whilst it should be noted that overall satisfaction is declining for all types of landlords – the data indicates that it has declined less for ALMOs than for local authorities generally. The TSM data so far shows that 76 per cent of ALMO tenants are satisfied with their landlord’s services overall, compared to the local authority median of 65 per cent. Housemark also looked back at STAR data for the past 5 years highlighting that overall satisfaction among ALMO tenants has been consistently higher – between six and 11 percentage points – compared to local authorities generally.

ladies with tablet/ipad

Read report summary available here

Repairs TSMs

ALMOs perform well in this area. On average, they complete a higher proportion of non-emergency repairs within target timescale at 91 per cent, compared to a local authority median of 85 per cent; and a higher percentage of emergency repairs within target timescale (99 per cent versus 95 per cent). Satisfaction with repairs is 12 percentage points higher.

Complaints handling

On average 88 per cent of stage one complaints and 97 per cent of stage two complaints are completed within the Ombudsman’s target timescales. This compares favourably with performance in directly managed local authority stock (74 per cent and 70 per cent). Average satisfaction with ALMOs‘ complaints handling is also 13 percentage points higher.

Respectful and helpful engagement

ALMOs achieve a higher level of satisfaction across all three TSMs in the tenant engagement category.

Neighbourhood Management

ALMOs score almost eight percentage points higher on making ‘a positive contribution to the neighbourhood’ than local authorities generally. They also score 11 percentage points higher for satisfaction with the landlord’s approach to handling anti-social behaviour.

Value for Money

ALMOs deliver better value for money across housing management, responsive repairs, void works, and major works services. The average cost per property for ALMO services is £2,537 compared to £2,618 for local authorities.

Awaab’s Law Consultation

The Social Housing Regulation Act 2023 included provisions for the introduction of Awaab’s Law which aims to protect residents from health and safety risks in their homes by requiring landlords to investigate and fix reported health hazards within specified timeframes. The consultation seeks views on how Awaab’s Law should be implemented, specifically regarding time scales for investigations and carrying out repairs.

The consultation proposes the introduction of a new legal obligation to investigate hazards within 14 calendar days with a requirement to start work on remedying identified hazards within 7 days. Where emergency works are identified, these must be actioned within 24 hours. If the property cannot be made safe within the specified timescales, the registered provider must offer to arrange for the occupant(s) to stay in suitable alternative accommodation until it is safe to return. These new rules will form part of a tenancy agreement, so that tenants can hold landlords to account by law if they fail to respond to issues and provide a decent home.

The consultation proposes that Awaab’s Law should take into account the 29 health and safety hazards set out in the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) but must additionally take into account the vulnerabilities of those living in the household.

Hazards in scope are those that pose a significant risk to the health or safety of the actual residents of the property, therefore, identifying whether a repair meets the threshold of Awaab’s Law will not necessarily match current routine or emergency repair definitions. Where residents have vulnerabilities, routine repairs will potentially fall within the scope of Awaab’s Law.

The consultation sets out new higher expectations in terms of record keeping around repairs. There is also a new requirement to provide residents with a written summary of findings within 48 hours of the investigation setting out if a hazard was found along with details of the follow up response and timescales as well as how to contact the landlord with any queries.

Cost Implications

The consultation makes an assessment of the cost implications for landlords of implementing Awaab’s Law. It is assumed that for the most part implementation costs will be relatively low as any works required are not a new burden but reflect existing landlord responsibilities and therefore shouldn’t cost more than under current arrangements. In practice, the introduction of tight timescales and increased demand for some specialist contractors are likely to increase costs in some areas.

It is estimated that the cost of preparing and sending written summaries to residents following property inspections will cost local authority registered providers around £5.1m annually, but the assumption is that automation will significantly reduce this figure over time. In addition, a small one-off element of transition costs is identified relating to staff training and familiarisation with the new arrangements (amounting to a total of a total of £513,000 across the local authority sector overall).

This is an 8-week consultation closing on 5th March 2024.

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Recent Publications

Building Safety ebulletin: 15 January 2024 (govdelivery.com)

This regular bulletin provides updates on current building safety issues and developments within the Building Safety Regulator. This edition includes information on high rise registration and monitoring arrangements for the building control profession. There is also a list of on-line building safety webinars that are available to watch on demand.

Two Nations: The State of Poverty in the UK – Centre for Social Justice (December 2023)

This interim report considers the challenges involved in improving the lives of the poorest communities in the UK focussing on the root causes of poverty and the limitations of current social policy. It brings together evidence from over 250 frontline charities, social enterprises and local organisations working with people in the toughest situations.

Diary Date - CWAG General Meeting

The next CWAG General Meeting will we held on Teams on Tuesday 27th February 2024 (10.00 – 12.00). The meeting will focus on Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs)  and preparing for the forthcoming changes to regulation.

The programme so far includes the following:

  • Presentation from Jonathan Cox ( Director of Data and Business Intelligence at Housemark) who will be discussing learning to date from TSMs with a particular focus on councils with ALMOs.
  • CWAG Executive Member Lucy Heath will be sharing her experience and feedback from the RSH pilot inspection of Shropshire Council (and its ALMO) which took place as part of round 3 of the inspection pilot programme at the end of last year.

CWAG Newsletter – January 20242024-01-18T14:34:22+00:00

CWAG Newsletter – December 2023

This Update includes the following

  • Knowing our Homes Survey

  • CWAG Consultation Responses

  • Recent Publications

  • Diary Date

Knowing Our Homes  – Local Authority Housing Survey

The Knowing our Homes survey is part of a programme of work developed by the NHF in response to the Better Social Housing Review which aims to establish a shared, standardised approach for gathering and using information about the condition of social homes and about the residents who live in them. This should also help social landlords to meet new requirements emerging through the Consumer Standards which set higher expectations for how landlords gather and use information about their homes and their residents.

Although the Better Social Housing Review was initially focused on the housing association sector, the local authority sector has committed to support the work emerging from the review to make sure there is a shared approach across the whole social housing sector. The Local Government Association (LGA), Association of Retained Council Housing (ARCH), National Federation of ALMOs (NFA), and Councils with ALMOs Group (CWAG) are all working together to achieve this and make sure the whole council housing sector is represented.

A survey was sent out to stock retaining local authorities, and local authorities with ALMOs in October 2023. This is the first stage of the work which identifies how local authorities are currently gathering and using data.  49 local authorities responded to the survey (around 30 per cent of local authorities with housing stock), managing around 599,000 social and affordable local authority homes across England (around 38 per cent of the total stock).

Snapshot of Survey Findings

  • Three quarters of respondents to our survey have made significant changes to the way they monitor and work to improve the condition of the homes they manage within the last year. This includes, for example:
    • Reviewing damp and mould policies and procedures, implementing training, creating new teams.
    • Changing stock condition programmes, for example moving to a 100% survey, reducing the length of the rolling survey or undertaking a full assessment of stock condition.
    • Reviewing and developing asset management strategies.
    • Investing in new asset management or property information management systems. Developing processes to cross-reference data sources (e.g. property archetype, repair and cases of damp and mould) to better direct resources and identify issues.
    • Reviewing processes for identifying stock condition between surveys, for example adding requirements to the gas servicing contract to identify property condition.
    • Increasing staffing resources for quality assurance, stock condition and data management.
    • Accessing funding for thermal improvement/ decarbonisation work to support quality of homes.
    • Introducing tenancy audits, or changes in frequency or type of audit.
CWAG Group Photo
  • The majority of respondent have – or are moving towards – a rolling stock condition survey where they survey 100 per cent of their homes. This will support them to the meet the requirements within the Regulator’s Consumer Standards to have ‘an accurate, up to date and evidenced understanding of the condition of their homes that reliably informs the provision of good quality, well maintained and safe homes for tenants.’ The information gathered as part of these surveys differs across respondents, but around 40 per cent gather information on energy efficiency of properties (e.g. RdSAP).
  • The majority of respondents report having a process for proactively checking the condition of homes between stock condition surveys. This includes, for example, through tenancy checks or audits, and asking staff who visit the home to report issues. One of the key areas of work for many is making sure IT systems can effectively record all the information about a home and the people who live in it, and that data quality is good. Around a third of respondents would recommend the IT or data systems they would use, suggesting that there is work to be done in this area.
  • Having a good knowledge of the people who live in homes is a key requirement in the new Consumer Standards; to make sure that services are tailored and equitably delivered. Nearly all respondents in our survey collect, store and retain data about tenants. This includes, for example, information on household make-up, relevant health issues or disabilities, and communication needs or preferences. Nine out of 10 respondents actively update the information they hold on tenants, for example after a repair or during a tenancy audit. Members are actively working on the processes that they use to make sure they can demonstrate they are equitably delivering services.
  • The collection of data on tenants is an area that members are working on, and where good practice sharing would be beneficial; particularly thinking about GDPR principles, how (and what) data is stored and kept up-to-date, and how it is used. We will continue to work with the National Housing Federation and their members to share good practice in this area.

CWAG Consultation Responses

Provision of information to tenants: Direction to the Social Housing Regulator on tenants’ rights and complaints

CWAG has responded to the DLUHC consultation on a new direction to the Social Housing Regulator   on tenants’ rights and complaints. Whilst we agree that landlords should be providing this information to their tenants, in our view the proposals duplicate arrangements already set out in the RSH Consumer Standards and Ombudsman Statutory Complaints Handling Code. Overlaying a further set of very similar requirements and additional reporting that duplicate these arrangements will add to the complexity, regulatory burden and costs whilst providing little in the way of additional or new information for tenants.

CWAG Consultation response

Ombudsman Complaints Handling Code 2023

CWAG also responded to the Ombudsman Complaints Handling Code consultation 2023. The new statutory Complaints Handling Code forms part of wider changes to social housing regulation set out in the Social Housing (Regulation)Act 2023. Whilst the code is broadly similar to the existing code, our consultation response flagged up some issues including changes to response times and the need for clarity around the interface of these arrangements with those of other regulators.

CWAG Consultation response

Recent Publications

ALMOs top half year local authority TSM results – Housemark research

An interesting piece of research by Housemark on behalf of the National Federation of ALMOs makes very positive reading for anyone interested in the effectiveness of the ALMO management model. ALMO performance against all 22 TSMs at the half-year point in September 2023 was favourable when compared to local authorities generally. In addition, the report also looked at the data for former ALMOs where management is now back ‘in house’ suggesting that ‘housing management performance settles into that less favourable cost and performance pattern of stock retained local authorities’.

viewpoint almos.org.uk

Housing Ombudsman Report – Insight on service charges and the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction – Published December 2023

This latest insight report considers complaints relating to service charges. The report sets out guidance around the complaints the Ombudsman might consider and those which are within the remit of the First Tier Tribunal or Tribunal and Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE).

Whilst the level and cost of service charges is outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction, the way the charge has been calculated would fall within the Ombudsman’s remit. The report highlights that the importance of ensuring charges are as set out in tenancy agreements and leases, as opposed to what it is assumed is in these agreements.

Other issues include fairness and transparency, ensure that any redress is applied to everyone affected, not just those who have been party to the complaint. Cases involving measures such as non-disclosure agreements or pressure on residents to sign revised agreements are highlighted as unacceptable.

Where residents raise complaints about the standard of service, the onus will be on the landlord to demonstrate that the standard was of satisfactory quality for example through evidence of spot checks and monitoring.

Insight Report July 2023 (housing-ombudsman.org.uk)

Housing Ombudsman - Complaint Handling Failure Orders July – September 2023 (Published November 2023)

Given the increasing use of Complaint Failure Orders (CFOs) by the Housing Ombudsman, this report examining cases between July and September 2023 provides useful insights into current issues and complaints handling weaknesses in the sector.

In the three months under review there were 51 CFOs issued, the highest number ever issued in a single quarter. Of these 38 (74.5%) were type 1 relating to unreasonable delays by the landlord in accepting or progressing a complaint. 12 cases (23.5%) were type 2 involving unreasonable delays in providing information to the Ombudsman and 2 cases (4%) involved a failure by the landlord to comply with membership obligations of the Ombudsman scheme. In the same period, 14 landlords failed to comply with the requirements set out in the issued CFO.

CHFO-report-Q2-23-24-FINAL.pdf (housing-ombudsman.org.uk)

Social Housing Partner Toolkit

This toolkit includes details of the latest phase in the Governments ‘Make things Right campaign which aims to ensure social housing tenants know their rights and how to make a complaint in terms of repairs, disabled adaptations and help with anti-social behaviour. The campaign seeks to address barriers which hold people back from raising issues with their landlord.

The ‘toolkit’ comprises a range of publicity materials and formats including posters, social media videos, leaflets, draft copy for use in newsletters and blogs as well as a briefing for use with staff working with people who live in social housing.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/656daade9462260721c56816/DLUHC_SocialHousing_PartnerToolKitDocument.pdf

Diary Date Reminder - Finance and Business Planning Workshop

Steve Partridge – Savills Director of Housing Consultancy will be leading this event for finance officers and others with an interest in HRA strategy and business planning. The event is a free event that is open to CWAG members. To book a place, contact the CWAG Policy Officer.

CWAG Newsletter – December 20232023-12-18T09:22:37+00:00

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