Rishi Sunak’s reappointment of Michael Gove’s as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities signals a return to continuity in housing policy with a focus on the 2018 election manifesto commitments including levelling up and housebuilding. However, the environment is now much more challenging than at the time of his earlier sacking by Boris Johnson back in July, raising questions around what can now realistically be achieved given high inflation and squeezed departmental budgets.

In a recent BBC interview Gove restated the government’s commitment to building 300,000 new homes a year although admitted this would be ‘difficult’ stressing the importance of having the consent of local communities, protecting the environment, and ensuring developments are ‘beautiful’ and matched with appropriate infrastructure. He also confirmed his department would be continuing with previously announced legislation to tackle rogue landlords as set out in ‘A Fairer Private Rented Sector’ White Paper.

The Fiscal Statement due on 17^th November 2022 will set out the wider financial position for DLUHC with implications for a key policy areas. It is likely that the decision on proposals to cap the level of social rent increases in 2023 will be delayed until the wider fiscal position becomes clearer.

Lee Rowley (MP for NE Derbyshire) has also retained his position as Housing Minister.

The following LGA webinars may be of interest to CWAG members and can be attended free of charge:

Webinar -Building Safety Update – Monday 7th November 2022 (11.30 am – 1.30 pm)

This free LGA webinar will provide an update on councils’ responsibilities in respect of the new Building Safety regime, the Fire Safety Act and new fire safety regulations arriving in January.

There will be speakers from the HSE, the Home Office and the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC). The event aims to bring attendees fully up to date on the new arrangements with a focus ensuring that residents are safe and feel safe in their homes. The LGA will also give an update on its PEEPs work.

The webinar is being held over Zoom and is open to council officers and ALMOs. To book use link

Webinar – The Social Housing Regulation Bill – Monday 21st November 2022 (10.30 am – 12.30 pm)

This LGA event is a collaboration with ARCH and the NFA. The programme will discuss the forthcoming Social Housing Regulation Bill and includes speakers from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) and the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH).

The webinar is being held over Zoom and is free to LGA members. To find out more information and to book use link

Housing Ombudsman Spotlight Report – Noise Complaints: time to be heard

 This latest Spotlight Report looked in depth at noise related complaints drawing on casework and a recent ‘call for evidence’. The report highlights a fundamental unfairness in the way many social landlords approach noise complaints, with most being dealt with as anti-social behaviour (ASB) even where they relate to general household noise.

Landlords are often caught up in time consuming and futile interventions which fail to tackle the underlying issues. Whilst recognising that this is a complex area where solutions are often difficult, the sector is urged to adopt several alternative approaches to address current poor outcomes and the significant costs to residents in terms of their mental health and well-being.

The report includes a 32-point self-assessment tool setting out a range of possible measures to reduce noise related complaints including changes to the building fabric, management arrangements and the way noise complaints are categorised.

Download Report and Self-Assessment Tool

A Housing Ombudsman is holding a webinar to discuss the report and answer questions on Wednesday 16 November 2022 at 2pm. This is aimed at landlords, governing body members and engaged residents. For further details on how to book – link

The Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Select Committee Exempt Accommodation Report published 19th October 2022

 The Select Committee Report into exempt accommodation, a type of supported housing outside of Housing Benefit Regulations, sets out how the system is failing many residents and local communities at the taxpayers’ expense. The Report calls on the Government to bring forward urgent reforms including:

• compulsory national minimum standards for exempt accommodation, including on referrals, care & support, and quality of housing
• to give local councils the powers and resources to enforce these standards
• requiring all exempt accommodation providers to be registered
• creation of a National Oversight Committee to join-up existing regulators addressing the current ‘patchwork regulation’
• ensuring that providers of exempt accommodation for survivors of domestic abuse have recognised expertise to provide specialist support and a safe environment
• reviewing arrangements for exempt housing benefit claims, clamping down on the exploitation of the lease-based exempt accommodation model for profit

Download Report

 LGA, ARCH, NFA Rent and Income Analysis – Savills Affordable Housing Consultancy – October 2022

 This research set out to estimate the cumulative loss of resources within Housing Revenue Accounts of the proposal to cap rent increases to 5% per year in 2023/24 and 2024/25. The research found that a 5 per cent rent cap would cost £1.16 billion in the next two years, rising to more than £3 billion within five years. In addition, as the rent cap changes the baseline for future rent increases, the longer-term financial hit is likely to be as high as £45 million over the next four decades. Further information about this report is available on the LGA website – link

CWAG Consultation Response Social Housing Rents

The government social housing rents consultation closed on 12th October 2022. The consultation covered options for capping social housing rent increases in 2023/24 below the agreed CPI+ 1% formula. Read the CWAG response here.

Diary Date - LGA Webinar - The Social Housing Regulation Bill – Information for councils – 21st November 2022

This webinar originally planned for September 2022, was cancelled due to the Queen’s death, will now take place on Monday 21^st November 2022. This LGA event is a collaboration with ARCH and the NFA.

The programme will discuss the forthcoming Social Housing Regulation Bill and includes speakers from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) and the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH).

The webinar is being held over Zoom and is free to LGA members. To find out more information and to book follow the link: Local Government Association

Recent Publications

Housing Ombudsman

The Housing Ombudsman has published its latest Insight Report covering April to June 2022 which shows that complaint volumes remain high. Case studies in the report are drawn from the South-East and South-West of England and focus on where landlords have implemented good practice around dispute resolution.

In addition, the Housing Ombudsman has used its powers to conduct further investigations, where complaints may be indicative of wider service failure, to look in more detail at 13 complaint cases relating to Clarion Housing Association. The resulting Special Report identifies multiple failings with poor record keeping and communication key issues undermining effective complaint handling. There are also important learning outcomes in relation to damp and mould and pest control cases. Interestingly the Ombudsman is keen to point out that offering sizable compensation should not become routine; the focus should rather be on identifying improvements that deliver earlier complaint resolution.

Regulator of Social Housing (RSH)

The RSH has published its Decision Statement setting out the outcome of the consultation on Tenant Satisfaction Measures. As a result of the feedback some changes have been made, mainly to ensure definitions are or to reflect wording improvements suggested by respondents.

Consultation on Social Housing Rents

Current rent policy dates back to 2019 and permits social housing rents to increase by up to the CPI rate at the previous September plus 1% point. This policy was intended to run up to 2025 providing longer-term certainty and stability for business planning and investment.

However, faced with an unprecedented rise in inflation and the exceptional cost of living pressures on households, the government is now proposing to restrict the 2023 social housing rent increase and is consulting on alternative arrangements.

Under the consultation proposals social landlords would be permitted to increase rents by up to CPI+1% or by 5%, whichever is the lower, effectively placing a 5% ceiling on increases next year.

The consultation is also inviting views on alternative ceiling options (such as 3% and 7 %) and whether restrictions should be extended beyond next year to cover the 2024 increase as well. The government is also keen to understand what councils would opt to do in terms of rent increases if this ceiling was not to be imposed.

The intention is for the proposed rent increase ceiling to only apply to existing tenants, it will not apply on new properties and relets where the formula rent and full CPI plus 1% can be applied. The consultation also states that these arrangements will apply across the board, it is not proposed to make exceptions for certain less financially resilient categories of social housing – although feedback is sought on this. Where individual landlords face viability issues, it may under certain circumstances be possible to agree a waiver with the Regulator of Social Housing.

DLUHC has published an impact assessment alongside the consultation which estimates the loss of rental income for councils at £3.4billion in the 5-year period between 2023 and 2028.

In framing the CWAG response we are keen receive feedback from CWAG members on the consultation proposals and how these will impact locally on HRA business plans, the scale of financial loss and what this will mean on a practical level in terms of services for residents, repair programmes and investment plans including newbuild and meeting climate change targets.

Download the consultation document here

View the 5 consultation questions here

This webinar, in collaboration with ARCH and the NFA, will give councils the opportunity to hear from, and put questions to, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) and the Regulator for Social Housing (RSH) on the Social Housing Regulation Bill, and the implications of the new regulation regime for stock holding local authorities (including councils with Arms-Length Management Organisations (ALMOs) and Tenant Management Organisations (TMOs).

The webinar is being held over Zoom and is free to LGA members. To find out more information and to book follow the link: Local Government Association

The programme we will include feedback from BEIS, on lessons so far from the pilot and wave 1 programmes, and from Savills on the work they are doing with the social housing sector. There will also be case studies from councils and ALMOs on specific initiatives being developed to achieve net-zero carbon objectives.

Contact the Policy Officer for the booking link.

The programme which will focus on the implementation of Tenant Satisfaction Measures. Our speakers are:

Kate Dodsworth – Director of Consumer Regulation at the Regulator of Social Housing will be discussing the outcome of the TSM consultation, as well as practical issues around the implementation phase and next steps.

Jonathan Cox – Deputy Director of Data and Business Intelligence at Housemark will follow up with a discussion around the more complex implementation issues facing landlords and how to prepare for the introduction of TSMs next year.

To book contact the Policy Officer.

The LGA will be running three update meetings, for councillors and officers, including councils with ALMOs, on the following dates:

·         Monday 7^th November 2022 (11.30a.m – 1.30p.m)

·         Monday 19^th December 2022 (1p.m – 3p.m)

·         Thursday 9^th March 2023 (2p.m – 4p.m)

 These will include sessions from the Home Office on the impact of the Fire Safety Act and preparations for the new regulations in January 2023 and from the HSE on the Building Safety Regulator.

 Registration details will be circulated nearer to event dates.

Work on the development of the new CWAG website is progressing well and we are planning to go live with the new site around the end of September.

When we move to the new CWAG website, the forum facility on the current website will no longer be available. As an alternative, we are trialling the option of circulating member questions and feedback requests by email via the Policy Officer.

Please contact the Policy Officer for further details.

Recent Publications

Following the publication of the White Paper A fairer private rented sector in June this year, DLUHC has published a consultation seeking views on enforcement of A Decent Homes Standard in the private rented sector. The proposals have major implications for councils who would be responsible for monitoring and enforcement of the Standard. The consultation runs for 6 weeks from 2^nd  September to 14^th October.

There is a DLUHC Summary Page which sets out details of all open and closed Building Safety Consultations the four building safety consultations.

Explanatory notes to the Building Safety Act: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2022/30/pdfs/ukpgaen_20220030_en.pdf

 New Government guidance on the leaseholder protections: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/building-safety-leaseholder-protections-guidance-for-leaseholders