Time to act: tackling repairs, regulation and resident expectations

A turning point for asset leaders. With the Housing Ombudsman’s Repairing Trust spotlight report setting new expectations, and Awaab’s Law fully in force from 27 October, the message is clear: it’s time to move from policy to practice. Join peers from across the UK to test your approach to repairs, compliance and resident experience, and leave with a concrete action plan for the next 12 months.

Why attend

• Get ahead of Awaab’s Law: understand what practical compliance looks like on the ground: timescales, triage, evidence and escalation
• Repair trust at pace: translate the Ombudsman’s findings into service standards, data fixes and culture change
• Close the quality gap: decency, damp and mould, and the new Decent Homes Standard: what’s changing and how to prove it
• Make tech work for you: use stock data, mobile tools and AI to improve first time fix and transparency
• Avoid legal pitfalls: latest on disrepair, access and enforcement so you reduce risk and cost
• Learn from doers: practical case studies from organisations already delivering better repairs outcomes.

Who should attend

Executive directors, heads of property and asset management, repairs and compliance leads, housing and customer experience managers, board members and anyone responsible for stock health, safety and resident satisfaction in local authorities and housing associations.

What you’ll take away

• A ready to use repairs service improvement checklist aligned to Repairing Trust
• An Awaab’s Law compliance map: roles, timescales, record keeping and communications
• Practical pointers to evidence decency and manage damp and mould end to end
• Ideas to unlock stock data and target investment where it matters
• A clear view of legal risk and how to cut claims, costs and complaints.

Attending will cut complaint volumes, reduce disrepair risk and improve first time fix, while showing clear progress against Awaab’s Law and the Ombudsman’s expectations.

Book your place now. Seats are limited for this high impact, practical conference.

Essential for:

• Executive directors of assets and property
• Directors or heads of repairs and maintenance
• Heads of asset management and investment planning
• Compliance managers: H&S, damp and mould, building safety
• Housing or customer experience managers
• Property services managers and repairs supervisors
• Surveying and stock condition leads
• Data and performance managers
• Sustainability or energy efficiency leads
• Legal and governance leads, company secretaries
• Resident involvement and complaints managers
• Finance business partners for assets and repairs
• Board members and councillors with asset or safety oversight.

Mike Victory-Rowe, Associate, HQN

Mike is a chartered building surveyor with 25 years’ experience in property asset management and social housing, would be our lead consultant. Formerly Assistant Director of Asset Management at Knightstone Housing (2007-2016), he led strategic asset management. He has since worked with housing associations to assess financial positions using NPV modelling, influence asset strategies, and develop active asset management approaches, including apprisal and disposal policy. For the past nine years, he has advised charities and social housing landlords on asset management strategies. His expertise spans strategic asset management, decarbonisation, compliance, NPV modelling, property appraisals, stock condition surveys, financial planning, investment strategy, procurement, change management, and staff development.

Chris Harrison, Insight and Systemic Lead, Housing Ombudsman Service

Christopher began his social housing career in 2007, gaining experience in complaint-handling roles before joining the Housing Ombudsman in 2013. Since then, he has worked in a variety of roles including dispute support, investigations, and performance and business information.

In his current role as Insight and Systemic Lead he has made contributions to recent ‘Spotlight On’ reports including: Knowledge and Information Management; Attitudes, Respect and Rights; and the recent follow-up to the Noise Complaints Report. He has also led on special investigations and insight reports.

Shuna China, Customer Engagement Manager, Raven Housing Trust

Shuna joined Raven in 2015. She started her career working in housing for a local council in 2002 in a new team set up when the Tenant Participation Compact was launched. With over 20 years of housing experience, with a focus on customer engagement, she has seen lots of changes over the years. Currently her focus is on Customer Insight and Service Improvement, ensuring the customer voice is being heard across the business and shapes services. Shuna is proud to be working for Raven who’s culture of putting customers first ensures customers are at the heart of everything we do. Shuna has a degree in Public Policy (Social Science, Politics & Social Economics) which shaped her desire to work in social housing.

Mike Ryan, Head of Property Services, Raven Housing Trust

Mike’s journey with Raven Housing Trust began at the age of 16 when he joined as an apprentice electrician. Over the span of 25 years, he has worked his way up to his current position as Head of Property Services. Mike’s passion for social housing led him to quickly grasp various aspects of the business, from housing and maintenance to asset management. Mike has a particular interest in the evolution of property services and the housing sector as a whole, with a focus on collaborative working with other local services, investments in modernisation and sustainability initiatives.

Wayne Hughes, Associate, HQN

Wayne Hughes is an experienced consultant who has worked at a senior level within private and public sector housing related organisations for the past 40 years. He has authored several articles on asset management related activities and has sat on several advisory bodies for the social housing sector, including sitting on the panel which developed the widely used Disrepair Pre-action Protocol. He was also part of the team which established the English House Condition Survey (now called the English Housing Survey).

Colin Farrell, Senior Partner, Faithorn Farrell Timms

A Senior Partner and co-founder of FFT, Colin is an experienced chartered building surveyor and fellow of RICS with 30 years’ experience, mostly providing services to housing providers and public sector clients.

Colin leads FFT’s Housing and Property Consultancy team, which provides best-in-class consultancy services including strategic options appraisals, performance assessments and stock rationalisation.

His specific expertise is in Strategic Asset Management. Building upon years of delivering innovative and reliable stock condition and planned maintenance surveys, Colin more often now advises clients on the strategic management of their property portfolios, to optimise performance through the modelling, analysis and interpretation of high-quality data.

Colin has a particular interest in portfolio performance assessment and options appraisals, devising strategies to plan and implement energy efficiency, carbon reduction and building safety improvement within the context of property asset management.

Dorota Pawlowski, Partner, Trowers & Hamlins LLP

Dorota has over 20 years’ experience in the residential property sector having started her housing career at Birmingham County Council.

Specialising in all aspects of issues that may face a residential landlord, Dorota advises registered providers on all aspects of housing management issues but has developed a particular expertise in relation to disrepair claims and increasingly, claims for unfitness for human habitation. Dorota leads a team of solicitors and paralegals who deal with a large volume of disrepair cases and fights hard to defend cases or settle them for as low a sum as possible.  She regularly represents clients in the County Courts in applications for injunctions and possessions. She has advised extensively on the drafting of tenancy agreements and has reviewed registered providers’ policies and procedures.

Dorota also speaks and trains regularly on all aspects of housing management issues both internally and externally such as at CIH events. She has trained extensively in relation to all issues concerning disrepair.  She is a Committee member of the Social Housing Law Association and was instrumental in reforming the Midlands regional branch of this organisation which she now jointly chairs.

Luke Spanton, Team Leader on Electrical Hazards, MHCLG

Luke has spent his career in housing, leading proactive, multi-disciplinary enforcement teams in local councils before moving over to work in housing policy in Whitehall. His team led on the introduction of the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018, the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations and its recent amendment, and the review of the Housing Health and Safety Rating System. He is now working on the review of the Decent Homes Standard, especially how we tackle damp and mould in rented homes of all tenures.

Cathy Steeghs, Awaab’s Law Team Leader, MHCLG

Faithorn Farrell Timms

Faithorn Farrell Timms is a distinguished RICS-chartered surveying practice and property consultancy, specialising in the housing sector. Since 2001, our award-winning team have been trusted by our partners to deliver a diverse range of professional and technical services to an exceptional standard. We pride ourselves on our commitment to collaborative working and offer innovative solutions that drive real impact for our clients, communities and their residents.

Birketts

Birketts is a full service, top 100 law firm in the UK. With a dedicated social housing team, they have worked with a vast range of clientele including national and regional registered providers, local authorities, private housebuilders, and funders on a wide range of issues affecting the sector. Birketts understand social housing is an ever-changing environment, subject to frequent changes driven by Government demands, new legislation and the economy.

With a breadth of expertise, the team provides a fully comprehensive service that can work with housing providers.

They have particular strengths in development (including stock transfer) and its related discipline sectors: construction, planning and projects. Allied to this, they can call on their well-established plot sales function to support RP development teams – this is particularly important as the range of home ownership products increases and for those RPs who employ private sales to cross-subsidise schemes. They have a wealth of experience in housing management issues, particularly in relation to nuisance and anti-social behaviour. In addition, they have skilled advisers covering your core business needs such as employment law and funding.

10:30am Welcome and introduction

• Mike Victory Rowe, Associate, HQN

10:40am Spotlight report on repairs and maintenance – repairing trust

• Chris Harrison, Insight and Systemic Lead, Housing Ombudsman Service

Join Christopher Harrison from the Housing Ombudsman, author of the recent spotlight report “Repairing Trust” as he outlines the key messages from the findings, focusing on the key messages for asset and repairs teams to help improve tenant satisfaction and reduce complaints.

11:20am Improving our repairs services

• Shuna China, Customer Engagement Manager, Raven Housing Trust

• Mike Ryan, Head of Property Services, Raven Housing Trust

Following their recent C1 rating from the RSH, Shuna and Mike from Raven Housing Trust will share how they have reviewed and strengthened their repairs service. They will take delegates through their customer journey work, drawing on insights from transactional surveys, TSMs, sentiment analysis and deep dives into areas of dissatisfaction to drive service improvements.

11:50am Break

12:10pm Quality and decency – the common compliance issues   

• Wayne Hughes, Associate, HQN

HQN’s safety and quality expert, Wayne Hughes, will highlight the most common compliance issues facing landlords — drawing on his work with organisations nationwide and the findings of the RSH’s 2025 Regulatory Casework Review. He will share practical tips and case study insights to help delegates strengthen compliance and drive improvements in asset management.

12:40pm Awaab’s Law – the practical issues

• Mike Victory Rowe, Associate, HQN

Mike will unpack what practical steps landlords should be taking to comply with the new duties under Awaab’s Law and meet best practice on damp and mould.  Mike will walk you through the key timelines, actions and reporting requirements, highlighting where the risks lie and what processes must be in place to ensure nothing falls through the cracks.

1:10pm Lunch

2:10pm The impact of stock condition surveys – how to manage the increasing need for investment in existing stock

• Colin Farrell, Senior Partner, Faithorn Farrell Timms

Colin will explore practical guidance on how to design, plan, deliver, and manage stock condition survey data to produce more accurate and dependable forecast costs—enabling better planning of major work investments and driving efficiencies. This is especially timely as budgets face increasing scrutiny and pressure, with the sector challenged to do more for less amid competing demands from compliance, responsive repairs, and issues like damp and mould.

2:45pm Legal update on Awaab’s Law, disrepair and no access

• Dorota Pawlowski, Partner, Trowers & Hamlins LLP

Dot will provide delegates with a legal update on the most pressing issues facing asset and repairs teams at the moment; Awaab’s Law, no access issues and the disrepair implications. She will answer your legal questions and help you be prepared for the coming changes.

3:15pm Break

3:35pm Safety and quality – an MHCLG update  

• Cathy Steeghs, Awaab’s Law Team Leader, MHCLG

• Luke Spanton, Team Leader on Electrical Hazards, MHCLG

With new electrical hazards regulations under development, Cathy and Luke will outline the government’s current plans and timetable for decisions. The session will explore how this work will be funded and how new electrical safety requirements align with Awaab’s Law to support the government’s wider objectives on tackling non-decency and improving the quality of social homes. It will also provide an update on any final changes to the Awaab’s Law regulations and implementation timetable.

4:05pm Closing comments 

• Mike Victory Rowe, Associate, HQN

4:10pm Close

If you are unable to attend an event or public training course, please let us know in writing (email is fine) at least 48 hours before. Please email [email protected]

Otherwise, a cancellation fee of £60 plus VAT will be chargeable.

If you are using a package place to attend and do not inform us within the agreed time frame, then a place will be taken to cover your non-attendance.

Cancellations must be made in writing and will be acknowledged by HQN Limited.