In the world of the modern asset management professional, the old adage that the only constant is change has recently been replaced with “the only constant is disruption”.

Multiple changes to legislation, regulation, and a whole host of unprecedented external and internal challenges are ‘bear traps’ the modern asset management community needs to navigate. More than ever, staying in the game means staying ahead of the game.

Chaired by Wayne Hughes, HQN’s asset management specialist, the 2023 HQN Annual Asset Management Conference focuses on doing just that by providing attendees with insight into:

• How housing organisations should interpret and respond to the Safety and Quality Standard and Codes of Practice proposed by the Regulator of Social Housing
• Damp and mould – the latest research and emerging best practice
• Using Knowledge and Information Management to manage disrepair and damp and mould issues more effectively
• Using IT/IS to improve the customer experience and operational performance
• Climate friendly heating systems
• Does the customer experience match the promise- what’s working well and not so well and how do we know?

An interactive session with advice and guidance from experts as well as case studies from practitioners.

Essential for asset management leaders, managers and practitioners. 

10.00 Welcome from the Chair

• • Wayne Hughes, Consultant, WHA Ltd

10.10 Spotlight on Damp and Mould Update November 2023

• • Polly Cox, Sector Learning and Development Manager, The Housing Ombudsman Service

10.55 Break 

11.05 Tangible and Intangible Dampness

• • Professor Mike Parrett, Consultant Building Pathologist and Chartered Building Surveyor, MPA Engineering & Construction Services Ltd

11.50 Regulatory environment

• • Will Perry, Director of Strategy, RSH 

12.30 Lunch

13.00 Triage and using IT

• • Dennis Evans, Platform Housing

14.00 Final thoughts and questions

• • Wayne Hughes, Consultant, WHA Ltd

14.30 Close

About Totalmobile

Totalmobile make the lives of mobile workers better with field service management technology.

Totalmobile offers organisations the technology to support their business to become more agile, by providing a single consolidated platform solution for housing associations which is fully configured to their needs. This is also the only solution on the market which has integrated asset management capability, enabling organisations to ensure compliance of all their assets in one single solution.

Housing & Property | Sectors | Totalmobile

About 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. Birkett’s understand social housing is an ever-changing environment, subject to frequent changes driven by Government demands, new legislation and the economy. 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.#

About Mobysoft

Mobysoft works in partnership with the housing sector and provides a software solution, RentSense, that helps 170 social landlords, and over 25 in Scotland, sustain more tenancies and help more tenants out of debt.

RentSense is designed around algorithms and predictive analytics, so it can accurately project which tenants may or may not pay their rent. Independent research by data science company, QuantSpark, found that on average RentSense helps its customers achieve the following in year one:

• Reduce the number of tenants in debt by 11.5%
• Reduces the average arrear by 8.17%
• Reduces evictions by 8.9%
• RentSense typically delivers an average return on investment within 4 months.

Mobysoft boasts a high customer retention rate of 97% over the last two years.

Wayne Hughes, Consultant, WHA Ltd

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 authorised 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).

Will Perry, Director of Strategy, RSH

Will heads the regulator’s strategy function, including private finance, policy, registrations, new entrants, business intelligence and stakeholder relations. Recently he has been leading the development of the Regulator’s response to the Social Housing White Paper.

A qualified chartered accountant, he has previously worked in corporate finance lead advisory, government audit and housing consultancy and is a non-executive director of The Housing Finance Corporation.

Polly Cox, Sector Learning and Development Manager, The Housing Ombudsman Service

Polly Cox manages the Sector Learning & Development team at the Housing Ombudsman Service. She joined the Service in March 2023 having worked within the social housing sector for over 20 years. Polly’s experience includes leading on and delivering operational housing management, regulation, policy development, project management, training, resident influence, and complaints management.

Polly is part of the Quality, Engagement and Development department and is responsible for developing and managing the Housing Ombudsman Service Centre for Learning, where landlords will have easy access to a wide variety of learning resources to enhance their complaints management and drive a positive complaint handling culture.

Professor Mike Parrett, Consultant Building Pathologist and Chartered Building Surveyor, MPA Engineering & Construction Services Ltd

Michael Parrett is a world renowned expert in Building Pathology and holds a Cambridge Master’s degree, reading Interdisciplinary Design for the Built Environment. He is a former trustee of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, and a published author with both Donhead (Routledge) and RICS Books, who also distribute his award-winning Building Pathology DVD training film resource.

He is an Eminent Fellow of RICS, Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Building, Fellow of the Chartered Association of Building Engineers, Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining and a Chartered Scientist.

The producer of industry standard training films, lectures and learned articles for a variety of audiences on investigating dampness in buildings including flooding, condensation and mould, Michael Parrett first came to widespread public notice through the BBC2 series Raising The Roof. The series was hailed as a piece of landmark journalism, exposing the widespread misdiagnosis of rising damp and concerns over the effectiveness of chemical damp proof course injection. The film content centred on Mike’s empirical research and award winning work gathered over three decades of working on investigating and material testing in buildings.

Apart from still practicing as a consultant Building Pathologist, I am also now Professor to the school of engineering, science & built environment at the University of Salford.

Dennis Evans, Platform Housing

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