Matthew Pennycook, the Minister of State for Housing and Planning, has laid out the government’s plans to improve leasehold and shared ownership.  2025 is set to be the year many of those changes come into effect.

We’ll be digesting these proposed reforms and exploring what this means for the sector and homeownership teams at this year’s Leasehold Network conference.  HQN leasehold experts, Helen Muir and Jackie Dickins will be sharing their advice and thoughts on the issues facing the sector and you will hear directly from practitioners facing the same challenges as you.

What will be covered:

• What the pilots of the Shared Ownership Code of Practice are telling us
• Legal updates – an update on the recent case law you need to know
• Freehold and Leasehold Reform Act – what is still to come and when
• Tenant Satisfaction Measures for shared owners – how to improve your satisfaction levels
• Managing your managing agents – getting the most out of the relationships
• Service charges, leases and fees – from HQN expert, Jackie Dickins.

What you will get from the event:

• Keeping up to date on key policy and legislative changes
• Good practice on managing shared ownership tenancies
• Top tips and practical advice on your service charge issues
• The launch of HQN’s service charge toolkit and a free copy to all delegates
• Learning from others on dealing with building safety issues for leaseholders.

Hear what delegates have said about last year’s Leasehold Network Annual Conferences:

“It was very thought provoking and interesting. A really helpful guide through changes to the leasehold sector in a neat nutshell.”  South Cambridgeshire District Council

10:30am Welcome and introductions

• Helen Muir, Associate, HQN

10:40am The Shared Ownership Code 

• Jamie Ratcliff, Co-Founder, Place Base

Join Jamie Ratcliff, Chair of the Shared Ownership Council’s advisory group, for a look at the new Shared Ownership Code – set to redefine standards across the sector. Drawing on real insights from pilots and sector-wide consultation, Jamie will outline the issues the new code seeks to address, the lessons learned so far, and what housing providers can do to stay ahead. Don’t miss this opportunity to gain actionable recommendations that will help you enhance your services, boost customer satisfaction, and lead the way in shared ownership excellence.

11:10am Managing agents panel 

• Polly Dyer, Property Director, Principle

• Billie Shuter, Roving Buildings and Community Manager, Pegasus Homes

Polly Dyer, Property Director at Principle Estate Management, and Billie Shuter, Roving Buildings and Community Manager at Pegasus Homes take a practical deep dive into the realities of managing agents’ work in social housing. They’ll unpack the biggest challenges — from building safety compliance and service charge transparency to driving better resident communication and satisfaction.  They will share their strategies for building strong, trust-based partnerships with housing providers and insight to enhance collaboration, strengthen resident relationships, and raise service standards.

11:45am    Break

12:00pm Legal update – case law and bills

• Clive Adams, Partner, Birketts

Clive Adams, Partner in the social housing team at Birketts, will deliver a must-attend legal briefing packed with critical updates you can’t afford to miss. With major reforms to leasehold, shared ownership, and the move towards commonhold gathering pace, Clive will cut through the complexity – giving you a clear, practical overview of new legislation, the latest case law, and what’s coming next. Get the insights you need to stay compliant, anticipate change, and prepare for the future.

12:30pm Building safety – charges and issues for leasehold management

• Carla Blair, Service Charge Construction Manager, Homeownership Services, London Borough of Southwark

Join Carla Blair, Service Charge Construction Manager at the London Borough of Southwark, for a practical, no-nonsense session on navigating the complexities of charging building safety costs to leaseholders. Carla will break down the process to check whether costs are chargeable, share essential dos and don’ts, and explain how Southwark is balancing fairness for both leaseholders and tenants. This session will equip you to manage building safety charges confidently, compliantly, and transparently.

1:00pm Lunch

2:00pm Navigating section 20 challenges

• Jackie Dickins, Associate, HQN

Jackie Dickins, one of HQN’s leading experts on leasehold management, service charges and Section 20, will lead a practical session. Jackie will walk you through the essential processes, highlight common pitfalls, and share proven strategies for navigating Section 20 challenges. Learn how to prepare effectively for tribunal, build a strong case for dispensation, and manage risk with confidence. If you deal with major works and service charges, this is a session you can’t afford to miss.

2:30pm The HQN service charge toolkit

• Emma Towler, Associate, HQN

Get a hands-on walkthrough of HQN’s Service Charge Toolkit with its author, Emma Towler, Associate at HQN. Emma will showcase how the toolkit works, highlight key areas to watch for, and show you how to use it to ensure your service charge processes are as comprehensive and effective as possible. This is your chance to see the toolkit in action, get expert advice directly from its creator, and ask the questions that matter to your organisation.

2:50pm Improving shared owner’s satisfaction 

• Claire Blenkin, Head of Sales, Sovereign Network Group

• Hope Bailey, Head of Central Sales Services, Sovereign Network Group

With satisfaction scores for shared owners and leaseholders lagging compared to that of tenants in the sector, Sovereign Network Group is taking action. Claire Blenkin, Head of Sales, and Hope Bailey, Head of Central Sales Services, will reveal how SNG is working to discover the root causes of dissatisfaction and improve services. As early adopters of the Shared Ownership Code, they’ll also share powerful lessons from their pilot work and show how they’re driving real improvements in customer experience. Get the insights you need to boost satisfaction and strengthen trust with your customers.

3:20pm Closing remarks

• Helen Muir, Associate, HQN

3:30pm Close

Helen Muir, Associate, HQN

Helen has extensive experience of shared ownership, having worked in senior roles for two large housing groups where her responsibilities included sales programme delivery and the management of over 5,000 shared ownership/leasehold homes, along with running the largest Help to Buy agency in England.

As a consultant Helen specialises in affordable home ownership and leasehold management, and has provided interim management and strategic and operational support to a number of registered providers, local authorities and private sector companies. Helen also supports the Leasehold Network, writing briefings and speaking at several events.

Jamie Ratcliff, Co-Founder, Place Base

Jamie is co-founder of Place Base Ltd a consultancy offering strategic advisory services to organisations working in and around the housing industry, specialising in strategy, funding, partnerships and political engagement. He is also Deputy Chair of The Housing Forum, the only membership body which represents the whole of the housing supply chain. He has 20 years’ experience working at a senior level in the public and not-for-profit sectors at local, national and regional levels.

Jamie has overseen the completion of affordable homes for over 150,000 people, implemented significant organisational and cultural change whilst increasing customer satisfaction and colleague engagement, personally negotiated multi-billion-pound affordable housing settlements, established a charitable foundation with a business plan to create £1bn of social value in a decade, coordinated strategy, political and media engagement for the G15 largest London housing associations and successfully launched the UK’s first publicly available database of criminal landlords.

Polly Dyer, Property Director, Principle Estate Management

With 20 years’ experience in the property sector, Polly has watched with pride as the industry has worked collectively to raise the bar on building safety, adapt to the changing landscape and improve standards. There is work to do, but the path to success has become clearer in recent years.

As a passionate advocate for building safety, she has been actively involved in training property management teams, delivering industry requirements and promoting best practice in building safety across the residential sector. Polly is committed to driving positive change in the building safety landscape and engaging with fellow industry professionals to collaborate on creating safer and more resilient buildings.

Communication and data are pivotal in ensuring the building safety landscape is accessible to all stakeholders to drive up the standards and create safer homes.

Billie Shuter, Roving Buildings and Community Manager, Pegasus Homes

Billie has been in the property industry for 15 years, the last eight of those within the leasehold management sector. During this time, Billie has worked for both national and independent managing agents, navigating the ever-changing landscape that is leasehold property management. Her passion and drive for customer service and people (both customers and colleagues) has led Billie to her current position within the later living sector, providing project management to the operational team of a mid-size developer, ensuring a high-level service delivery. Billie also has the pleasure of being chair of the HAMA Group (Housing Association & Managing Agents), which was created with an ambition to better the working relationships between housing associations and managing agents.

Clive Adams, Partner, Social Housing Team, Birketts

An extremely experienced housing management specialist with particular expertise in disrepair and leasehold litigation (including service charge disputes and consultation issues under s.20 Landlord and Tenant Act 1985.  Clive deals with complex anti-social behaviour cases involving Equality Act and/or proportionality defences. He advises on and handles tenancy fraud cases to trial and advices on fire safety compliance and resultant recovery of costs through the service charge account. Clive is renowned for his client care and technical ability, where he is known for being able to slice through complex legal issues and break them down in his advice to his clients.

Clive frequently appears in the First Tier Tribunal and conducts appeals to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber). He has handled numerous cases to the Court of Appeal, including the case of Aster Communities v Chapman and others [2021] EWCA Civ 660.

Clive regularly undertakes training, particularly within his specialist areas, where his knowledge is second to none. Clive has appeared on expert panels for national housing forums and conferences such as the Chartered Institute of Housing, Lime Legal, National Housing Federation, South East Consortium and the Social Landlords Crime and Nuisance Group.

Carla Blair, Service Charge Construction Manager, Homeownership Services, London Borough of Southwark

Carla manages the statutory consultation and construction of service charges for the London Borough of Southwark, which has an extensive and diverse housing portfolio. The borough has a large major works programme to address fire safety, general refurbishment and repairs, in addition to an annual service charge in excess of £30m.

She has a wealth of experience in both leasehold and general needs housing management in London and the South East.

Jackie Dickins, Associate, HQN

Jackie has been an HQN Associate since 2001 and is our lead consultant for HQN’s Leasehold Network. Prior to this she held positions at a London borough and two large housing associations based in London, where she was responsible for leasehold management and promoting work in the field of low-cost home ownership initiatives. Jackie undertakes many of HQN’s service reviews and service improvement work on leaseholder and home ownership. She has also worked in interim positions with a number of local authorities, arm’s length management organisations and housing associations as Head of Home Ownership/Home Ownership Manager.

Jackie also runs pre-exam workshops at associate and member level for the Institute of Residential Property Managers (IRPM) and is delivering training for apprentices seeking associate membership of the IRPM.

Jackie is responsible for developing, and is a lead assessor of HQN’s leasehold accreditation scheme.

Emma Towler, Associate, HQN

Emma is an HQN Associate, specialising in home ownership and service charges, income maximisation and welfare reform.  She is the joint author of the HQN service charge toolkit with Jackie Dickins and Head of Home Ownership and Service Charges at Aster Group UK.

Hope Bailey, Head of Central Sales Services, Sovereign Network Group

Hope serves as the Head of Central Sales Services for Sovereign Network Group (SNG). With over a decade of experience in the housing sector, Hope has specialised in managing shared ownership & open market sale pipelines, along with previously acting as Help to Buy Agency Manager for the Equity Loan Scheme.

In her current capacity, Hope oversees the delivery of services supporting SNG’s sales pipelines and customers, including the sales contact, progression and administration teams. Additionally, she is responsible for formulating SNG’s policies relating to various sale tenures and improving the overall customer journey. Hope has recently been a pilot member for the Shared Ownership Code.

Claire Blenkin, Head of Sales, Sovereign Network Group

Claire has been working in the affordable housing sector for over 16 years and has been part of the Senior Leadership team since 2012. She specialises in Shared Ownership and managing SNG’s team & strategy to deliver the sales programme within her region. Her previous experience is in developing sales pipelines for defence, blue-chip and FMCG brands.

Her expertise lies in building relationships, understanding customer needs, and navigating the complexities of new build sales. Claire is committed to providing an excellent service and creating lasting positive impacts for families seeking their first step onto the property ladder.

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.