Regulator finds housing association in breach of Rent Standard

The Regulator of Social Housing concluded that Your Housing Group has breached the Rent Standard. Following a self-referral, RSH found that Your Housing Group had set rents incorrectly. The housing association group “did not apply the 1% rent reduction properly to … Read more

Housing Quality Magazine July 2022

@housing2022 – Colette Mckune, Group Chief Executive, ForViva

Latest member question: What impact will a high RPI have on the shared ownership market?

On 22 June 2022 the office of national statistics announced that April’s 12-months epi was 9.1% and the RPI was 11.7%. the sectors rent formula for general needs and sheltered housing is based on September’s CPI plus 1%. So we … Read more

Regulator to investigate compliance issues within small housing association

The Regulator of Social Housing has announced it is “currently investigating matters which may impact on RCVDA Community Housing C.I.C’s compliance with the Governance and Financial Viability Standard.” Redcar and Cleveland Voluntary Development Agency, based in the North East, has … Read more

Opinion: Why we still want sustainable finance as a specialist housing association

This year, Golden Lane Housing became the first specialist housing provider in the UK to adopt the Sustainability Reporting Standard (SRS). Here Warren Bradley, Director of Legal and Governance at Golden Lane, explains why it was a ‘no brainer’ for … Read more

Two thirds of private renters unaware of council support

Two thirds of private renters are unaware that their local council can help them with certain problems with their landlord, letting agent or home, a report by Generation Rent has found. Research by the campaign group highlights the importance of … Read more

Regulator concludes London housing association ‘non-compliant’

The Regulator of Social Housing has concluded that Shepherds Bush Housing Association is non-compliant with the governance element of the economic standards and downgraded it to G3 status. Following an in-depth assessment and reactive engagement, RSH has found that Shepherds Bush … Read more

Stonewater to enter merger with smaller housing association

Stonewater and Greenoak Housing Association have agreed an intention to enter into a partnership, where to begin with, Greenoak will expand its operations as a subsidiary of Stonewater and later, will become part of the Stonewater group. The announcement follows … Read more

Notes from the Rent Compliance Forum (April 2022)

The notes from the first Rent Compliance Forum we held in April have now been published: shorturl.at/qvHIP Places are available for the next forum, which takes place on 19th July from 2pm to 5pm. You can book here: https://hqnetwork.co.uk/events/rent-compliance-forum-learning-lessons-and-sharing-best-practice-2/

Gove writes to second housing provider over maladministration findings

Housing Secretary, Michael Gove, has written to Housing Plus Group after a maladministration finding due to bedbugs and infestation. The letter follows a similar one he wrote to Clarion Housing Group after its “repeated failures”. In the letter, Gove said: … Read more

Raven secures £300m sustainability-linked deal

Raven Housing Trust has agreed a private placement and loan facility package worth £300m. This sustainability-linked funding will be used to help Raven deliver its plan to build more than 630 homes by 2026, as well as support the organisation … Read more

Rent compliance forum – send us your questions

Just a reminder that the next HQN Rent Compliance Forum takes place on Tuesday, 19th July from 2pm to 5pm. For our second virtual forum, we will discuss and understand the impact of the 2022/23 rent increase on tenants and … Read more

Opinion: A bill that’s right?

By Colin Wiles, housing consultant. To begin with, it’s almost exactly five years since the Grenfell Tower fire. I vividly remember waking up that morning of 14 June and hearing the news about a tower block fire in west London, … Read more

Finance Manager – Services & Leasehold

Onward Homes is one of the largest registered providers of social housing in the North West, with 35,000 properties across the region. We believe that everyone deserves a place to call their own, which is why we’re committed to building … Read more

Government details cost of living payment plans

The government has unveiled how it plans to support people through the cost of living crisis, after the announcement a few weeks ago from Chancellor Rishi Sunak. The first instalment of the £650 for qualifying low income households in England, … Read more

Worries about the rising costs of living, Great Britain: April to May 2022 – ONS

The ONS has published its latest research into the impact of the rising cost of living in Great Britain. Here are some of the main findings: Around three in four adults (77%) reported feeling very or somewhat worried about the … Read more

Boris Johnson confirms return of Right to Buy among new housing policies

The Prime Minister has unveiled new housing measures to “support more people to get onto the property ladder”. At a speech in Blackpool, Johnson confirmed the heavily trailed return of the Right to Buy for housing association tenants, saying that the number … Read more

Social Housing Regulation Bill formally introduced to parliament

The Government will introduce the Social Housing (Regulation) Bill into parliament today, following on from its inclusion in the Queen’s Speech. Failing social housing landlords could “face unlimited fines and Ofsted-style inspections” under the new plans, and the Regulator of Social Housing will … Read more

Housing legal aid budget boosted by £10m

£10m of extra funding is being put into housing legal aid every year, as part of new government plans that will be introduced in the summer. Implementation will be in in spring 2023, once the Legal Aid Agency’s contractual tender … Read more

Gove writes to housing association over ‘deeply disappointing’ Ombudsman report

Housing Secretary Michael Gove has written to Clarion over their recent Housing Ombudsman reports. It comes as part of the new Social Housing Regulation Bill proposals to “name and shame” landlords who are not performing. In the letter, Gove says he is … Read more

Chancellor announces cost of living crisis help

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced a package of measures for low-income households to help with the cost of living crisis. The measures including a new, one-off £650 payment to more than eight million low-income households on Universal Credit, Tax Credits, … Read more

Opinion: A short history of future social housing regulation

By Rob Gershon It’s been a while since I’ve watched any government committee evidence sessions, but I made an exception for the recent Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (LUHC) sessions on the Regulation of Social Housing a couple of months … Read more

10 million English families face fuel stress, warning

Raising the energy price cap to around £2,800 in October could lead to 9.6 million families across England falling into fuel stress this winter, the Resolution Foundation has warned. Following news that the chief executive of Ofgem has written to … Read more

Peabody agrees new £75m sustainability and diversity-linked loan

Peabody has agreed a £75m five-year sustainability-linked revolving credit facility with ABN AMRO Bank UK. The bilateral loan is structured so that the interest due will reduce if Peabody satisfies each of the following ESG objectives: Improvement in the environmental … Read more

Housing’s Next Generation 2022: Top 20 announced

Back for its third year, our Housing’s Next Generation competition attracted entries from all over the sector, from housing associations and local authorities to supply chain partners and housing co-operatives. The judges looked at several criteria when shortlisting, including showing … Read more

Queen’s Speech: Bill to ‘improve the regulation of social housing’ confirmed

Government has used the Queen’s Speech to put forward a series of housing-related pieces of legislation for the upcoming year. The speech, this year given by Prince Charles for the first time, included bills on social housing regulation and Levelling … Read more

Homes owned by for-profit registered providers set to hit 140,000 by 2027

New research has shown the huge potential increase in homes owned by “for-profit” housing associations – with projections showing the numbers going from 20,000 to more than 140,000 by 2027. The figures come from a new Savills report, Equity Investment in … Read more

Allpay reveals results from annual household bills survey 2022

Findings from allpay’s household bills survey 2022 have outlined that for consecutive years, there is reduced consumer confidence in paying household bills, with the ongoing decline in Direct Debit uptake and a continuing need for cash across the social renters … Read more

Housing figure Steve Douglas CBE has passed away

St Mungo’s has announced the sudden death of its CEO, Steve Douglas CBE. The organisation made the announcement with “deep shock and sadness” after he passed away suddenly at his home on Sunday morning, 8 May. The 57 year old leaves … Read more