By Alistair McIntosh, chief executive, HQN

Yes, it’s that time of the year when we want sunbed reading. And the housing sector is doing its best to help.

The RSH sets out its ideas for the future in More and Better Social Homes. While Inner Circle, who do a lot of work on local government re-organisation, publishes The Role of Regulation in Local Government: Enabling Outcomes Not Constraining Them. It’s not quite Battler Britton versus Desperate Dan – but there are some areas of disagreement.

Inner Circle point to the problems that regulation can lead to. The tail wags the dog. Councils wind up doing what the rules say rather than what they ought to do for local people. It’s a cry for freedom that will be popular with many. But not with me. I am far from convinced that, left to themselves, corporate centres will facilitate good housing services. Too often, shared back offices are just not up to the job of dealing with vulnerable people.

RSH inspection has focused the minds of many councils on the need to deliver good services. Just look at the spate of top C1 ratings coming through. We are heading in the right direction thanks to regulation, not in-spite of it.

Where the RSH and Inner Circle come together is on the importance of preventing problems. We can all get behind that.

The RSH beefed up regulation after Grenfell. It now insists on full stock surveys and rigorous checks on safety. Before, too many councils and associations were weak on the basics. The RSH needs to keep the pressure on as there is always something more interesting to spend time on.

If I were the RSH, I would be calling in the plans for new councils now. Check that the new bodies know all the facts and figures about their homes and have the cash to fix them. Ensure that there are credible plans for driving up satisfaction.  A stitch in time saves nine. Preventing problems saves a fortune in fees.

The RSH wants ‘More and Better Homes’. We all do. It is a scandal that so many families are stuck in awful temporary accommodation. Of course, I am interested in the organograms consultants devise for the new councils. I will respond in detail to all the very good questions the RSH poses in its paper.

But right now, I see thousands of unsold empty flats in areas where people want to live.  The answer is staring us in the face. Snap ‘em up! A prod from the RSH would go a long way to preventing misery. Yes, we will need to watch the quality and running costs of these flats. Yes, we need to fight the good fight and build amazing new towns. But to coin a phrase Fiona MacGregor, the previous RSH chief, used to say to me in exasperation – don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.