By Roger Jarman, HQN associate

A recent HQN Event focused on what we can expect over the course of 2025 as the government takes forward its agenda to boost housing supply and tackle some of the thorny issues facing social housing.

Delegates heard contributions about the prospects for the sector over the next 12 months from Will Longhill (MHCLG), Hannah Fearn (journalist), Ben Cooper (Fabian Society), Tracey Downie (Women’s Pioneer), Rob Gershon (tenant activist), Tim Brown (HQN Associate) and Alistair McIntosh (HQN CEO). This blog concentrates on the government’s plans for the sector.

Will Longhill (Head of Social Housing Redress and Energy Efficiency, MHCLG) acknowledged that much of the government’s current agenda had been set by the previous administration. Reforms to the regulation of both the private and social rented sectors, for instance, had been started by Conservative governments in the late 2010s.

Will emphasised that for ministers there was an equivalence between the need for new supply and the quality and safety of the existing social housing stock. He observed that both ministers and housing providers were ambitious to fulfil the government’s objectives. He also noted that ministers were seeking parity between the private rented and social housing sectors. They wanted all those living in rented housing to enjoy high service levels and to live in safe, good quality housing too.

Addressing the homelessness crisis was also a major focus for the government. Significant additional funding had been made available for local authorities in this financial year to tackle, reduce and prevent homelessness in their areas.

Ministers recognised that the sector needed resources to be able to fulfil the ambitions that the government was setting for the sector. The rent settlement would be critical in determining the resources available to providers. But there were wider considerations that could not be ignored – such as the country’s macroeconomic conditions and the state of the public finances.

The spending review (date not fixed as yet) will set out funding for housing over the next three to five years. This will take place in the spring. Policy statements may accompany the government’s spending plans but that is not confirmed. Decisions following consultation exercises (see Table 1 below) could be made on other occasions.

The government is committed to responding to the public enquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire within six months (by early March). The enquiry had not made recommendations to enhance the regulatory regime for social housing given the provisions of the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 were still to be fully implemented. However, it was expected that the response would refer to a range of issues that were integral to the government’s housing agenda. This includes provisions around the ‘competence and conduct’ of housing staff, Awaab’s Law and tenant access to information held by landlords (aka STAIRs).

Linked to the response to the Grenfell Inquiry, government had announced that £400m would be made available to deal with ACM cladding in social housing in the current financial year. In the spring a long-term strategy aimed at remediating defective stock will be published by government.

Work continues on the development of a long-term housing strategy for England. This will cover all tenures – social housing, the PRS and owner occupation. The strategy will set housing policy for ten years and will be issued in the form of a White Paper. Alongside the strategy a delivery plan will set out the milestones by which individual targets will be met. Options are currently being tested with ministers. Issues to be covered include supply, affordability, housing quality, net zero targets and place making. The strategy will be cross departmental and not just be a product of MCHLG. There is no date yet for publication of the strategy.

As part of his presentation Will summarised the ‘state of play’ with relevant consultation exercises that had closed and those that are still pending. Will apologised that many dates were still ‘to be decided’ (tbc) but ministers were committed to ensuring that policy options had been fully tested before final decisions were taken.

Current consultations and those yet to be published are set out in the two tables below.

Table 1: Current consultations (in chronological order)  

Policy	Baseline proposal	Commentary
Electrical safety	All properties in the social housing sector to have valid electrical safety certificates (which already exists in the PRS)	Consultation concluded on 31 August 2022; currently officials are working with ministers on the detailed response; date of decision tbc
Awaab’s Law*	Tenants to have right that ensure certain repairs (linked to health and safety) are carried out by landlord within prescribed time limits	Consultation concluded 5 March 2024; high priority for ministers; separate guidance to be issued for landlords and tenants before provisions are implemented; date of decision tbc
Competence and Conduct*	Conduct of all housing management staff to be regulated by RSH and senior staff required to have relevant housing qualifications in order to practice	Consultation concluded 5 April 2024; it is estimated that 20,000 staff will need to be trained to secure the relevant qualifications under the 2023 Act; ‘next steps’ to be spelt out in coming months
Social tenants’ access to information requirements (STAIRs)*	Tenants of PRPs to be given access to information held by landlords, equivalent to that enjoyed by LA tenants through the ‘freedom of information’ framework	Consultation concluded 22 July 2024; date of decision tbc
Rent Settlement	CPI + 1% for five years; other options under consideration	Consultation concluded 23 December 2024; linked to spending review decisions and overall economic situation; date of decision tbc
RTB consultation	Return to policy under previous Labour administration with (principally) caps on discounts	Consultation concluded 15 January 2025; long standing tenants still given opportunity to buy; 100% receipts retained by LAs; cost floor period increased from 15 to 30 years; date of decision tbc

*Issues that may be addressed in the government’s response to the Grenfell Inquiry

 

 

 

Table 2: Consultations to come

Policy	Commentary
Decent Homes Standard	Stage 1 of the review of the existing decent homes standard concluded in autumn 2021; current assessment of gaps and deficiencies in existing DHS; improvements where practicable; focus on what is achievable/deliverable; consultation ‘this year’
Energy Efficiency	Evaluation of timelines/exemptions for implementation of EPC C by 2030; new EPC metrics too; transition must be ‘clear and fair’; links to ‘Warm Homes Plan’ for all tenures; consultation ‘this year’ (although consultation in the PRS will precede same for social housing thus revealing that the approach in the two rented sectors will be different)