1 April

• Pre-election period of sensitivity in April prior to local and mayoral elections
• Regulator of Social Housing’s new regulatory regime begins
• The Housing Ombudsman’s code will become statutory
• Rent increase implemented – maximum of 7.7%
• DWP no longer prevents landlords from using automation tools to verify rent change
• 53-week year and no special arrangements again
• New local housing allowance rates
• Building Safety Regulator moves into consolidation mode – starts calling in safety cases to assess and issuing building safety certificates, 20% each year for five years
• A resident’s complaints system for building safety will open
• Managed migration – DWP will start sending migration notices to income support and HB claimants with tax credits.

2 April

• Competence and Conduct Standard for social housing: consultation deadline.

5 April

• Housing Ombudsman consultation on its Business Plan for 2024-25 deadline.

Expecting:

• Consultation on access to information for housing association tenants
• Consultation on the quality of accommodation (Decent Homes Standard)
• Electrical safety implementation dates
• New Memorandum of Understanding between the Housing Ombudsman and the Regulator of Social Housing
• Renters Reform Bill – at report stage and third reading on a date to be announced. Gove has been saying no fault evictions will be ended this parliamentary term
• Grenfell Tower inquiry report
• LUHC committee inquiry report into the finances and sustainability of the social housing sector
• APPG for council housing inquiry into current and future demand for council homes – reporting in spring
• A national regulator for construction products is also likely to be established, with increasing emphasis on third-party testing and certification of construction products. Expect over 2,000 changes to NHBC Technical Standards.

Related events, training and consultancy offer

Training: High quality written responses to complaints – values into action – 17 April

Event: Decent Homes Standard and stock condition masterclass – 24 April

Event: Social housing regulation – what you need to know – 30 April

Consultancy: HQN can help with your preparations for the new regulatory framework – supporting you in developing an honest self-assessment of your current position and a SMART improvement plan to deliver better services and compliance with the standards. Email [email protected] for more information.

2 May

• Local elections including mayoral election for London and London Assembly elections, as well as nine combined authority mayors’ elections.

Expecting:

• Secondary legislation to bring Awaab’s Law into force as soon as practicable.

Related events, training and consultancy offer

Training: Everything you need to know about Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs) – 2 May

Event: The health and safety summit: The practical implications of the new regulatory regime – 18 May

Training: Gearing up – the Building Safety Act 2022 – England only – 21 May 

Event: Annual reports – time to mark your homework – 23 May

Consultancy: With new consumer standards and Tenant Satisfaction Measures requiring landlords to improve their accountability and transparency to residents and stakeholders, the quality of annual reports has never been more important. HQN is inviting organisations to send us their latest publications so we can provide constructive feedback as part of our popular interactive masterclass.

Managed migration – DWP to start sending migration notices to HB only claimants.

30 June

• TSM submission data deadline.

Expecting:

• DLUHC to enact the secondary legislation for the proposed allocations changes by July recess.

Related events and training

Training: Look out for the letter – managed migration – 5 June

Event: Estate Services Annual Conference 2024: putting teams in the driving seat to increase tenant satisfaction – 13 June

Event: Leasehold network annual conference 2024 – 18 June

Training: An introduction to HHSRS and housing standards – 26 June

Managed migration – DWP to start sending migration notices to ESA (IR) with child tax credits.

16 & 18 July

• HQN annual conference.

25 July

• Summer recess for parliament.

Expecting:

• LUHC committee inquiry report into low-cost shared homeownership schemes in England
• LUHC committee inquiry report into quality of homes for people with disabilities.

Related events and training

Training: Domestic abuse awareness – looking behind closed doors – 2 July

Training: Making scrutiny work – workshop for involved residents and resident involvement staff – 4 July

Event: The Housing Quality Network annual conference 2024 – 16 & 18 July

Training: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Data Collection – 18 July

DWP contacting pension age tax credit claimants asking them to claim UC or pension credit.

Related events and training

Event: Introduction to housing management – 12 August

Training: How to effectively tackle anti-social behaviour (ASB) – 13 August

2 September

• Parliament returns after summer recess
• September inflation rate decides rent increases and relevant benefit and pension uplifts for the following April.

Expecting:

• General election date to be announced
• TSM data published in the autumn
• Consultation on social rent setting for 25/26 onwards – one year settlement likely as longer term review expected after the election
• RSH sector risk profile published.

Related events and training

Event: Asset management annual conference 2024 – 4 September

Training: Advanced housing finance (housing associations only) – 11 September

Training: S.20 consultation: How to do it correctly so you can recover the costs of repairs and improvements from leaseholders and tenants – 26 September

Expecting:

• Affordable homes programme post-2026 – subject to election timing and new government
• New Homes Ombudsman annual report due late October
• Autumn statement usually in October or November
• Procurement Act – secondary legislation implementation – implications for public sector procurement.

Related events and training

Training: Unlocking construction: Basic techniques for non-technical staff – 2 October

Training: Condensation, damp and mould: Causes, cures and the courts for technical officers – 3 October

Event: Rent Compliance annual conference 2024 – 3 October

Expecting:

• RSH global accounts and VFM metrics (although not until February for last year).

Related events and training

Training: Introduction to social housing law (England only) – 5 November

Event: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion network annual conference 2024 – 6 November

Training: Property inspection for non-technical staff – 12 November