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Are you prepared for a no-deal Brexit?
In her final column as Inside Housing’s editor, Emma Maier warns that the risks to housing from a Brexit no deal go far beyond development
In recent weeks the impact of Brexit has been ever-present in our pages, from Homes England making contingency plans to housing associations stress-testing for a post-Brexit rent settlement revision, or buying up discounted homes from private builders.
Across the country, landlords have been reviewing their business plans, and several have shared their findings with us, including Optivo, Peabody, EMH and L&Q.
Yet as the deadline looms and a no-deal Brexit looks increasingly likely, the regulator in England appears less than confident that all landlords are up to speed.
Chief executive Fiona MacGregor has written to chief executives urging them to study the Bank of England’s document on the possible macroeconomic impact of no deal, and reminding them of their duty to flag any risks to their ability to comply with the regulatory standards.
Most damningly, boards are reminded that they must go beyond just identifying risk and focus on the challenging work of “planning effective mitigation” – an observation prompted by the regulator’s experiences of the in-depth assessment process. The warnings build on comments made by regulatory chair Simon Dow at the Social Housing Annual Conference in December.
In case there should be any doubt on the risks, the regulator’s letter goes on to outline six considerations.
So far, much of the discussion about the impact of Brexit on the sector has focused on development, including worsening housing markets, access to finance and availability of labour. These are all covered in the regulator’s letter. But the risks don’t stop there: the regulator goes on to outline potential threats to core tenant services, too – risks that have been much less well discussed.
Labour shortages could seriously affect the care sector, which in England relies on 95,000 workers from the EEA according to Skills for Care.
The National Institute of Economic and Social Research pointed out last year that growth in the EEA workforce is growing fastest in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Ms MacGregor warns that care standards could be affected.
Meanwhile, she adds that major repairs could be stalled due to labour shortages and problems accessing European-manufactured products such as boilers and lift components.
Most organisations will have looked at where their data is held over the past year while preparing for GDPR.
But the regulator warns that cloud-based storage or use of data partners outside the UK may leave landlords unable to access their own business-critical data after a no-deal Brexit.
As landlords focus on engaging with tenants and assuring the quality of their core tenant services, these additional no-deal Brexit risks must be front and centre.
- From next week, Martin Hilditch takes over as editor of Inside Housing, as I move into a wider management role. It has been an honour to work with Martin and the excellent editorial team since 2014, and to work alongside the sector during a period of uncertainty and change. Thanks and congratulations to colleagues, and thanks to our readers and partners for your support over the years.
Emma Maier, editor, Inside Housing
