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Nick Atkin is chief executive of Yorkshire Housing
Ten themes that should dominate the housing sector in 2023
At the start of the new year, Nick Atkin looks ahead to the challenges and opportunities that social landlords face in the coming 12 months
Getting back to basics
If 2022 has taught us anything it’s that despite being under increasing pressure to manage competing demands and expectations, we can’t lose sight of our core purpose: to provide good-quality, safe and secure homes that people can thrive in.
2023 is the year we ensure our customers are front and centre of everything we do and every decision we make.
Rebuilding our reputation
We need to rebuild the sector’s reputation.
The Grenfell Tower disaster, the tragic death of Awaab Ishak, ITV’s investigation into social housing, and Kwajo Tweneboa’s powerful social media posts have forced us all to face up to some very uncomfortable truths.
We can only move forward and start to rebuild trust by being more honest and transparent. When we make a mistake, we need to ‘own it’ – meaning do everything in our power to put things right and stop them from being repeated.
Key to this will be delivering the actions we’ve signed up to in the Better Social Housing Review.
Damp and mould
Awaab’s tragic death has been a wake-up call. It’s the housing equivalent of the changes that were made to children’s services after the death of Baby P. That’s why it’s now part of the ‘big seven’ compliance areas.
We must invest more in tackling damp and mould, make it easier for customers to report, and take swift remedial action to put things right. We also need to get better at preventing damp and mould in the first place, by using smart technology to proactively manage cases.
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Customer complaints and communication
We need to make it easier for customers to raise concerns with us by removing bureaucracy and complexity, as well as improving communication by better understanding our customers’ needs.
English not being a first language, someone who struggles to read or a visual impairment can make customers feel like they don’t have a voice, or, even worse, they just give up trying.
Too many times we have a defensive response. We need to change our mindset and rather than seeing complaints as criticism, embrace them as a gift – an insight into our business and providing an opportunity to improve.
We need to make time to listen to customers. They are integral to helping shape what we do and how we do it. Without actively seeking their input, we run the risk of falling at the first hurdle.
Satisfaction
The Regulator of Social Housing’s new tenant satisfaction measures come into effect from 1 April 2023. This will enable our customers to scrutinise what we’re doing and hold us to account across 22 areas of our business, including those that really matter to them such as complaints, anti-social behaviour, repairs and safety.
We need to up our game, take the feedback on the chin and use it as an opportunity to listen, learn and improve.
Cost of living
As we head into the dark winter months at the start of any year, we know that things are going to get worse before they get better. That’s why we must continue to go above and beyond to support our customers, in particular those who are most vulnerable or have complex needs as the availability of other public support services is being reduced.
And we mustn’t forget our colleagues aren’t immune to the cost of living crisis. That’s why at Yorkshire Housing we’ve recently announced three things to support colleagues, all of which have been shaped by our colleague forum.
Financial viability
The sector is facing a delicate balancing act between social purpose and financial viability.
Maintaining our existing homes, many of which are older and inefficient, while meeting the increasingly urgent need to build new homes at scale and pace, against a backdrop of rent caps and high operating costs is making balancing the books challenging.
Every decision we make must represent value for money for our customers and our businesses.
Housing supply and market
We need to keep a close eye on the housing market. House prices in the UK have fallen at the fastest rate for over two-and-a-half years, according to the latest data from Nationwide.
It’s important we flex in response to any further interest rate rises and a predicted slowdown. But we also need to caution against turning off the tap too much as all the economic projections are for the market to pick up again later this year.
Decarbonisation
Time is running out for the world to reduce its impact on the climate. As more than 20% of all carbon emissions in the UK come from domestic properties, we must stay committed to decarbonisation. Investment now will enable savings in the future, as well as create warmer, healthier and more sustainable homes.
As well as delivering more retrofit projects to make our existing homes more energy efficient, we need to explore the use of new and emerging technologies including solar PV, battery storage, remote sensors and low carbon sources of energy generation.
There’s also a widespread green skills shortage. We need to futureproof our businesses by investing more in developing skills in-house to create a robust foundation for future growth.
Key to this is continuing to bring more young people into the sector through apprenticeships as well as upskilling our existing workforce. There needs to be a focus on developing the green skills needed to help reduce our environmental impact and support our customers and businesses in the transition to a low-carbon future.
Regeneration is back
The 2021 Spending Review announced a £1.8bn package to regenerate communities and level up the country, unlocking new homes on derelict and underused brownfield land.
In 2022, it was confirmed that up to £180m will be made available to support the release of council-owned brownfield land for housing.
Coupled with the widely rumoured shift in role and focus for Homes England back to its original purpose of being a regeneration agency, 2023 could be the year that regeneration finally makes a long overdue comeback. This will enable us to deliver the right homes in the right places.
As devolution continues to develop at pace across many parts of the country, there’s a real opportunity for housing associations to work with mayoral combined authorities and local councils to continue to deliver the much-needed affordable housing.
Nick Atkin, chief executive, Yorkshire Housing
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