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What have we learned from the past decade and what lies ahead?
As a new decade begins, David Montague casts his eye back on the past 10 years and makes some predictions for the future
Ten years ago I didn’t give much thought to what I would be doing on New Year’s Eve 2019. But if I had, none of my predictions would have involved Craig David.
As I sang along to one memorable hit after another, I cast my mind back over the past decade, the big shifts in housing – not the ones that every list will include, but the things that mattered to me.
So here are the main takeaways from my decade in housing, in the order I thought of them:
Diversity and inclusion entering the mainstream
A new generation of housing people got angry and demanded change. The debate moved from fairness to business success, winning the war on talent.
And diversity and inclusion moved from tick box to strategic lever. We have a long way to go but things are changing.
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Mental health’s destigmatisation
A few high-profile people said it was OK not to be OK and we started talking.
At L&Q, a board member and I shared with L&Q people our own experiences of anxiety and depression and signed a mental health pledge.
We employed mental health champions to support our colleagues and residents.
And we started to adapt our services, recognising the increasing proportion of residents in general needs housing who could get lost in the housing machine.
“Today, if we were quoted companies, some of us would be worth more than most high street names”
The big got bigger
The crash; our long, slow climb out of a deep hole; the rent cuts; the drive for growth; and commercialisation. Ten years ago, who would have thought that housing associations would cross the 100,000-home line? Today, if we were quoted companies, some of us would be worth more than most high street names.
We are complex organisations with a diverse customer base, taking the same risks as the house builders, affecting the lives of millions of people.
The accountability and social purpose debate will take us into the next decade, but one thing changed everything.
Grenfell
A tragic reminder that people live, and if their homes are not safe, die in social housing. Today, at meetings of representative bodies, the mood is different.
More sombre, more focused on our existing homes and the safety of our existing residents, more talk about involving our residents in matters that affect them, less talk about growth. It isn’t easy to make predictions about the next decade, but one thing is for sure: it will begin and end with safety. Starting with safety from fire and moving into safety from discrimination, abuse and domestic violence; safety from crime; safety in the home; safety in the community.
Partnership
Housing associations are often the trusted link between their residents and other agencies. The recession brought public and private bodies together, perhaps with a degree of reluctance initially but as the decade closes there are so many examples of great practice between local authorities, house builders, the police, the health and education sectors, and housing associations.
Climate change
A late-comer to the party, but finally here. As we start to digest new fire safety requirements another course comes along, just as huge as the last.
Building energy-efficient new homes is one thing; the retrofit challenge is another. Already, housing associations are selling homes that are simply not viable, and that can never be made efficient as socially rented homes.
The middle classes, the argument goes, can afford what we can’t. Without courageous intervention and support from government we risk losing social housing on a scale perhaps not seen since the Right to Buy.
Some may see this as good for homeownership. But is it good for housing? Good for communities? Good for the long term?
“How might things look on the eve of the next decade? Perhaps housing associations will have been renationalised, or privatised, or mutualised”
This decade begins with challenges unlike any other, but also with opportunity. In the past 10 years, we learned to work together, we reconnected with our ambition and social purpose.
We engaged with the demands of millennials. We rebalanced safety, quality and supply. And we started to build trust. The foundations of success are there – let’s use them.
How might things look on the eve of the next decade? Perhaps a new generation of people will finally turn the housing tide.
Perhaps a wave of new Chinese providers will sow homes like oats across every field in the country.
Perhaps housing associations will have been renationalised, or privatised, or mutualised.
Perhaps this government, or the next, will get serious about the housing crisis and we will look back on the decade with pride. I hope so, the bit about government, that is.
And me?
Craig David might sing us into the 2030s, but I won’t.
In 10 years time, I will be 67 years old. Perhaps I will be sitting on the board of Sage, by then the largest affordable housing provider in the country? Perhaps I will spend more of my time painting, Morris dancing or looking after grandchildren?
But until then, and however things look in 2030, today and for now, it is my responsibility and ours to work together with ambition and determination to provide safe, quality, affordable homes for everyone.
It is our responsibility to unleash the next generation of leaders; ours to hand things over to them in even better shape than when we took them on.
Here’s to the next decade. Happy New Year.
David Montague, chief executive, L&Q
