The action plan could be a defining moment for the social housing sector

By engaging with this action plan, and using it to complement work our organisations are already doing, we can create a defining moment for the housing association sector. It could provide us with an opportunity to publicly demonstrate that we are listening to the experiences of our residents when things go wrong and we do all we can to put things right.

Almost six months ago, the independent panel commissioned by the NHF and the CIH reported on its findings into issues around poor-quality social housing. Following more than a year of intense public scrutiny, this presented a serious opportunity for the social housing sector to take ownership of the changes that clearly needed to be made.

The Better Social Housing Review, published in December, included seven robust and actionable recommendations for social housing providers to improve their homes and, crucially, the experiences of residents. 

“The recommendations needed to be actionable for all social landlords, whether they have many thousands of homes of varying tenure, or a few homes for supported living”

Since then, the NHF and the CIH have been engaging with their members and co-ordinating a plan which sets out what the NHF and CIH will do to work alongside housing associations to deliver the panel’s recommendations.

This has been no mean feat. The recommendations range from social landlords improving knowledge about their homes to systematically increasing the voice and influence of tenants at every level of an organisation. The recommendations needed to be actionable for all social landlords, whether they have many thousands of homes of varying tenure, or a few homes for supported living. 

This plan had to take into account the huge financial pressure that housing associations are under, as well as complementing reforms that are already underway in anticipation of the upcoming Social Housing (Regulation) Bill.

Together, the NHF and the CIH have drafted a plan that is more ambitious than the recommendations, including going beyond the so-called audit of homes and working with landlords, the government and the regulator to develop a shared, consistent approach to assessing the condition of our homes that could help drive improvements for years to come. 

But it has also been crafted to ensure that meeting the recommendations is achievable for landlords of all sizes, all budgets and all tenures. It builds on the great work already being done by housing associations to improve their homes and services, and will help accelerate the changes being brought through in the Social Housing (Regulation) Bill.

“It’s clear that there is a huge appetite for us to collaborate and come together to make homes better where they are not good enough and demonstrate our commitment to improving customer services wherever they are found wanting”

The Better Social Housing Review – despite being compiled during a particularly challenging time in terms of public perception of our sector – acknowledged that, overall, housing associations do great work. They provide the truly affordable, quality homes sorely needed and run services that help people thrive.

I know that sector leaders want to ensure that this is the case for all of their homes, and all of their residents, and this action plan gives us the blueprint we need to change this perception and to forge meaningful change where it’s needed. By demonstrating a collective will to achieve these goals we’ll be in a much better position to make the case to this and future governments for the kinds of systemic changes we need to see on a national level to properly and truly meet housing need. 

The plan is currently with members of both the NHF and CIH for feedback. So far, the response has been really positive. It’s clear that there is a huge appetite for us to collaborate and come together to make homes better where they are not good enough and demonstrate our commitment to improving customer services wherever they are found wanting. 

This can be a defining moment, and I’d encourage anyone working in the sector to engage, to offer their feedback, and to be part of a great collaboration that can ensure that all of our homes and services live up to the high standards I know we set for ourselves.

Angela Lockwood is chief executive of North Star Housing