Has the sector finally got the financial certainty we need?

Overall, the government has done much to give our members more financial certainty, such as longer-term (and bigger) funding programmes including the Social and Affordable Homes Programme. The 10-year rent settlement, and the National Housing Bank, including the recently confirmed £1bn of low-interest loans available outside London, have also helped.

“There is greater clarity about what is and isn’t in scope, and requirements which would have been really difficult to implement have been removed”

The NHC has been supportive of plans to update the Decent Homes Standard and Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES). However, when we submitted our consultation responses in the autumn, it was clear our members had concerns. It didn’t look like the reforms would be workable for members, offer value for money or deliver the best outcomes.

The government has listened and acted on what our members said. There is greater clarity about what is and isn’t in scope, and requirements which would have been really difficult to implement have been removed, such as conditions relating to the public realm surrounding the home.

These changes are welcome, and providers are now well placed to understand how delivering the new standards will impact on other priorities such as building new homes and making existing homes more energy efficient.

The publication of the Warm Homes Plan, with its commitment to upgrade five million homes over the next five years, alongside confirmation of MEES, has reinvigorated members’ efforts to lead the way in addressing the North’s older and colder homes.

MEES have been tightened up so the new standards are more workable. By 2030, social homes will need to meet one of three metrics on fabric, smart readiness or sustainable heating, and two metrics by 2039. The NHC put a strong case forward for this.

It was originally proposed that two of the three metrics should be met by 2030. Supply chain and financial constraints would have made meeting two metrics incredibly challenging and would undoubtedly have significantly reduced the sector’s ability to build the new homes that we desperately need.

“Much has been achieved through working together, so it’s great news the government has committed to continue working with the social housing sector through their new compact”

The confirmed timescales and requirements, alongside sensible spend exemptions and an adequate transition period to new Energy Performance Certificates, are strong first steps and set out a clear direction of travel. These measures will make the first phase of the energy transition in our homes more manageable, and give our members the capacity to deliver warmer, more comfortable homes for residents between now and 2030.

As it stands, delivering net zero is still going to require a Herculean effort, especially once the focus turns to scaling up the installation of renewable heating systems, such as heat pumps, in the 2030s. We hope that the work done in the next few years, by both government and the sector, brings down costs and ensures that the full delivery of MEES is successful.

Much has been achieved through working together, so it’s great news the government has committed to continue working with the social housing sector through their new compact. I look forward to representing and supporting our members to enable them to deliver warm, safe and affordable homes for Northern communities.

I’ll continue to highlight that the housing crisis plays out in different ways in different places, flagging key Northern issues. Regeneration is a big priority for the North so will be high on the agenda. Over the coming year, I’ll have lots of new insight to share from Renew, the inquiry we launched with Homes for the North and Muse, looking at housing-led regeneration’s role in driving growth, tackling the housing crisis and building stronger communities.

Devolution will continue to deepen during 2026, and from April onwards, five of the seven Mayoral Combined Authorities with integrated settlements, and therefore greater local control, will be in the North. Housing partnerships have been one of devolution’s biggest success stories, enabling social housing providers to collaborate more and work closely with Mayoral Combined Authorities.

The integrated settlements will further increase the importance of housing partnerships, and the NHC will be there uniting and supporting them every step of the way.

There will be challenges over the next few years, but if you’d told me two years ago that I’d be writing this article, I wouldn’t have believed you. This level of investment and collaboration simply wasn’t on the table. The focus must now be on delivery, and firm foundations to enable real change have been laid over the past month.

Tracy Harrison, chief executive, Northern Housing Consortium