The Week in Housing: fraud investigation ramps up and Liverpool hosts conference

Now to the Exhibition Centre Liverpool, where conference organisers the National Housing Federation (NHF) and Chartered Institute of Housing had to hastily reorganise their keynote, given former housing secretary Angela Rayner originally topped the bill. Ms Rayner resigned last week over her property tax affairs.

You can read what to expect from replacement Steve Reed here.

Taking Ms Rayner’s place at the conference, Ruth Curtice, chief executive of the Resolution Foundation and former director of fiscal policy at the Treasury, told the audience that “nobody knows” the size of the black hole faced by chancellor Rachel Reeves.

More reassuringly, Ms Curtice said it is unlikely the chancellor would reverse her commitment to housing in the Autumn Budget, even if the Office for Budget Responsibility’s forecast contains “bad news”.

One popular session focused on the roll-out of Awaab’s Law, which is coming into force next month. Speaking on the panel, housing ombudsman Richard Blakeway warned landlords to avoid “Frankenstein procedures” that would see the legislation bolted on to existing policies.

Mr Blakeway also said landlords need a good grasp on the terms used in the Awaab’s Law guidance. Although, as one delegate in the audience pointed out in the Q&A afterwards, the final guidance has not yet been published.

Elsewhere, the NHF revealed it is backing a “pilot” to understand the impact of the requirement for carpets in all new social tenancies.

Fiona MacGregor, chief executive of the Regulator of Social Housing, told delegates of plans to commission an independent review of the organisation’s new regulatory regime to see how it is impacting landlords.

During a government consultation, experts shared their thoughts on another area of compliance that will affect the sector’s already stretched balance sheets. One senior professional warned that landlords could be “set up to fail” by new energy efficiency standards under a reformed Decent Homes Standard.

In a case brought by a council in Northern Ireland, a housing association and one of its directors were fined and ordered to pay costs after a tenant was locked out of her home in 2023.

Several major reports were published this week, including an important white paper on shared ownership that was presented to Downing Street. The report called for urgent reforms to the tenure model amid growing concerns.

A paper from proptech platform Plentific warned social landlords that poor data would threaten their ability to withstand tougher regulation, while the English regulator had some similar messages in its annual review.

Charity St-Martin-in-the-Fields published the findings from its latest survey, which found that the UK’s homelessness sector is buckling under unprecedented demand. 

In a comment piece for Inside Housing, chief executive Duncan Shrubsole said the survey paints a “stark picture” and that frontline staff are telling him they “don’t see it getting any better”. 

Homelessness charity St Mungo’s pointed out a “perverse” anomaly in the benefit system that disincentivises people in supported housing to work. It called for the quirk to be addressed in the Autumn Budget, which has been pushed back from October to 26 November.

According to Stephen Teagle, chief executive of Countryside Partnerships, an arm of house builder Vistry, this delay to the Spending Review is affecting the market as landlords wait for the result of the rent settlement. Vistry’s half-year results showed a 12% fall in completions from last year.

House builders in Wales have called on the government to urgently address the country’s “worsening” housing shortage, amid falling starts and completions.

It was also a busy week for scrutiny. On Tuesday, the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee’s new inquiry into housing conditions in England launched. The first session heard from housing lecturer and environmental health expert Dr Henry Dawson, who told the inquiry that residents living in the poorest-quality homes would find it a “tall ask” to use Awaab’s Law to challenge their landlords.

Over in the Lords, senior staff at the Building Safety Regulator were grilled by the Industry and Regulators Committee as part of its inquiry into the regulator.

Chris Griffin-McTiernan, deputy director of operations, fielded questions on Gateway 2 delays. He also revealed that the regulator’s investigation unit has received more than 1,000 complaints from residents through its whistleblowing service since 2023.

At City Hall, it was deputy London mayor Tom Copley’s turn in the hot seat. London Assembly members accused his team of failing to deliver affordable housing, with just 979 homes completed under the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme – 5.5% of the revised 17,800 target.

The severe lack of sites for the capital’s 30,000-strong Gypsy and Traveller community also came under the spotlight. City Hall promised hundreds, but delivered only 10 new pitches in 15 years, despite its own estimates that up to 708 were needed. 

In Scotland, a property trade body has called for urgent exemptions from the new Building Safety Levy for SMEs, the build-to-rent sector and all affordable housing, to avoid worsening the supply shortage. The Scottish Property Federation warned that the tax risked stalling the country’s already-weak housing delivery pipeline.

There was much to digest as part of Inside Housing’s long-form coverage, as we went to Newcastle to find out why Home Group has been rated one of the UK’s best places to work seven years in a row.

We spoke to the Welsh pension fund experimenting with an investment in social housing.

Plus, we visited one of the 10 social housing estates taking part in pilot trialing an American employment project.

Have a great weekend.

Ella Jessel, deputy news editor, Inside Housing

Say hello: ella.jessel@oceanmedia.co.uk

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