The Week in Housing: Homes England reveals more SAHP details, plus BSR chair interview and ombudsman learnings

The second shared cases of 11 social landlords that failed to deal effectively with leaks in its latest severe maladministration report.

Andy Roe, chair of the Building Safety Regulator (BSR), told Inside Housing that minor building work to high-rise blocks is likely to be moved out of the scope of the BSR’s oversight. You can read the full exclusive interview here.

There were also two updates from the Regulator of Social Housing. A report revealed it had investigated more whistleblower concerns over the past year, despite a slight drop in the overall number of reports made.

At the same time, the English regulator’s latest Quarterly Survey found that housing providers spent the lowest amount on development in four years, but investment in existing stock is still rising.

This came amid a number of trading updates that showed how landlords were dealing with the trade-offs between new development and existing stock pressures.

Aster Group reported a profit before tax of £21.7m after receiving a £15.5m boost from its asset disposal programme.

Large landlord The Guinness Partnership revealed a rise in turnover to £255.6m, but costs also rose more than £20m due building safety issues, including waking watch.

Plus, around 50 jobs are at risk at house builder Crest Nicholson after it warned of a “subdued” housing market and Budget uncertainty.

The government announced another initiative in its quest to boost development, as housing around well-connected train and tram stations will get automatic approval as part of a series of changes to the National Planning Policy Framework.

Whitehall has also promised to allocate funding to councils based on “true local need” in its response to the Fair Funding Review 2.0 consultation.

There was a landmark report by Clarion Housing Group calling for a change in how the sector is funded and “a new social contract for housing addressing the threats to quality of life affecting communities across the UK”.

In a comment piece for Inside Housing accompanying the report, Clare Miller, chief executive of Clarion, explained why the sector must address the “five new giants” of opportunity and take inspiration from the radical ambition of the 1942 Beveridge Report.

Inside Housing was in Wales for the Community Housing Cymru (CHC) annual conference. The CHC called on the next Welsh government to target 60,000 additional affordable homes over the next decade.

This came after residents of Monmouthshire Housing Association had to leave their homes after flooding caused by Storm Claudia devastated Monmouth and nearby villages in South Wales last weekend.

On the policy front, the head of policy at the National Housing Federation said that it would not be right for social housing tenants to subsidise shared owner repair costs, during a debate in an MP-led inquiry session.

Another parliamentary committee found that nature should not be viewed as an “inconvenience” to development, and that most delays to housebuilding are for other reasons.

In Northern Ireland, the Housing Executive raised concerns about “mono-tenure” schemes, and communities minister Gordon Lyons claimed there is evidence that rent control for the private rented sector does not work.

Concern was also raised about retrofit in Scotland after landlords criticised the Scottish government’s decision to delay its Heat in Buildings Bill to the next parliament. This is because it will place “more uncertainty” on decarbonisation plans.

The delay comes as housing leaders called for metro mayors in England to pilot local retrofit schemes in a bid to combat public suspicion of net zero.

Inside Housing’s deep dive into the results of year two of the tenant satisfaction measures found a stark satisfaction divide between shared owners and social housing tenants.

We also looked at what can be learned from a home adaptation gone drastically wrong.

Finally, with the government setting out the roadmap for implementing the landmark Renters’ Rights Act, we have five key takeaways.

Have a great weekend.

Stephen Delahunty, news editor, Inside Housing

Say hello: stephen.delahunty@oceanmedia.co.uk

Editor’s picks – five stories you may have missed:

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New towns should include community land trusts, sector leaders urge

Call for government to end ‘benefit trap’ affecting 30,000 young people in supported housing

Watford Community Housing appoints chair designate ahead of proposed merger

Dubai-based developer buys stake in 5,000-home east London scheme