The Week in Housing: Labour reveals Spending Review commitments and new draft NPPF

One senior leader told Inside Housing on Thursday they had almost forgotten what it was like to have a government in charge that appears to listen in a way that can give the 142,000 children living in temporary accommodation some hope.

However, this optimism needs to be backed up by a cash injection, both into the sector and into local authority budgets. While the changes to the NPPF are necessary, development figures are still projected to fall for at least the next 12 months.

At the same time, cash-strapped councils have to make difficult choices. An exclusive investigation for Inside Housing found that Southwark, Islington and Waltham Forest councils scrapped at least £240m worth of social housing last year.

Meanwhile, new figures showed that rough sleeping in London was up 29% in the last quarter compared with the same period last year.

The new data found 4,223 people were sleeping rough in London between April and June 2024, an increase of 29% on the same period last year. However, it is still lower than the record set between October and December 2023, of 4,389 people.

Another area the new government will need to look into is accessibility standards. Conservative ministers promised in July 2022 to make certain accessibility and adaptability standards in the building regulations mandatory for all new residences.

However, this never happened. Consequently, campaigners warned this week that the UK had missed out on a quarter of a million inclusive homes during a two-year policy vacuum.

The Local Government Association demanded fixed-term funding agreements it said could unlock 200,000 social homes over the next three decades, while the Northern Housing Consortium called for the government to devolve and simplify funding for brownfield regeneration.

In financial news, Clarion reported an uptick in its pre-tax surplus of more than £8m in the first quarter of the 2024-25 financial year.

Platform Housing Group revealed a drop in its net surplus after tax, from £85m to £41.4m, in the current financial year. This was due to one-off costs including an £18m exit from a pension scheme.

In an interesting move, Sage, the Blackstone and Regis-backed provider, doubled the number of for-profits it owns, with three new registrations.

Councillors in Wiltshire have written to two local housing associations, expressing “concern” over reports of affordable homes being sold on the open market.

As landlords look for alternative ways to finance costly decarbonisation work, some have been turning to carbon credits to fund retrofitting.

In a somewhat similar vein, Inside Housing spoke to a number of experts who believe housing associations should cash in on new biodiversity rules by creating habitat banks and using the profits to lower residents’ service charges.

On fire safety, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) revealed it has almost completed a huge drive to replace fire doors in high-rise buildings in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

In a progress update, RBKC said it was 98% of the way through the programme to install more than 3,000 new doors.

The Grenfell Tower Inquiry is due to publish its Phase Two report on 4 September, which will lay out its findings on the causes of the fire that killed 72 people.

One of the country’s largest house builders has increased its spending on fire safety by £88m to £333m. In its latest accounts for the half-year to 30 June, Taylor Wimpey put the increase down to an escalation of costs based on recent tenders.

The Housing Ombudsman made a number of announcements, including a special investigation into Lewisham Council for “repeated failings”. It is also seeking views from the sector on how to repair trust in housing maintenance.

One major London landlord launched a new £75m charitable foundation this week. Metropolitan Thames Valley said the charity had been set up to tackle the cost of living crisis for its residents, which it warned would become the “new normal” without “urgent action”.

The Chartered Institute of Housing is seeking applicants for its new equality, diversity and inclusion board.

One Inside Housing commentator this week has made the case for reclassifying housing as significant national infrastructure.

In a number of longer reads, we looked at the housing associations still working to serve South Asian communities, and the estate where tenants are taking collective legal action on damp and mould.

Finally, we spoke to the chief executive of a Northern landlord about the type of legacy he wanted to leave across the region.

Have a good weekend.

Stephen Delahunty, news editor, Inside Housing

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

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