The Week in Housing: leasehold reform, Tri Fire saga and call for service charge probe

If it goes ahead, there could be an interesting investigation by the spending watchdog after a group of 26 MPs urged the National Audit Office to look into alleged service charge abuse by landlords.

Housing minister Matthew Pennycook set out his plans and timetable for leasehold reform in a statement that explained how shared ownership homes will work with commonhold. It was described as the “beginning of the end for the feudal leasehold system”.

In response to the plans, one regular Inside Housing contributor asked is the reign of leasehold truly over?

Platform Housing Group will be one landlord keeping an eye on leasehold reform as it reported an uptick in shared ownership sales.

Mr Pennycook gave his backing for a new association of local authority housing directors at a council summit in Sheffield on Thursday.

The government announced £1.5bn in funding to tackle deprivation in 75 areas across the UK, “restore pride in Britain’s neighbourhoods and boost local growth”.

There was some concern about how homelessness funding in England is being allocated after an analysis by the District Councils’ Network found that smaller authorities facing significant pressure could lose millions in “vital” homelessness prevention funding under government proposals.

And research from Scotland revealed that homeless children across the nation are being exposed to violence and vermin in temporary accommodation.

Also on homelessness, a major council in Wales published a “refreshed” strategy for prevention and housing-related support as it responds to increased need.

Senior finance directors told Inside Housing they were worried that development will be hindered further, while raising the possibility that the sector’s reputation will be harmed as a result of economic pressures.

This concern came after London’s biggest housing associations called for more funding from the government as their development pipelines continue to slow down.

Despite much of the sector having development concerns, the boss of newly merged Housing Plus Group told Inside Housing how he plans to ramp up delivery, with an aim “to build 1,000 homes a year”.

One issue that is also affecting the pace of development is capacity at the Building Safety Regulator. MPs on the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee heard how these delays are leading to job losses, and “wasteful training methods” in construction are impacting the ability to hit the government’s 1.5 million homes target.

One professional body had an interesting idea in improving training and access to the sector, as it called for the introduction of a built environment GCSE.

The Housing Ombudsman set four objectives as part of its plans to consult on its 2025-26 business plan and five-year strategy.

In Northern Ireland, housing bodies welcomed the new social homes target set out in the final Programme for Government.

However, the Northern Ireland Federation of Housing Associations warned that the 5,850 figure, which is to be achieved by 2027, is a “significant mean jump” from the current programme of 1,400 to more than 2,000 homes per year.

There were a number of big appointments as former Homes England chief executive Peter Denton joined the group board of a giant housing association. 

Black Country Housing Group revealed a new chief executive after the incumbent announced her retirement. 

The chief executive of the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations will step down after eight years in the role.

Inside Housing also published its monthly appointment round-up detailing the main moves in February 2025.

In a comment piece ahead of International Women’s Day, Tracey McEachran, president of Women In Social Housing, reflects on the #HearHerVoice campaign.

As part of World Book Day, a Welsh landlord commissioned a children’s book to teach young readers about fire safety.

Finally, with residents being flooded out of their homes, the risk and insurance costs are rising. In a long read, we looked at how this is causing problems for the sector.

Have a great weekend.

Stephen Delahunty, news editor, Inside Housing

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