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The Week in Housing: plans to unlock Section 106 and temporary accommodation capacity, plus new compensation guidance
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The Week in Housing: plans to unlock Section 106 and temporary accommodation capacity, plus new compensation guidance #UKhousingA weekly round-up of the most important headlines for housing professionals #UKhousingGood afternoon.
After a slew of government policy announcements in recent weeks, there were some interesting solutions proposed to two big issues in the sector.
The first was on unsold Section 106 homes. JV North called for housing associations to be included in a star rating system for new homes, as figures from the housing consortium’s members showed a drop of more than two-thirds in Section 106 acquisitions over three years.
JV North said this is down to “poor quality standards” that have led several members to stop working with some developers.
The second solution came from a taskforce set up to explore better ways of providing temporary accommodation. It suggested that landlords, councils and the government could work together to buy surplus social housing stock and let these homes at Local Housing Allowance rates.
The Housing Ombudsman released new guidance on how much compensation social housing tenants should be given for failings by their landlords.
Northern Ireland’s watchdog raised concerns over a landlord’s response to reports of anti-social behaviour by a tenant.
Following the government revealing rent convergence and the Decent Homes Standard (DHS) last week, the Regulator of Social Housing published the finalised Rent Standard, which will come into force from April.
Charities, sector groups and academics are “disappointed” that the government scrapped a proposed flooring requirement from the reformed DHS.
Inside Housing reported on some tragic incidents this week. The first saw a maintenance company owned by Peabody fined £400,000 after a worker died from exposure to toxic glue.
The second involved a man who fell to his death from a balcony at a London housing association block. His family is now seeking urgent answers on why the safety railing “gave way”.
Another landlord was fined after failings led to the death of a resident who was unable to reach safety during a fire in a property in 2022.
There was big news from the High Court as it quashed the approval of a £1bn estate regeneration project after Birmingham City Council failed to publish a full viability assessment.
As part of Inside Housing’s Spotlight on Regeneration series, we looked at the progress being made on the regeneration of the Carpenters Estate in east London. It comes more than 20 years since redevelopment was first proposed and more than a decade since it was the location of a headline-grabbing protest.
We also examined the environmental, social and governance reports of the top 50 Biggest Builders to identify their flood risk strategies, and spoke to experts about what housing associations can do to prepare for the future.
The Welsh government announced an additional £60m of funding to boost housing delivery.
This was followed by the news that NatWest set out an ambition to provide £10bn of funding to the social housing sector before the end of 2028.
On the sector’s financial health, S&P Global forecasted improved credit metrics for social housing providers in 2026, as turnover rises faster than costs and more landlords rationalise their stock.
Housing association Onward posted a net surplus of just under £16m in its half-year results, marking a 75% increase on the previous year.
Bromford Flagship and LiveWest finalised their merger, with the enlarged group now aiming to build more than 50,000 new homes in the next 15 years.
In our latest Board Member Briefing, we asked experts how boards can ensure their organisation is talking effectively about its repairs and maintenance works, and avoid the risk of reputational harm.
Finally, we published our round-up of top-level housing sector appointments in January 2026.
Have a great weekend.
Stephen Delahunty, news editor, Inside Housing
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