The Week in Housing: sector calls on the government to act

London Councils also set out a stark landscape for stock-owning local authorities in the capital. Its analysis showed that boroughs must reduce their spending on council housing by £264m to avoid going bust over the next three years.

This came as a cross-party coalition of 112 local authorities called on the government to fund a £12bn ‘Green and Decent Homes Programme’, which would upgrade and modernise social homes in England. The aim would be to have a single retrofit fund for all social landlords, including councils and housing associations, to replace the current “fragmented” system.

The coalition also called for funding and delivery to be co-ordinated through regional strategic authorities such as the West Midlands Combined Authority and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.

The Regulator of Social Housing published its latest batch of judgements, with Swindon Borough Council handed a C3 grade and three landlords receiving a C2.

The same day, its chief executive Fiona MacGregor told delegates at the Social Housing Finance Conference 2025 that housing associations should make sure they think through the consequences if they are thinking of selling off homes to investors. In recent months, some major landlords have said they are more open to managing homes rather than owning them – an approach that might include selling homes for-profit providers.

The Housing Ombudsman highlighted four landlords it had ordered wider reviews for that found weaknesses in the landlords’ handling of repairs before they were handed a non-compliant consumer grade by the English regulator.

The watchdog said the reviews showed how landlords “can scrutinise their own performance following a complaint to see if there are any wider issues that may be occurring”.

After analysing the government’s response to the second and final Grenfell Tower Inquiry report, MPs called for an independent oversight body to ensure the recommendations are implemented. The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee said the government should not be left “marking its own homework”.

Inside Housing also reported that leaseholders in a Manchester block are facing a bill of tens of thousands of pounds due to gaps in funding for a waking watch patrol.

Leaseholders at Zinc Court, Radius Apartments in Prestwich have been hit with a bill of more than £67,000 for a waking watch, even though the developer signed up to the government’s post-Grenfell building safety remediation contract.

Residents of a London block that had Grenfell-style cladding installed at the time of a major fire in 2021 praised the remediation process, but called for tougher rules for smoking on balconies after a third fire in four years.

Large landlord Southern Housing’s operating surplus recovered by 14.8%, as starts plummeted following its decision to stop committing to new developments.

New research from Housemark found that tenant satisfaction with social landlords had a small increase in 2024-25. The data firm is forecasting a median result of 72% to 73% based on the tenant satisfaction measures.

It emerged that landlord Vivid will retrofit more than 2,000 homes after agreeing a £50m loan with Barclays backed by the National Wealth Fund.

It is the first loan to be issued with support from the funding scheme, which launched last year to help speed up energy upgrades in the UK’s social housing stock. 

Procurement specialist Fusion21 announced the successful suppliers appointed to its £1.5bn decarbonisation framework.

Social housing groups warned that thousands of tenants across Scotland may be left without heating and hot water when their electricity meters are switched off next month. They urged energy suppliers to ramp up installations of replacements. 

In Northern Ireland, representatives from the Department for Communities said it will push for more in-year capital allocations to boost the number of social homes that can start this year. 

In Wales, a group of homeowners joined a UK-wide campaign calling for a national remediation fund to fix homes built with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.

Finally, I would like to extend massive congratulations to Katharine Swindells, our deputy features editor, who has been shortlisted for the prestigious Orwell Prize for her vital reporting on homelessness, which highlights the numbers of children and babies living in temporary accommodation. 

Have a great weekend.

Grainne Cuffe, deputy news editor, Inside Housing

Say hello: grainne.cuffe@oceanmedia.co.uk

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