SNG cuts 10-year development target by 10% as it ramps up plans for AI

He said: “Three years ago we set our ambition for 25,000 homes over 10 years and we remain one of the sector’s top developers, having been in Inside Housing’s Biggest Builders top five for completions each year over that time.

“We hold a secured pipeline of 12,000 homes that we continue to add to by actively seeking new development opportunities at scale including joint ventures, Section 106 and land opportunities.

“Our ambition is kept under review, and this marginal reduction that reflects a sensible response to the challenging environment makes no material difference to our plans over the next five years, including our grant bids.”

Mark Washer, chief executive of SNG, stressed the landlord will be focusing on resident experience above all else over the next five years.

He said its new corporate plan for 2026-2031 sets out the landlord’s ambition to “deliver the best customer experience in social housing”, adding: “Everything we do over the next five years will be focused on achieving that goal.”

“Our customers are changing, technology is rapidly advancing, and the expectation of us is increasing while the resource available remains limited,” he added.

“The 2030s will be a digitalised decade, so our customers and people will expect us to have efficient and effective systems that empower them to interact seamlessly and harness the possibilities offered by AI.”

Improving repairs and resident services are the two main ways SNG plans to adopt AI over the next five years.

In the realm of maintenance, the provider will look to move to a preventative service model, which will include piloting and scaling up tools, using sensors and AI to find problems quickly, and scheduling and planning its workflows using the technology.

The landlord’s aim is to deliver a “faster, more reliable service” where many problems are tackled the week after they are raised, compared to the current average repair time of 11 days.

SNG also plans to incorporate AI and automation into its customer services, which it intends to be digitalised from start to finish.

The landlord said this will free up capacity so it can focus on residents who need to talk to staff, and means it can offer a more personalised service for tenants.

It will look to measure the success of its plans by its overall customer satisfaction rate as well as performance on specific tenant satisfaction measures such as complaints and repairs.

The third and final part of the landlord’s plan is a commitment to keep improving its homes through its homes and place standard.