Evictions By Private Landlords Outstrip Social Housing Sector For First Time During Pandemic

Evictions by private landlords have outstripped those in the social housing sector across England and Wales for the first time during the pandemic, official statistics show. But the gap narrowed significantly between January and March, with private rented sector possessions dropping 21.7% compared with the previous quarter while increasing 12.2% in the social sector, according to figures recently published by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). A ban on bailiff-enforced evictions came to an end over the Bank Holiday weekend. Landlords have been restricted in their ability to remove tenants since the coronavirus outbreak in March 2020. Read more on Inside Housing.

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England Has Five Million Fewer Council Houses Today Than In 1979.

·         In 2020, the latest published figures, England has just 1.6m council houses and FIVE MILLION FEWER than in 1979. Just 1 in every 17 of England’s 24.6m houses is a council house when it was 1 in 3 in 1979.

·         1979 saw England have 0.35m housing association properties making a social rented sector total of 6.91m. By 2020 England had 2.5m HA properties making a SRS total of 4.08m.

·         1979 was the high point of council housing with a record 6.6 million which was 32% of 20,826 houses in all of England and 1 in 3 of all houses in England was a council house.

Read more on the Housing Writes blog.

https://housingwrites.wordpress.com/2021/05/27/5m-fewer-council-houses-in-england-than-in-1979-and-other-housing-miscellany/ 

Social Housing Sector ‘Under Scrutiny’, Warns Regulator

Social landlords face significant risks to their reputations, with the sector “under scrutiny” as it confronts tough choices on standards, safety, decarbonisation and housebuilding, the English regulator has warned. Speaking to the National Housing Summit, Fiona MacGregor, chief executive of the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH), noted that “the backdrop against which providers are working in is one of increasing pressures, heightened expectations and, in some areas, significant uncertainty”. She added: “The sector is under scrutiny and the choices and decisions providers are and will be making speak to the culture of sector and individual organisations and will significantly impact reputation.” Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/social-housing-sector-under-scrutiny-warns-regulator-70138#:~:text=Social%20landlords%20face%20significant%20risks,the%20English%20regulator%20has%20warned. 

Social Housing Sector Running Out Of Time To Meet Sustainability Targets

Nine in 10 social housing construction professionals believe the sector is in urgent need of new government guidelines if it is going to successfully meet sustainability targets. In a survey of 150 decision makers involved in the specification of building materials used for social housing developments, 88% agreed that the sector cannot wait for the pending Decarbonisation Fund and Decent Homes Standard review to define how it is going to become more sustainable. This guidance was expected to be included in the Social Housing Whitepaper which was released late last year, but it failed to clarify a number of key details the sector was waiting on. Read more on the Showhouse website.

https://www.showhouse.co.uk/news/social-housing-sector-running-out-of-time-to-meet-sustainability-targets/

Social Housing New Build Spend Up 11% But Repairs Work Drops

The amount of money spent on building new homes in the social housing sector increased by nearly 11% in December but repairs and maintenance spend fell by 6.6%.  The Office for National Statistics’ figures for December found that £587m was spent on delivering new homes in the social housing sector across the month, up by 10.9% when compared with November. The spend across December 2018 also marked a year-on-year increase, up 4.6% when compared with December 2017. The rise in public housing new build spend contrasted with private housing output, which saw a drop of 6.8% on November, and 4.6% when compared with December 2017. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/social-housing-new-build-spend-up-11-but-repairs-work-drops-60142?utm_source=Housing60&utm_medium=email&utm_content=article_link&utm_campaign=H60

Regulator: Reputational Risk For Housing Associations ‘Greater Than Ever’

The social housing sector faces a greater level of scrutiny than ever before bringing increased reputational risk, the Regulator of Social Housing has said. In its annual sector risk profile the regulator said it is “vital” that boards consider the expectations of stakeholders in their decision making. It also warned about increased sales risk, noting the increase in housing associations relying on income from market sales to fund affordable housing. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/regulator-reputational-risk-for-housing-associations-greater-than-ever-58588?utm_source=Housing60&utm_medium=email&utm_content=article_link&utm_campaign=H60

APPG Launched To Tackle Unemployment In Social Housing

A new All Party Parliamentary Group has been formed to tackle unemployment and in-work poverty in the social housing sector. The group launches as new research by the Centre for Social Justice revealed that households living in social housing are four times more likely to be workless than those living in private housing. This new APPG will be focused on advancing the role that social landlords can play in promoting social mobility, employment, and supporting in work progression for social tenants. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/appg-launched-to-tackle-unemployment-in-social-housing/

Social Housing Sector Delivers ‘Another Strong Year Of Investment’

The social housing sector has delivered ‘another strong year of investment’ in new and existing properties according to the 2017 global accounts. The main findings for 2017 are:

·         The sector invested £10bn in new housing supply and £1.6bn in existing stock. Total investment of £11.6bn represents a 15% increase on 2016

·         Of this, investment in new and existing social housing stock was £7.9bn

·         Turnover was unchanged at £20bn

·         Operating margins have increased by 2% to 30%

·         Total debt held by the sector increased by £2.9bn to £69.6bn

·         The underlying net surplus was £3.5bn – a 7% increase on 2016

Read more on 24housing.

Universal Credit Is A Social Policy Disaster In The Making

Universal credit is the biggest change to our welfare system in 40 years. By the time it has been fully rolled out in 2022 it will potentially affect 8 million people across the UK. The rollout so far has been controversial, and fraught with difficulties. Social housing organisations, in which only around 2.6% of tenants are currently claiming universal credit, have been hit particularly hard by the speed and scale of the change. In August 2017 the DWP released a guide for landlords, in a bid to explain what the changes will mean and how they can support their tenants. Unfortunately, it made little to no mention of how to deal with the slew of administrative issues, faults and delays, which have already caused hardship for so many claimants. Read more on the Guardian website.

Construction Output Suffers Sharpest Fall For Five Years

The run-up to the General Election saw the largest three-month drop in construction output for five years, according to latest official figures. New figures for May showed all work output slipped by 1.2% month-on-month, driven mainly by a 4% fall in infrastructure, equating to a real value fall of £61m. The only sector to show growth was social housing, up £6% or £21m in cash terms. The Office of National Statistics three-month trend figures also slipped back 1.2%, which represented the sharpest fall for five years, albeit after a sustained period of growth. This fall was driven mainly by infrastructure and private new housing, which dropped 1.3% and 1.8% respectively. Read more on the Construction Enquirer website.

88% Of Social Rents Could Increase Without Exceeding LHA Cap

Nearly nine out of ten social homes in the country could increase their rents without hitting the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) cap level.  In looking at rents in the social housing sector, Savills have found that although this is true, “the scope will vary across the country.” They also had a warning for the social housing sector when thinking about rent increases: “Hitting up against the LHA caps could bring housing even closer to the politics of welfare. Rents must be affordable to households both in and out of employment.” Following calls from providers to set their own rents, Savills are somewhat for and against the idea. Read more on the Savills website.

Social Housing Is Becoming ‘Increasingly Commercialised’, Says Study

The social housing sector has become ‘increasingly commercialised’ as housing associations look for new ways to make money, report finds. A new report from Zurich Municipal has found difficult times and dwindling revenue streams has forced Registered Providers (RPs) of housing to turn to ‘non-core’ activities, such as social care or operating leisure centres, to make money. A previous report by the public sector insurer had found that 76% of RPs had introduced new services beyond their core role as a housing provider. Read more on the LocalGov website.

Data Protection Guide For Social Housing Landlords

HouseMark has partnered with Anthony Collins Solicitors to jointly publish a comprehensive guide to data protection and privacy, designed specifically for the sector. The guide will support landlords to:

–          Achieve legal and regulatory compliance

–          Examine the ethical issues surrounding data privacy

–          Realise the business benefits to be gained by building trust with tenants through the adoption of a fair and transparent approach to the collection and use of their data. The guide will assist tenants by providing clear information about their rights in relation to the protection of their privacy. Download a copy from HouseMark.

CML Supports Launch Of New Social Housing Regulator

The Council of Mortgage Lenders says it supports a new regulator for the social housing sector, independent of the Homes and Communities Agency. The CML says "independent and effective regulation is crucial in safeguarding lender investment and in encouraging firms to continue to fund the sector. The proposal to separate the regulator from the HCA and establish it as a stand-alone non-departmental public body would be consistent with the principles of better regulation. The funding of social and affordable housing is becoming increasingly complex, which reinforces the case for a regulatory body that is clearly independent". Read more on the Financial Reporter website.

Financial Stability In The Social Housing Sector Continues

The social housing sector remains in a strong financial position with access to sufficient finance, according to the latest quarterly survey published by the Homes and Communities Agency. The survey shows registered providers’ financial position on the 31 December 2015 and includes forecasts up to 31 December 2016. The quarterly survey is one of the ways in which the regulator monitors and reports on the financial health of the sector. The 2015/16 Q3 survey (October to December) reports that the sector has access to sufficient finance, with £14.0 billion in undrawn facilities and £5.6 billion held in cash, and with 97% of providers having sufficient debt facilities to last for more than 12 months. Read more on the GovUK website.

Social Housing Sector In Rude Financial Health

The social housing sector is in rude health, according to the HCA, with access to enough finance to ensure it remains in a strong financial position. That’s the verdict of the latest quarterly regulatory survey, based on the first data return that providers have submitted since the July Budget. Although it remains important that providers continue to manage risks to their businesses, the HCA said the survey shows the sector remaining attractive to lenders, with funding available to registered providers to cover their development and operating costs. Read more on the HCA website.

Private Sector Rents Continue To Rise

More evidence has emerged of the rising pressure in both the private and social housing sectors, with data showing a further spike in rents. Reports from two UK property firms based on official statistics pointed to further pressures for people on low incomes. Data released by Countrywide, based on figures from the Valuation Office Agency, revealed that the average rents in the UK reached £937 per month in July were up 4.6% on a year ago. The biggest increases were in the capital where private rents increased by 6.8%, taking the average monthly cost to £2,583. Read more on 24dash.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing – Parliamentary Written Answer

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the effect of the under-occupancy penalty on his Department's expenditure in this Parliament; and under what categories of expenditure that effect has happened.

Mark Harper: The removal of the spare room subsidy is saving around £1 billion over the course of this Parliament from Housing Benefit expenditure in the social rented sector.

Social Housing Sector Remains Attractive To Lenders

The social housing sector remains attractive to lenders with 92% of registered providers having debt facilities in place for the next 12 months or more, according to the latest quarterly survey (2014 to 2015 quarter 2) published by the HCA. This report is based on a survey of all private registered providers owning and/or managing more than 1,000 homes for the quarter ending 31 December 2013. The report concludes that new finance continues to be raised with 51% of the £1.7 billion new facilities in the quarter coming from the capital markets; while a significant amount of cash is available to the sector to cover operating and development costs. Read more on the HCA website.