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20 key stories from 2024
In what has been a busy 12 months for the sector. James Riding looks back at 20 of our most-read articles
This year, Inside Housing’s coverage has kept pace with political upheaval, legal drama and regulatory intervention. Our long-running sector surveys and analysis continued to be hotly anticipated, and we also found time to celebrate our magazine’s 40th anniversary.
Here are the stories that resonated most on our website in 2024.
Councils expected to save £1.2bn over five years from Right to Buy changes
Housing leaders have been crying out for Right to Buy reform for years and their calls were finally answered in October, when Angela Rayner set out a series of crucial tweaks to stem the net loss of council housing.
The impact of these changes, such as lowering discounts for tenants and enabling councils to keep the full receipts from sales, was illustrated by Treasury analysis that local authorities could save nearly £1.2bn by 2030.
Welsh tenants entitled to withhold rent after landmark safety court ruling
Few were paying attention to a High Court case about electrical safety bubbling away in Cardiff until this bombshell ruling in November, which found that four housing associations had made their homes uninhabitable by failing to provide tenants with safety reports.
The judges ruled that tenants who know they have not been given a report may withhold their rent, and a further ruling in the new year will decide if tenants are entitled to a refund of rent they have already paid. Landlords fear that the case could open the door to a bill of tens of millions of pounds.
Leeds Council considers removing 18,000 people from social housing waiting list
Leeds Council was among the big local authorities proposing cost saving cuts to their lettings system this year. In February, it suggested removing 18,000 applicants from its waiting list who were already classed as ‘adequately housed’, adding that most of them had “little or no chance” of being offered a social home.
In February, the High Court confirmed that Eastbourne Borough Council was allowed to exclude a resident from social housing for anti-social behaviour, despite the fact that she suffered from ADHD, autism and alcohol dependency.
The claimant had reapplied for social housing, but was denied on the basis of past conduct by both herself and her partner, who has since passed away.
The first year of tenant satisfaction measures: the results
Inside Housing was the place to be for comprehensive coverage of the first results from the Regulator of Social Housing’s new tenant satisfaction measures regime.
Grainne Cuffe’s analysis found huge variances in the methods used to survey tenants, strong performance from ALMOs and a mixed picture for councils.
A Freedom of Information request shared with Stephen Delahunty in November revealed that officials were blindsided by a critical report from MPs about the state of shared ownership.
The cross-party committee had called for urgent reform to the tenure as it found uncapped service charges, rising rents and unfair maintenance costs were making it unaffordable.
Awaab’s Law: emergency repairs to be completed within 24 hours of identification
Details of Awaab’s Law, named after the two-year-old boy who died from mould exposure, were set out in a consultation in January. Social landlords will need to complete emergency repairs within 24 hours of identification, while hazards must be investigated within 14 days. The Labour government has vowed to press on with Awaab’s Law and expand it to the private rented sector.
What were the biggest threats facing landlords last year? In January, Kate Youde looked at the 100 largest housing associations to find out what was top of their risk registers and what they are doing in response.
Inside Housing Chief Executive Salary Survey 2024
In October, our annual survey revealed the salaries and other pay of the chief executives of more than 160 of the biggest housing associations in the UK, along with the gender pay gap at the top of the sector. Basic pay for chief executives was up 3.5% on the previous year, a smidgen above inflation.
Consumer standards series part 1: what it is like to be inspected by the RSH
In the first of a comprehensive three-part series on consumer standards, Grainne Cuffe explained how the Regulator of Social Housing inspects social landlords. Housing providers reported sending between 60 and 70 documents to just over 100 to the regulator ahead of an inspection.
MPs call for meeting with UK’s largest leasehold property manager over ‘rip-off’ service charges
Calls for leasehold reform are not going away. Last month, 34 Labour MPs from across England raised “grave concerns” over high management fees and poor conduct at FirstPort, which manages around 300,000 properties.
Residents reported that the standard of service they received from FirstPort had “consistently been poor and do not justify the aggressive increases in service charges”.
How to retrofit the remote Scottish islands
Inside Housing visited the Scottish islands of Argyll and Bute, where 400 properties in need of eco upgrades are scattered in villages and towns across four islands. Facing extreme weather and unreliable ferries, collaboration between housing associations on these remote Scottish islands has made retrofit possible.
City council refuses to pay part of ombudsman remedy over ‘unavoidable’ break of six-week law
At what point are homelessness pressures so great that councils can no longer meet their legal duties to rehouse people? In November, Leicester City Council refused part of a watchdog’s recommendation to compensate a mother housed in a B&B for 19 weeks.
The council argued that the national housing crisis means going over the legal six-week limit is “unavoidable”, and said making all of the payments recommended would be “disastrous” for its finances.
Charities warn homelessness services will close if National Insurance hike goes ahead
Labour’s first Budget in October included a hefty rise in employers’ National Insurance contributions to 15% from April 2025. Homelessness charities warned that the tax hike will cost them thousands of pounds, increase caseloads for staff and could lead to smaller organisations closing altogether.
Housing association settles court claim with developer over estate block fire
In April, Metropolitan Thames Valley settled its court claim against a developer over a fire at a south-west London estate.
The housing association had been seeking over £6m in damages from St James, part of the Berkeley Group, over the 2019 Richmond House fire that left 60 residents homeless.
Landlord apologises after repairs operative sent inappropriate messages to resident
The Housing Ombudsman brought to light the shocking case of a repairs operative who sent inappropriate messages he described as “banter” to a resident with a traumatic personal history.
The operative, who worked for North West Leicestershire District Council, attempted to misuse the resident’s personal information to establish a relationship. This was in breach of safeguarding policies, the employee code of conduct and protecting personal data.
England’s largest council considers closing housing waiting list
In February, James Riding revealed that Birmingham City Council was considering closing its housing waiting list to new applicants as they struggled to process a backlog of tens of thousands of applications for social homes.
The council eventually decided not to do so, but Inside Housing visited the leaders to see how its housing department was being impacted by cuts after it effectively declared bankruptcy a year earlier.
Katharine Swindells analysed the 50 housing associations building the most homes in 2024. While completions figures held steady, starts were on the slide – a trend that is likely to continue into next year as affordable housebuilding stalls, particularly in London.
The G15, which rang a warning bell earlier this year, wrote that “the building of new homes in the capital is grinding to a halt” and “insufficient sustainable funding, among many structural issues, is a critical reason why housing is in crisis in our capital city”.
Seamus Leheny took over as chief executive of the Northern Ireland Federation of Housing Associations just over a year ago in April. He explains his strategy to Inside Housing just days after the deal to return to power-sharing was agreed, which could help with progress on delivery.
Housing association and council terminate deal for £1bn regeneration scheme
January saw the collapse of the mammoth £1bn Purfleet regeneration scheme in Essex, after Thurrock Council terminated its agreement with housing association Sanctuary and developer Urban Catalyst.
Just 61 homes will now be built, which are set to be delivered by Sanctuary through Section 106 agreements, out of the 2,850 first proposed.
