Inside Housing Repairs Tracker 2024
How much did English housing providers spend on repairs and maintenance in 2022-23? Jess McCabe looks through their financial records to find out. Illustration by Sean O’Brien
For the second year, English housing providers spent a record figure on repairing their homes. The 204 largest providers spent £7.7bn on repairs and maintenance in 2022-23, according to their financial data.
This rise, of £1.3bn, is nearly a 20% increase on the year before (2021-22), and a 35% increase compared to before the pandemic.
To create our annual Repairs Tracker, Inside Housing has analysed the Global Accounts for 2022-23, produced by the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH), which brings together the financial reports of all registered providers with more than 1,000 homes.
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The RSH put the sharp rise in spending on repairs down to a combination of: high inflation, tackling COVID-19 backlogs, bringing homes up to the Decent Homes Standard and increasing energy efficiency.
“Events in the year brought into sharp focus the dangers of living with damp, mould and condensation, highlighting the need for many providers to invest further in tackling this issue,” the RSH added.
Inflation, which peaked at 11.1% in October 2022, drove up the cost of repairs. And it coincided with a scramble to address damp and mould, which raised demand and prices for specific goods and services.
John Wickenden, a research manager at Housemark, says that wages for qualified surveyors reached £1,000 a day. In the current financial year, landlords “have continued to struggle to find the resources to carry out reliable damp and mould inspections alongside other safety compliance work”, he adds.
Inflation has come down from its peak, but Mr Wickenden says: “This should be viewed more as a deceleration from the past two years than a return to the stability of the 2010s.”
Looking in more detail at the Global Accounts, some landlords reported very steep rises in spending.
Southern saw one of the most dramatic rises (193%), because of its December 2022 merger with Optivo.
“We would have a better comparison once we’re through two years as the newly formed Southern Housing,” a spokesperson points out. “We’re facing the same challenges as others in the G15 around the cost of living, materials and resource cost increases. We’re continuing to invest in our homes and our spending remains in line with our peers.” It spent £2,889 per home.
Peabody, which is one of the biggest spenders on repairs, also saw spending rise 69.6% due to its merger with Catalyst. “When we bolt the accounts together, clearly it’s going to be a bigger number,” says Peter Evans, executive director of property services and assets.
For-profit registered providers Legal & General Affordable Homes (LGAH) and Sage also saw quick growth in spending. Both say repairs spending is keeping pace with the expansion of stock levels.
“Our per-home repairs spend has remained consistent,” says Shaun Holdcroft, director of operations at LGAH, despite a more than 200% rise. That spend was £937 per home, compared to a median of £2,532.
Top 50 biggest repairs and maintenance spenders, 2022-23
Housing association | Total R&M spend, | % change | Major repairs spend | Planned maintenance spend | Routine maintenance spend | Spend |
Clarion | £397,000,000 | 9.4% | £26,500,000 | £67,100,000 | £157,500,000 | £3,619 |
Peabody | £356,200,000 | 69.6% | £0 | £84,400,000 | £92,700,000 | £3,813 |
L&Q | £347,200,000 | 32.6% | £0 | £56,700,000 | £172,700,000 | £3,903 |
Riverside | £251,300,000 | 61.4% | £64,500,000 | £37,300,000 | £65,100,000 | £3,665 |
Sanctuary | £229,000,000 | 18.6% | £0 | £34,200,000 | £98,600,000 | £2,523 |
Notting Hill Genesis | £208,600,000 | 42.4% | £44,700,000 | £13,000,000 | £111,200,000 | £3,913 |
Southern Housing | £204,300,000 | 193.0% | £7,700,000 | £67,400,000 | £71,100,000 | £2,889 |
Guinness | £177,500,000 | 23.4% | £3,100,000 | £40,500,000 | £60,100,000 | £2,922 |
Home Group | £152,000,000 | 37.9% | £18,700,000 | £24,700,000 | £62,900,000 | £2,968 |
Places for People | £150,500,000 | 15.4% | £5,200,000 | £20,500,000 | £58,500,000 | £1,914 |
Sovereign | £135,500,000 | 14.3% | £7,600,000 | £41,200,000 | £45,900,000 | £2,353 |
Anchor | £103,000,000 | 16.7% | £0 | £28,900,000 | £27,900,000 | £2,537 |
Bromford | £102,600,000 | 6.8% | £12,800,000 | £13,700,000 | £33,300,000 | £2,382 |
Orbit | £100,800,000 | 12.0% | £0 | £21,100,000 | £37,300,000 | £2,498 |
Together | £99,600,000 | 43.5% | £9,300,000 | £0 | £39,900,000 | £2,680 |
Platform | £96,100,000 | 32.2% | £12,000,000 | £7,500,000 | £52,200,000 | £2,069 |
Hyde | £94,300,000 | 19.4% | £1,700,000 | £22,000,000 | £33,700,000 | £2,565 |
MTVH | £93,300,000 | -6.1% | £1,400,000 | £23,400,000 | £37,700,000 | £2,010 |
Flagship | £92,300,000 | 18.5% | £0 | £6,700,000 | £38,300,000 | £2,906 |
LiveWest | £89,300,000 | 20.9% | £23,200,000 | £12,200,000 | £29,600,000 | £2,415 |
Thirteen | £88,300,000 | 20.1% | £12,800,000 | £6,400,000 | £38,000,000 | £2,546 |
Onward | £88,100,000 | 23.0% | £1,300,000 | £20,600,000 | £36,800,000 | £2,878 |
Torus | £87,800,000 | 17.0% | £13,500,000 | £13,400,000 | £29,800,000 | £2,265 |
Gentoo | £87,600,00 | 8.9% | £6,900,000 | £7,200,000 | £37,100,000 | £3,049 |
A2Dominion | £86,100,000 | 33.2% | £8,500,000 | £18,000,000 | £31,400,000 | £3,039 |
Aster | £83,400,000 | 21.1% | £23,400,000 | £12,700,000 | £26,700,000 | £2,404 |
Citizen | £82,000,000 | 39.3% | £9,700,000 | £11,600,000 | £30,400,000 | £2,801 |
Abri | £81,600,000 | 26.8% | £11,300,000 | £12,400,000 | £40,200,000 | £2,427 |
Stonewater | £81,300,000 | 31.0% | £9,800,000 | £6,900,000 | £32,500,000 | £2,198 |
Vivid | £78,100,000 | 21.5% | £10,300,000 | £3,200,000 | £25,600,000 | £2,505 |
Jigsaw | £77,900,000 | 31.7% | £9,100,000 | £27,500,000 | £31,100,000 | £2,232 |
Midland Heart | £69,500,000 | 14.1% | £8,800,000 | £8,600,000 | £31,400,000 | £2,119 |
WDH | £68,600,000 | 14.7% | £24,500,000 | £2,900,000 | £24,300,000 | £2,150 |
Karbon | £68,100,000 | 21.2% | £0 | £9,800,000 | £27,800,000 | £2,227 |
Your Housing | £67,700,000 | -21.2% | £3,100,000 | £14,900,000 | £21,000,000 | £2,567 |
GreenSquareAccord | £60,100,000 | 10.9% | £0 | £16,600,000 | £32,000,000 | £2,328 |
Housing 21 | £59,700,000 | 5.7% | £2,400,000 | £11,200,000 | £15,800,000 | £2,817 |
PA Housing | £58,500,000 | -2.0% | £900,000 | £19,600,000 | £21,300,000 | £2,655 |
Believe | £52,000,000 | 24.7% | £3,400,000 | £4,200,000 | £18,600,000 | £2,881 |
Network Homes * | £50,900,000 | n/a | £800,000 | £7,500,000 | £23,600,000 | £2,822 |
WHG | £50,600,000 | 1.1% | £4,300,000 | £18,300,000 | £12,500,000 | £2,372 |
Newlon | £49,200,000 | 133.4% | £1,600,000 | £9,700,000 | £12,000,000 | £6,610 |
Incommunities | £48,500,000 | 62.9% | £1,600,000 | £3,400,000 | £24,700,000 | £2,252 |
Yorkshire Housing | £45,400,000 | 34.6% | £4,700,000 | £8,500,000 | £16,300,000 | £2,537 |
Curo | £44,300,000 | 25.1% | £9,600,000 | £0 | £16,800,000 | £3,465 |
Longhurst | £43,600,000 | 18.4% | £1,000,000 | £10,200,000 | £20,400,000 | £1,925 |
Bolton at Home | £43,200,000 | 12.0% | £1,400,000 | £5,100,000 | £20,700,000 | £2,284 |
Housing Plus | £42,900,000 | 13.6% | £0 | £18,200,000 | £10,800,000 | £2,266 |
ForHousing | £41,400,000 | 18.8% | £1,800,000 | £7,100,000 | £18,300,000 | £1,781 |
Beyond Housing | £41,300,000 | 22.7% | £6,900,000 | £4,500,000 | £15,500,000 | £2,720 |
Source: Regulator of Social Housing, Global Accounts
Note: Figures rounded; * Sovereign Network Group merged in October 2023
Others with big rises said the impact was exaggerated by their small size.
For example, St Mungo’s Community Housing Association saw a 71.3% increase on costs from its 87 properties – a mix of hostels and self-contained accommodation. A spokesperson also cited its “commitment to always enhancing our services, meeting new legislative requirements and providing quality homes for our residents”.
For Newlon, its total spending rise of 133.4% was partly down to the same inflationary pressures impacting other landlords.
Symon Sentain, director for property services, adds: “There have also been increased costs relating to the type of housing we own, as we have a large number of older street properties, and we have seen an increase in costs to repair or replace components such as roofs, windows, kitchens and bathrooms,” he says. “The work to decarbonise these older street properties has also led to increased costs.”
Some landlords cut their spending. One was Origin, which reduced spending by 21.3%, to £18m. There has been speculation about whether demands on repairs could drive mergers – Origin is one such example.
£7.7bn
Total repairs and maintenance spend of the 204 English providers with more than 1,000 homes in 2022-23
£1.3bn
Increase in repairs and maintenance spend compared with 2021-22
Carol Carter, chief executive of Origin, says that the association struggled on planned and major repairs, “in securing the skills to deliver the programme in 2022-23. While the skills gap has now been addressed, this has been followed in 2023-24 by a significant squeeze on our financial capacity due to economic conditions.”
She continues: “It was with these challenges in mind that we decided in late 2022 to pursue a partnership with another housing association.”
Origin entered formal merger talks with Places for People in October 2023. Ms Carter adds: “This proposal will secure an additional £100m of capital investment in our residents’ homes over the first 10 years of the partnership.”
YMCA St Paul’s Group, meanwhile, reported a drop of 19.6%, to £1.3m. Chief executive Richard James says: “During 2022-23, the impact of a threefold increase in energy costs meant investment in our buildings needed to be reduced.”
However, YMCA has increased its budget in the current financial year (2023-24) and, he says, introduced rolling property condition and compliance inspections on 25% of its 1,250 units per year.
Top 10 increases in repairs spending, 2022-23
| Housing association | Total spending on R&M, 2022-23 | R&M spending % rise on 2021-22 |
Legal & General Affordable Homes | £2.0m | 203.1% |
Southern Housing | £204.3m | 193.0% |
Newlon Housing Trust | £49.2m | 133.4% |
Sage Rented | £2.8m | 127.4% |
The Industrial Dwellings Society | £7.6m | 92.8% |
Sage Housing | £2.1m | 78.7% |
First Garden Cities Homes | £5.1m | 74.5% |
Watmos Community Homes | £19.6m | 74.4% |
St Mungo’s Community Housing Association | £7.8m | 71.3% |
Peabody | £356.2m | 69.6% |
Source: Regulator of Social Housing, Global Accounts
Note: Figures rounded
Some landlords, including Saha, Community Gateway and Your Housing, told us their spending rose in the previous year due to the cyclical nature of major works programmes, then went back to “normal” in 2022-23.
Poplar Harca’s reduction of 28% is a bit of an illusion, as the London landlord changed its accounting practices to exclude repairs to leasehold homes from its figures in 2022-23. It says that if this is stripped out, spending on repairs declined 1% year on year.
Top 10 decreases in repairs spending, 2022-23
Housing association | Total spending on R&M, 2022-23 | R&M spending % cut on 2021-22 |
Christian Action (Enfield) | £2.9m | -29.9% |
Poplar Harca | £15.5m | -28.0% |
Look Ahead Care and Support | £6.9m | -23.8% |
Saha | £7.7m | -21.6% |
Origin Housing | £18.0m | -21.3% |
Your Housing | £67.7m | -21.1% |
YMCA St Paul’s Group | £1.3m | -19.6% |
East End Homes | £8.3m | -16.6% |
Community Gateway | £10.3m | -10.7% |
Raven Housing Trust | £18.3m | -8.6% |
Source: Regulator of Social Housing, Global Accounts
Note: Figures rounded
East End Homes reported a 16.6% decline in spending. But chief executive John Henderson explains that this was due to two capital works programmes being suspended while contracts were finalised. Routine maintenance was up 19.8%, he says.
“East End Homes is committed to invest £36m on capital expenditure over the next five years – an increase on previous years and a financial commitment to ensure our residents’ homes are of a high standard and well maintained,” he says.
Whether associations’ spending was up or down, all who spoke to Inside Housing told a similar story – of rising costs and pressures on repairs and maintenance to do more and raise standards. It seems likely that the current financial year will be another record-breaker.
“The regulatory environment is bound to mean costs will increase for good reasons, for resident safety,” notes Peabody’s Mr Evans. “We absolutely support that. But the more you inspect things, the more work you find.”
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