The Week in Housing: government pushes on social rent amid flurry of financial updates from housing associations

Across the fringe events, there was one issue that has been raised at every party conference this season: the need for planning permissions to be shorter to incentivise developers to build out more quickly. That was the call of one Conservative member of the Greater London Authority this week.

A flurry of financial results this week gave a further indication of the state of play of the sector and the housing legacy the Conservative government has handed on. Before we get to that, there is certainly a legacy when it comes to consumer regulation in England, and you can access our need to know guide to new regulations on resident engagement here.

Retirement and extra-care specialist Housing 21 has seen its income from shared ownership drop by almost 50% year on year, falling by £9.4m to £10.7m.

Following this news, the landlord revealed it had completed its largest ever acquisition by taking on 1,567 properties from a neighbouring Birmingham-based landlord.

Yorkshire Housing reported a 93% fall in the number of open market homes it sold in its last financial year as the “difficult” housing market took its toll.

Stonewater witnessed its annual surplus more than double after acquiring another smaller landlord, but its margin took a knock from higher repair costs.

A2Dominion reported an annual deficit for the second year in a row as it felt the impact of a legacy IT programme write-off and aborted potential development schemes.

By comparison, Jigsaw Homes had a “record year” for housebuilding with more than 900 new homes built in 2023-24.

The mixed bag of financial results and stretched development pipelines came as the latest government data revealed starts by London housing associations have fallen 92% year on year, as construction began on just 150 homes in the second quarter of 2024.

After the data release, deputy prime minister and housing secretary Angela Rayner scrapped a review of the London Plan ordered by the last government with the hope of starting a “new partnership approach” on housebuilding.

In recent months, several landlords have sold off none-core parts of their businesses. There was evidence this week that this trend might continue as construction giant Wates acquired a £120m services and repairs business from a North West housing association.

New accounts for Legal & General’s failed modular house builder revealed that post-tax losses have topped £279m. The firm announced it was winding down its modular arm last year.

Meanwhile, L&Q has taken over the development of two schemes in Cheshire after the original contractor collapsed. The housing association said it would deliver the Earlsbrook and Weaver Meadows schemes under its in-house construction arm. 

Both developments were placed on hold last year following the insolvency of Lane End Developments, the original developer and contractor, in April 2023.

In what Inside Housing understands is a first in the sector, one Large London landlord has temporarily suspended trading for five of its bonds on the markets.

Real estate investment trust Residential Secure Income is to sell its for-profit subsidiary as part of the wider company’s plans to wind-down.

It was a busy week in Wales too, with the news that the Welsh government has completed work on 16% of properties in the Building Safety Programme. But more widely there was a warning that overstretched budgets and heavy workloads have left housing professionals in Wales at “breaking point”.

In Scotland we had workforce news of a different nature, with the revelation that the boss of Scotland’s biggest housing association had made a personal decision to take a 60% pay cut. In an exclusive interview last year after he took over as chief executive, Steven Henderson set out his approach to public service.

Elsewhere, the boss of a London landlord admitted its complaint-handling has not been what residents “deserve” after the Housing Ombudsman launched a special investigation into the association.

Plus, landlords involved in mergers are being urged to learn from an investigation into GreenSquareAccord which found its formation had a “significant impact” on its complaint-handling.

And on the same day Mr Pennycook asked Homes England to maximise the number of social rent homes provided through the remaining Affordable Homes Programme funding, the latest government data showed showed a sharp rise in the number of families with children staying in temporary accommodation, some for more than five years.

As part of Inside Housing’s CPD offering in October, senior Peabody executives shared their views on why reciprocity is essential for social landlords to build successful relationships with residents.

You can also read our latest monthly round-up of top-level housing sector appointments here.

Finally, as the temporary fence from the Conservative Party Conference was being dismantled opposite Birmingham Repertory Theatre this week, professionals from across the sector came together for the Housing Diversity Network’s annual conference. Inside Housing has some of the key talking points here.

Have a good weekend.

Stephen Delahunty, news editor, Inside Housing

Say hello: stephen.delahunty@oceanmedia.co.uk

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