The Week in Housing: government’s homelessness strategy criticised and four arrested in investment scheme probe

Insight24.01.2512.30 PM by Stephen Delahunty

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The Week in Housing: government’s homelessness strategy criticised and four arrested in investment scheme probe #UKhousing

A weekly round-up of the most important headlines for housing professionals #UKhousing

Good afternoon.

It has been barely three months since the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) launched its inquiry into homelessness. From the outset, chair Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown said he saw his committee’s historic role to be one of “seekers after the truth on government policy delivery”.

That truth was presented to the government in a report this week and it pulled no punches. No strategy for homelessness prevention in England. No logic in setting Local Housing Allowance rates. No affordable homes target.

In his rather startling conclusion, Sir Geoffrey wrote: “Worryingly, there seems to be no desire to move away from an unsatisfactory short-term system, leaving local authorities attempting to save a sinking ship with a little more than a leaky bucket.”

Following the report, one regular Inside Housing commentator described the use of temporary accommodation as a “scandal that cannot be ignored”.

For those working in homelessness prevention, the report will come as no surprise. Big Issue co-founder Lord Bird walked out of a separate inquiry session on rough sleeping late last year after pointing out that successive governments over the past three decades had prioritised resources in the way the PAC set out, instead of on prevention.

Deputy prime minister and housing secretary Angela Rayner did triple the emergency support fund for rough sleepers to £30m this week.

It comes at a time when two-thirds of councils are at risk of being unable to set a balanced housing budget by the next general election.

On top of that, the Local Government Association revealed how some councils received more Right to Buy (RTB) applications in the three-week period after the government announced reforms than in a typical year.

As the government’s consultation on RTB has come to a close, Inside Housing looked at some of the key responses, which included why local authorities need increased investment and should be given more control over the policy in their areas.

One idea for plugging the “leaky bucket” came from the District Councils’ Network. The body, which represents 164 smaller councils, said that raising the threshold at which local authorities must set up a Housing Revenue Account could enable an additional 88,000 council homes to be built.

Another government inquiry session heard that for-profit providers are not “the answer to the social housing crisis” and warned against the privatisation of housing association homes. However, some of those providers maintain that private investment has an important role to play in tackling the housing crisis.

While politicians debate how to fund social housing, one report suggested the sector may be attracting the wrong sort of investor. Four directors have been arrested as the police investigate companies running social housing investment schemes.

The City of London Police said its economic crime department had made the arrests “on suspicion of fraud and money-laundering offences”. No charges have been made at the time of writing.

Another dispute was put to rest this week as residents who lost their homes in a fire settled their court claim against the housing association that owned the block and the developer that built it.

On a brighter note, the Housing Ombudsman found that most landlords experienced “positive improvements” after changing their data systems, in the wake of a report that found widespread record-keeping problems in the sector.

In other policy news, housing minister Matthew Pennycook has signed regulations to remove the two-year ownership rule for leaseholders.

Research commissioned by the Office for Product Safety and Standards has found disagreement in the industry over what a cladding product is and no standards for fire doors and other fire barriers.

The findings come around four months after the conclusion of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, which found that “systematic dishonesty” by product manufacturers was a “very significant reason” why the block was clad in such dangerous materials.

Meanwhile, a government official revealed it is planning to update its impact assessment for Awaab’s Law after acknowledging feedback from the social housing sector that it “vastly underestimated” how much implementing the regulation will cost.

Landlords north of the English border will also have to grapple with new changes as the Scottish government tweaked its approach to Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs). The UK government has proposed its own changes to EPCs that will be introduced in the second half of 2026.

In Wales, the government is throwing its weight behind a set of standardised timber housing designs, with the aim of building more sustainable and energy-efficient homes in the nation.

For a third consecutive year, Inside Housing is shining a spotlight on what 100 of the UK’s largest housing associations regard as the greatest threats to their operations.

In many cases, these key strategic risks – listed in landlords’ annual reports and financial statements for the financial year 2023-24 – reflect the external pressures organisations face while delivering services for residents.

Have a great weekend.

Stephen Delahunty, news editor, Inside Housing