Three-quarters of housing associations to reduce maintenance spending
Three-quarters (74%) of housing associations have plans to reduce their maintenance spending to deal with budget constraints, a survey of the sector has found.
Nine in 10 (92%) associations consider themselves under pressure to cut costs in line with government funding decreases and austerity targets.
And 82% intend to lay off staff in a bid to curb spending, with 96% of associations expecting to reduce expenditure in the next 12 months.
Law firm Gowling WLG, which carried out the survey of 50 housing associations, said planning rules should be relaxed to help affordable housing development in difficult funding conditions.
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Two-thirds (68%) of participating landlords felt inflexibility in the planning system hinders their ability to build, while 62% said greater leniency in Section 106 obligations would help them develop more.
However, as many housing associations bid to buy Section 106 from developers this change could have a negative impact on the sector, and would result – in the first instance – in less affordable housing being available.
Jacqueline Knox, partner at Gowling WLG, said: “Planning reform that helps housing associations to make the most of their potential influence in the build-to-sell market – and by doing so to cross-subsidise their affordable housing schemes – could be a significant contributor to delivering more social housing.
“In light of these findings, relaxing of planning obligations for not-for-profit housing associations at a national level could provide a feasible option to unshackling prohibitive restrictions on housing associations.
“Changes that would have a significant impact could include: improved access to planning officers, changes to speed of planning consent, relaxation or abolition of Section 106 obligations, prioritised access to public land and financial support for brownfield remediation works.”
A full copy of the report is attached.
