SOCIAL HOUSING – JONATHAN COX

Jonathan Cox Partner, housing sector lead 0161 470 0311 jonathan.cox@anthonycollins.com

SOCIAL HOUSING

LOOKING FORWARD TO 2021

“Covid-19 has shown the need for a different approach to planning; it is too early to say whether the move away from city centre living is a permanent change but in any event everyone now values their local environment in a way they didn’t before.”

After a tumultuous 2020, it feels like we are back at the beginning of the first lockdown; however, we go into 2021 with all the knowledge that we have learnt and the experiences we have gained. So essential repairs and maintenance will continue to happen. Support will be given to vulnerable residents. And we all look forward to widespread vaccine roll-out.

But for the housing sector, 2021 will be more than the immediate response to Covid-19; it will mark a turning point on a number of long-standing sores.

Homelessness and private rented sector (PRS) The pandemic exposed a number of fault lines running through housing policy, none more so than the issues of homelessness and the private rented sector.

Homelessness – The Protect Programme, and the funding for what is effectively a large scale roll-out of Housing First, we must hope marks the beginning of the end of a very difficult chapter in how the country has tackled homelessness. Housing First tenants will provide challenges to associations and the strength and determination that was shown last March in the response to Covid-19 will need to be seen again here.

PRS – Covid-19 exposed the fragility of the position of PRS tenants. The eviction ban has been extended but will the Government take the opportunity to completely reform the PRS sector, by following through on its original 2019 proposal to abolish Section 21 notices (no-fault evictions) and effectively assured shorthold tenancies? If the Government doesn’t do this, it is reasonable to assume (given the current turbo-charged residential housing market) that there is likely to be a tsunami of evictions in a couple of months time.

Building safety reform With the Building Safety Bill, the Fire Safety Bill and changes to Building Regulations coming into law, building issues will dominate social landlords’ inboxes; providers will be getting ready for their introduction; alongside a series of ebriefings we did as the various announcements were made we will shortly be introducing a tool to assist with compliance.

The charter for social housing residents: social housing white paper The long-delayed White Paper finally saw the light of day but what will the Government do and when will they do it? With Brexit out of the way and Covid-19 hopefully retreating by the summer it is likely building issues will dominate so the various policy proposals outlined in the paper may well come into being. Some might say that Covid-19 has led to a change in the relationship between landlords and their tenants. Whilst the paper outlines the additional rights tenants have, and the sector has reached out to its most vulnerable residents, those calls to tenants have also seen landlords discover many residents, in return for their rent, simply want a safe and well-maintained home. If that resonates then landlords should be asking themselves how they should reconfigure their services to concentrate their support on those who need it.

Environmental, social, governance (ESG) Is it possible Covid-19 marked the point when ESG factors became mainstream? The fact that some lenders will now acknowledge the benefit of ESG factors by reducing the cost of borrowing means that associations will become even more attractive as borrowers. Is it possible Covid-19 marked the point when ESG factors became mainstream? Some lenders are now charging lower interest rates for borrowers meeting ESG factors; which is especially helpful to social landlords given that this coincides with the need to undertake energy improvements in many properties. The sector will want to at least match the ban on new PRS lets above band C post-2025 and then for all tenancies from 2028 (not to say whatever might be required in the new Decent Homes Standard). We are likely to see a greater focus on sustainability issues.

Planning for the future Covid-19 has shown the need for a different approach to planning; it is too early to say whether the move away from city centre living is a permanent change but in any event, everyone now values their local environment in a way they didn’t before. The timeline for reforming planning feels more like a challenge to be done by 2024 rather than 2021 but there will be an ongoing engagement with the sector.

Social care As Matthew Wort notes, the Government finally has to ‘step up’ and address the funding of social care. There is a place for the housing sector here in providing reasonably priced extra care accommodation. Will we see new associations enter this market?

We are looking forward with confidence into 2021; look for us at: Change to Housing Finance Conference and Exhibition 2021 National Housing Summit 2021