News in brief

Return of the merger?

After what seemed like a steady flow, the past month has seen four mergers/swallowings as housing providers look toward the future.

Just a month or so ago, the Regulator of Social Housing warned against merging for the sake of it, although it did predict that there would be more.

In our interview with Kate Henderson (page 18), she speaks of the immense pressure that housing associations are under, with fire safety, decarbonisation and building new homes just three of the major challenges causing headaches in executive meetings.

But as we’ve seen with some mergers, not all problems are solved.

And in the Social Housing White Paper, the importance of a good relationship with residents and in communities was hailed as being a key aspect of how the government sees the future of social housing providers moving forward.

The challenge for some of these organisations that are growing and going from regional to national, is ensuring that the people on the ground are just as committed to their places as they always have been, and that decisions made above their head allow them to keep those relationships with tenants and communities.

Goodbye housing market

It looks as if large parts of the housing market will soon be going down the drain, thanks to the government’s latest actions over building safety.

Flats have become virtually unsellable, and large chunks of property in cities around the country are now bankrupting the people inside them. Not to mention the inexcusable fact they’re potentially death traps.

But government could’ve stumped up the money and paid for this to go away. It could’ve been bold and shown people that it cares. For a fraction of the price going towards some of the dodgy PPE contracts and Boris Johnson’s renovation, they could’ve remediated plenty of blocks in the country.

And the recent Fire Safety Bill, which went through Parliament after massive opposition from even those within the Conservative Party, was the final chance for government to change its ways.

But, unfortunately, it didn’t happen and instead it lobbied against protecting leaseholders from building safety costs, meaning the country is stuck in the situation it is now: leaseholders trapped, facing bankruptcy, depression and, potentially, death.

Meanwhile, developers are (in a lot of cases) seemingly allowed to go about their business care free, with no repercussions for their actions.

Leaseholders and campaigners have long called for government to step in more than it currently does, as well as provide solutions to many of the issues. It’s now up to government to show it really cares.

Watch HQN TV for a weekly roundup of the housing news

Moulding the future

The persistence of ITV News’ coverage of bad housing has made some housing providers sit up and take notice.

The Housing Ombudsman has also launched its own investigation into these issues, with damp and mould taking up much of its time.

So surely now’s the time for housing providers who are allowing these issues to hamper the lives of tenants to change course and ensure that this is stamped out. The social housing sector is only as good as its worst providers, and the media will delight in highlighting these cases for as long as they continue.